Danny Garcia knocks out Paulie Malignaggi in the ninth round

Danny Garcia/Photo courtesy of Ed Diller, DiBella Entertainment

 

Danny Garcia of Philadelphia on Friday emerged with a ninth-round technical knockout of Paulie Malignaggi in the welterweight main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs), a junior welterweight (140-pound) champion, had fought his previous two bouts at respective catch-weights of 141 and 143 pounds as he transitions to the 147-pound limit. Garcia weighed 146 3/4 for this one.

The lopsided bout was waved off at 2:22 of the round by referee Arthur Mercante.

This could be the last bout of Malignaggi’s career at age 34. The former junior welterweight and welterweight champion from Brooklyn is 33-7 with seven knockouts.

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Shawn Porter to make first defense against Paulie Malignaggi in Washington D.C.

Shawn “Showtime” Porter earned his first shot at a major title five years and two months after turning pro. Once he got it, he won the championship by defeating Devon Alexander via unanimous decision in December in Brooklyn.

Now that he has the belt, he has no intention of letting it go. He will make his first defense on April 19 when he squares off with former champion Paulie Malignaggi at DC Armory in Washington D.C. (on Showtime).

“I fought hard to get this title,” said Porter, 26, of Akron, Ohio. “Paulie says he wants it, but is he willing to go through me to get it?”

Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs) then took a shot at the light-hitting Malignaggi.

“Fighting Malignaggi is like fighting Alexander; they don’t have the strength or power to keep me away,” Porter said. “And I will steamroll Paulie on my way to victory April 19.”

Alexander has a knockout ratio of 51.8 percent, which is much higher than that of Malignaggi, whose record of 33-5 with seven knockouts computes to a knockout ratio of just 18.4 percent.

“I’m excited to be back in a title fight so soon after my win over Zab Judah,” said Malignaggi, who defeated former champion Judah via unanimous decision in December in Brooklyn. “I will become a three-time world champion on April 19. Porter is a good fighter and I’m sure he’ll be a champion again in the future, but he doesn’t have the tools or experience to beat me.”

This will be the main undercard fight to the light heavyweight title-unification bout between champion Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov.

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Zab Judah proud of longevity in the ring; takes on Paulie Malignaggi on Dec. 7

Zab Judah has been a professional fighter for 17 years and two months. And he’s still competitive against good fighters, a deserved feather in his cap.

Just this past April, Judah challenged Danny Garcia for his two junior welterweight belts. Judah lost a unanimous decision, but not before giving Garcia heck at times during their 12-round fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Garcia, 11 years Judah’s junior, won by scores of 114-112, 115-112 and 116-111.

Judah, who has won world titles in the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions, takes on another former two-division champion – Paulie Malignaggi – on Dec. 7 at Barclays Center (on Showtime). Both fighters hail from Brooklyn.

Judah, speaking during a recent conference call, noted his longevity with pride.

“My motivation comes from the opportunity, the opportunity of still being here 18 years strong, to be competitive against young fighters like Paulie Malignaggi and Danny Garcia, and to still be competing at a high level of boxing,” Judah said.

Most of what Judah said was spot on, but Malignaggi doesn’t quite qualify as a young fighter any longer as he turned 33 this past Saturday.

Judah is 42-8 with 29 knockouts. Malignaggi is 32-5 with only seven knockouts.

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Paulie Malignaggi, Zab Judah to square off Dec. 7 for Brooklyn bragging rights

Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah are both former world champions, so they have been to boxing’s promised land. There will be no title on the line when they take on each other Dec. 7 in the welterweight main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on Showtime), but neither seems to care because they will be fighting for bragging rights to Brooklyn.

Both fighters were born and raised in Brooklyn, and that’s not to be taken lightly.

“I have always admired Zab’s skills and his resume speaks for itself,” Malignaggi said. “But this is the ‘Battle of Brooklyn’ and winning this fight is worth more than any world title.”

Malignaggi, 32, is from the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.

