By Michael Lieberman: Not holding back his punches in the least, International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) let loose the dogs of war with some recent comments made to Ring magazine, saying “Hatton is a limited fighter. He can’t box…I just don’t think he’s much of a fighter, or was ever much of a fighter.” Malignaggi, 27, is probably the finest light welterweight in the division at this point in his career, having beaten excellent fighters like Herman Ngoudjo, Lovemore N’dou, Edner Cherry and lost a life and death battle to Miguel Cotto.
If Malignaggi’s credentials weren’t so impeccable, I would probably dismiss at once his comments and consider them merely bluster on his part. However, he’s shown to be one of the best fighters in the game and knows boxing through and through. So if he says that Hatton is a limited fighter, I guess I have to believe in what he says. Not through with throwing darts at Hatton, Malignaggi had one final pearl of wisdom to say about Hatton, commenting in the same interview with Ring magazine, “He’s [Hatton] the John Ruiz of the junior welterweight class.”
By Sean McDaniel: Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) will be challenging IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) on November 22nd, at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hatton, 29, already is a huge favorite to defeat Malignaggi, and regain his IBF light welterweight title. However, Hatton may be in for a bit of a shocker in this one, for Malignaggi has impeccable boxing skills which are a cut above that of Hatton and barring a knockout victory for Hatton, this may turn out to be a case of Malignaggi having too much skill for the slower, less skilled Hatton to deal with. 
By Nate Anderson: In a recent interview with Setanta Sports, International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) came out and said that he won’t be stepping aside to let his next opponent Ricky Hatton take on Manny Pacquiao, a much more important fight and one that most boxing fans would prefer to see than seeing a potential mismatch between the stronger Hatton and the light-hitting Malignaggi. The Hatton vs. Malignaggi has stinker written all over it, with most boxing fans seeing Malignaggi jabbing and running all night trying to avoid Hatton’s rough attacks. 
By Manuel Perez: According to a recent interview on boxingtalk.com, IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi has this to say about former champion Ricky Hatton: “He cannot take a punch. To the head to the body, I’ve been saying this for years he cannot take a punch and that’s why he fights the way he does.” Malignaggi went on to say that the reason that Hatton tends to hold so much is that he is prevent his opponents from getting as much as power on their shots so as to avoid getting hurt. 
By Chris Williams: For the second consecutive fight, IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) won by a controversial decision, in this case a 12-round split decision victory over Lovemore N’dou (46-10-1, 31 KOs) tonight at the Manchester Stadium, in England. The final judges’ scores were 114-115, for Ndou, and 116-113 & 116-113. I personally had N’dou winning 115-114, though I gave Malignaggi credit for a couple of close rounds that I normally wouldn’t have otherwise, but figured that the judges would give him the nod in these rounds due to upcoming showdown between him and Ricky Hatton. 
By Chris Williams: On the undercard of Saturday’s bout between Ricky Hatton and Juan Lazcano, IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KOs) will be defending his title against challenger and former IBF champion Lovemore N’dou (46-9-1, 31 KO’s) in a rematch of their previous fight last year on June 16th, 2007. Malignaggi, 27, used a combination of counter punching and movement to keep the slower, harder punching N’dou from landing any real significant shots. In winning the fight, Malignaggi took N’dou’s title, which he’ll be defending for the second time on Saturday night. 
By Michael Liberman: IBF super lightweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KOs) makes his second defense of his title on Saturday night against former IBF super lightweight champion Lovemore N’dou (46-9, 31 KOs), whom he defeated by a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision in June 2007. Malignaggi, 27, appeared to be much too fast for the slower of foot N’dou, who unsuccessfully chased Malignaggi around the ring for 12-rounds without much luck. Unless Malignaggi makes a mistake and gets caught without something big, we’ll likely see him come out on top for the second time against the 36 year-old N’dou. 
By Manuel Perez: While watching former welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) giving Steve Forbes a boxing lesson en route to winning an easy 12-round unanimous decision on May 3rd, I couldn’t help but notice how improved De La Hoya was since seeing him last fight a year earlier against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2007. De La Hoya, 36, seemed to have regained his speed, foot movement and ring intelligence against Forbes in a fight that turned out to be one-sided. Going into the fight, many people had been saying that Oscar was washed up, that he was over the hill and should consider retiring from boxing rather than prolonging his career and just wasting people’s money. 
By John Dower: With so many fighters to choose from for his May 3rd tune-up bout, Oscar De La Hoya (38-5, 30 Kos) must feel like he’s in a giant candy store, especially when the opponent is very likely going to be one that he can literally beat the stuffing out of and look good in the process. However, in selecting the opponent, De La Hoya, 35, has to make sure that he doesn’t make the mistake up drifting too far down in the chain for quality opposition, for both the boxing public and general fans will let him know about with complaints.