By Jason Kim: Paulie Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KO’s) says he has the perfect strategy to beat WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko on April 29th. Malignaggi is going to have to find a way past Senchenko’s long reach and powerful jab, because he’s not going to open up holes for Malignaggi to punch through by looking to over-commit to his punches by looking to slug with Malignaggi.

Senchenko isn’t that kind of a fighter. He’s more of a technical type of fighter that looks to keep the action on the outside where he can control the pace and not get hit. As far as I can tell, Senchenko has no real inside game. I’ve seen him briefly attempt to fight on the inside, but it generally turned into clinch after a few half-hearted punch attempts by Senchenko. That good thing that Senchenko has going for him is that Malignaggi doesn’t have an inside game either, so he’s not likely to try and fight Senchenko in close.

What Malignaggi will likely be doing is what he’s always done in the past by circling with his hands down by his side, trying to get Senchenko to nail him with power shots. Malignaggi is usually able to get his opponents to try and hit him, and from there he lands his counter punches. Malignaggi doesn’t do well when his opponents opt to jab him from the outside instead of slug. We saw this with Malignaggi’s losses to Amir Khan and Miguel Cotto in the past. Those two decided not to take the bait and just look to slug against a moving target like Malignaggi. They were smart to keep jabbing Malignaggi without falling for his tricks. Senchenko is a disciplined fighter and he won’t be looking to slug it out with Malignaggi until he’s tenderized him first with his jab.

Malignaggi says he has one big strategy that he says will work against Senchenko, but if it doesn’t he says he has a great backup plan to beat him. My guess is the first strategy will be for Malignaggi to use the circular movement to try and lure Senchenko into slugging. If that doesn’t work, Malignaggi will likely attack him in an all out assault.

Senchenko will easily pick off Malignaggi if he comes unglued and tries to make an assault. That won’t work, as Senchenko’s jabs and movement will keep him from getting hit with much of what Malignaggi throws.