Judah, from the Brownsville section, echoed Malignaggi’s sentiment in his own way.

“I am happy to be back fighting in front of my hometown crowd,” said Judah, who these days lives in Las Vegas. “Paulie and I have known each other for a long time and we have a mutual respect for each other.

“But with this fight on Dec. 7, it is going to be like the Ancient Roman days – there has to be a leader and that position belongs to me.”

Malignaggi is 32-5 with only seven knockouts. Judah, 35, is 42-8 with 29 knockouts.

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Adrien Broner’s victory over Paulie Malignaggi does raise a big question

Paulie Malignaggi beefed about not getting the decision in his welterweight title defense against Adrien Broner on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. There is no question that Broner deserved the decision, and he got it. That only two of the three judges scored him the winner was really the only controversy.

Judges Tom Schreck and Glenn Feldman had Broner winning by respective scores of 117-111 and 115-113. The third judge, Tom Miller, somehow had it for Malignaggi by a 115-113 count. Of course, that is not surprising because we see a lot of seemingly off-base scores in this business. Too many.

There was one question that came out of this: How is Broner’s punching power at the 147-pound welterweight division? He moved up two weight classes to challenge Malignaggi. Meaning he went from the 135-pound lightweight division to 147 pounds. He certainly landed the harder punches Saturday, but that’s not saying much because Malignaggi can’t crack much at all.

But Broner never really came that close to decking Malignaggi, even though he connected on an array of clean punches to the chin. Malignaggi has big-time heart, but it’s not like he’s never been decked before. Heck, in his fight before Broner, Malignaggi tasted the canvas in the 11th round of his title defense against Pablo Cesar Cano last October. Cano has nice, but not terrific, power. And Broner (27-0, 22 KOs) entered known as one of the hardest punchers in the game, pound-for-pound.

In fairness, it was only Broner’s first bout at welterweight. Let’s see what he does if he stays in that division.

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Adrien Broner, never at a loss for insulting words, takes a shot at Malignaggi

Adrien Broner of Cincinnati  is quickly becoming one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He might be the biggest talker, even bigger than Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Broner next Saturday will move up two weight divisions to challenge Paulie Malignaggi for his welterweight title at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. (on Showtime). Even though Broner is the one going from 135 pounds to 147, he will be the harder puncher because Malignaggi – as the saying goes – can’t crack an egg; he is 32-4 with seven knockouts, a knockout ratio of only 19.4 percent.

It therefore wasn’t surprising to hear what Broner had to say this week during a conference call promoting the Golden Boy Promotions event.

“… You’ll probably see another knockout; nine times out of 10, check on my record,” said Broner, who is 26-0 with 22 knockouts (84.6 KO ratio). “He’s bringing pillows to a fight that I’m throwing bricks (in), so you should see a lot of blood, a lot of bruising before the referee stops the fight.”

Broner, just 23, is an incredible talent, and he has already won titles in the junior lightweight and lightweight divisions.

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Paulie Malignaggi disses Adrien Broner at news conference

Welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi and lightweight champion Adrien Broner played host to a news conference Saturday morning at MGM Grand in Las Vegas formally announcing their welterweight title fight slated for June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on Showtime).

Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs) doesn’t seem to like the trash-talking Broner very much.

“Adrien Broner is nothing more than a Floyd Mayweather wannabe,” Malignaggi said. “He doesn’t just fight like him. He talks like him, he breathes like him. He needs to get his own character. He doesn’t have his own personality. It’s a big insecurity.”

To be fair, while Broner (26-0, 22 KOs) does resemble Mayweather in the ring to a point syle-wise, Broner is more of a finisher.

Also, Mayweather shows the media a lot more respect than Broner, who is just 23.

At Saturday’s Mayweather-Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero post-fight news conference at MGM Grand, Broner was asked to take the podium and say a few words while reporters awaited the arrival of Mayweather and Guerrero.

When reporters decided they had little to ask Broner, he said, “Man, I got these reporters scared like a (expletive).”

Classy guy.

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