By Allan Fox: Former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KO’s) gets his much talked about and some one say undeserved title shot next month against WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-0, 21 KO’s) on April 29th at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. Malignaggi, #2 WBA, has picked up the high ranking by the World Boxing Association with wins over the following fighters since moving up to welterweight in 2010: Michael Lozada, Jose Miguel Cotto and Orlando Lora.

That’s a decent 2nd tier list of fighters but hardly a good enough list for Malignaggi to receive a high #2 ranking by the WBA and be given a title shot. This is obviously all about Malignaggi’s name recognition more than what he’s achieved at welterweight because let’s face it; he’s done little since moving up from the light welterweight division where he had lost two out of his last three fights before moving up to 147 in December 2010.

Malignaggi, 31, isn’t happy about having to face Senchenko in his native Ukraine rather than in the United States. Malignaggi feels like he would have a much better chance of winning a points decision if it were to take place in the U.S, and he also recognizes that having it take place in Ukraine pretty much ruined his changes of having the fight picked up by one of the cable giants like HBO or Showtime, not that either of them would elect to show a fight between Malignaggi and the little known Senchenko.

To be sure, Senchenko may be a world champion at welterweight, but he might as well be just another counter as far as the casual boxing fan is concerned in the United States, because only hardcore fans know about guy. He’s not someone that is mentioned often even by hardcore boxing fans. Malignaggi has picked the right guy to go after a title against, but he still probably won’t win because Senchenko is bigger, stronger and faster than Malignaggi. He’s also fighting at home, and that’s going to put Malignaggi in a situation where he might need a KO to win.