By Allan Fox: Former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KO’s) steps it up for the first time in over two years in facing WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-0, 21 KO’s) on April 29th at the Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine. Malignaggi has been taking it easy in a big way since getting soundly beaten by WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan in May 2010 in a 11th round TKO.

Malignaggi moved up to the welterweight division after that one-sided loss and has picked up three wins over 2nd tier opposition and the World Boxing Association has positioned him as the #2 contender, over arguably much better fighters such as Devon Alexander, Kell Brook and Thomas Dulorme. However, if Malignaggi loses to Senchenko like I think he will, the WBA’s rankings will get sorted out with Malignaggi plummeting downwards to a more logical place in the rankings, such as number 10 or below.

Senchenko, 34, is a decent fighter, but it’s still hard to say how good he is because he’s never fought anyone really good before. Perhaps the best fighter on Senchenko’s resume is former WBA welterweight champion Yuriy Nuzhnenko, who Senchenkon beat in April 2009 to pick up the WBA title. Nuzhnenko would later get beaten by Matthew Hatton. Like I said, it’s difficult to say how good Senchenko is because the best guy on his resume is Nuzhenko, a flawed paper champion in the minds of some boxing fans.

Malignaggi could have trouble trying to win a decision in Ukraine as a the visiting fighter. Although the place doesn’t have a reputation of messing over visiting fighters, but still it’s never easy for visiting fighters to come into another fighters home city and beat them to take their titles. Malignaggi’s got a couple of things going against him in this fight. First of all, he has no power and he won’t be able to get the better of Senchenko in that department. Malignaggi also isn’t a very busy fighter, because he spends a great deal of time running around the ring looking to score single shots or quick combinations before he starts running again. He reminds me of a much slower and weaker Khan, but without the shoving, holding and headlocks that Khan sometimes uses.