How good a boxer was prime Paulie Malignaggi?

[Jonny Ninja]

2x Former World Champion.
Won a title in two weight classes, and they were legit titles.
The 4 legit titles in every weight class are the WBO, WBC, WBA, and the IBF.
He was the IBF World Super Lightweight Champ and the WBA World Welterweight Champ at different instances in his career.
Fast hands, good movement, good chin, just not very hard hitting.

I don't know who the MMA comparison would be, but Paulie will beat Artem brutally when they fight

Still not sure how a bare knuckle fight goes. No 8oz gloves to hide behind and he’s old and retired. It’s as much a battle of attrition. I’d certainly lean towards Paulie but not with huge confidence. Put on proper gloves and it’s a very different fight

 

[HelpYouFall]

This is a bare knuckle thing, right?

EDIT: nevermind, I got out of my lazy rut and actually googled it

Who'd pay to watch this shit lol? It'll probably do great as well though ...

 

[benebox]

This is a bare knuckle thing, right?

EDIT: nevermind, I got out of my lazy rut and actually googled it

Who'd pay to watch this shit lol? It'll probably do great as well though ...

It actually has a lot of hype, mainly due to Conor bringing Paulie fame and him acting like a total scum bag by spitting on things.

 

[The Adder]

C level in his prime.

 

[defjaam]

Most notably he had good movement, but also had IQ and toughness to offer.

High level boxing, just not good enough to defeat the elite of the elite. You have boxers like that in any era.

 

[Boxiana]

Only guy I can recall having a haircut during a fight.

 

[IGotAHugePeckah]

Let me start by saying wouldn't even consider myself a casual boxing fan. I watch a few big fights a year.

This whole drama with Paulie Malignaggi fighting Artem feels a bit bush league to me. Or that this guy is starved for attention. I get that he wants a fight with Conor.

I know he won belts in boxing but also know boxing has 100 belts in every division. How good was this guy?
I don't really see any names on his wins besides an older Zab Judah. But like i said not a big boxing fan.

Who could you compare him too in MMA? Just curious cause he's been in the mma news alot.

He was a very good stick-and-move boxer. Solid jab, solid mechanics. But never above the B or B+ level, and that's coming from a HUGE old school Paulie fan.

He beat some solid fighters, but when he got in there with the elite of the elite (Cotto, Hatton, Khan, Porter, Danny Garcia, etc) he wasn't able to be competitive and ended up taking beatings. Paulie was very tough, with a lot of heart and had a solid chin.

I think the biggest thing that let him down was his lack of power. Paulie was truly feather fisted in every sense of the word and had a bunch of hand issues. You take a guy like Mayweather - people point that he wasn't a KO puncher, which was true, but he had enough power to keep guys honest. Paulie really wasn't blessed with any wallop whatsoever in his hands. I think if he even had average punching power, he would have went farther. But when you're fighting a guy like Cotto in his prime, who can box and hits like a sledgehammer with both hands, and you've got pure cotton candy in both your hands, it's really tough to be competitive.

 

[IGotAHugePeckah]

I’m sure u will get a lot of different opinions on this. I’ll start off by saying I’ve watched boxing since 5 was a huge fan all my life but around the time pretty boy Floyd became money and The Klitchko brothers ruled at heavyweight I gave much more energy to mma. I really only girl interested in boxing again when Fury won the titles and the rise of loma. I hate Floyd with a passion I believe it is his fault for the fights not getting made we want to see and the constant cherry piccing. He created that trend in boxing and it has never recovered. Look bacc to
The 90s and u will see all the great names of the game have losses to one another and their was always a priority to become an undisputed champ. Now that I have that out the way.

I would say that Paulie was a good boxer. B level at best. Is best win was against Judah who was way past his prime and his speed and legs were gone. Besides that Paulie lost to every top level guy Hatton cotto Khan even Broner thou many will Argue Paulie should have one that fight on point.

For his positive attributes he was very fast, had good movement and footwork, decent defense ( he fought ohilly shell a lot and depended a lot on his head movement and feet to slip punches somaa good as he was at defense he got tagged a good bit for his hands down) great jab, was a combination volume puncher, good body work, and a granite chin.

On the negative side everyone will say no power. When u can’t hurt Amir Khan that says a lot. He couldn’t even get Kahn’s respect. With this next lacc of power Paulie was stucc a lot just fighting backwards, grabbing, scoring with a jab, high punch counts to the body, but he was constantly under pressure. Rarely did he set the tempo I would say he did against Broner cuz AB just stands and counters and has an epic low punch count. His defense was good except sometimes Paulie would pull straight bacc and although having good head movement and fast feet he ate quite a few bc he would fight a lot with his hands down philly style but actually a lil lower. Paulie was a decent boxer but not a good fighter. Good fighters have a lot of tools in their buccet. Paulie would come out with a game plan and he had a hard time changes gears he would keep at the same thing even if it was working and would get Down on score cards and was not able to close the show so would have no chance to win. The Hatton fight is a perfect example of this. IMO Paulie coulda had more promise than the did. He got titles but never beat a marquee fighter in their prime. I personally think Paulie thought he was better than he was and failed to close in the wholes I’m his game. He was small for the weight classes he fought in as well and going down might have helped his power vs opponents But then Jiangxi speed wouldn’t have been as much but who knows.

To everyone who feels Paulie will destroy Artem I’m not so convinced. His boxing skills don’t correlate to BKFC well. Now a guy like Tyson who is a high pressure fighter with vicious power explosiveness who can fight on the inside and has a decent chin is perfect. But a high volume point fighter who depends on his jab, likes to work the body, lacks power or pressure and depends on constant movement doesn’t correlate as well. For one more punches will break ur hands. 2 this ring is smaller and going to be harder to move. Next body shots are worthless in a 10 minute fight. Also u need power to hold an aggressive guyblikw Artem off u. Artem will way a million jabs but will keeep coming forward. Paulie might be able to open up that scar tissue thou and win via cut. Also Paulie is accustomed to using larger gloves and doesn’t have the muscle memory to see the smaller opening both on defense and offense. Pulling back like he does he will get caught even by a guy like Artem and then when he brings his hands bacc up his muscle memory will be trained thinking he has larger blocking area which he doesn’t. Paulie is used to fighting boxers who use proper technique and respect the art of boxing. Artem does not do either and will come just winging haymakers and awkward shots which can actually be harder for a boxer to deal with, see Floyd vs Maidana 1. Also at a disadvantage is Artem has more experience in brawl type fights and he also has experience in a war inside that circle. This accounts for a lot. Artem knows how his hands will feel he knows what the bone on bone shots feel like. He has been opened up and knows what it’s like to bleed, he knows the feeling of the ring and the space he has in there and the trap points as well as he understands the energy of the crowd. Artem also isn’t taking Paulie lightly while Paulie is eating pizza and craccing jokes on interviews. This is arrogant and may play out to him not performing on the night. He also is accustomed to a boxing crowd. BKFC attracts more of mma crossover than boxing the same fans that Paulie has constantly put down and called names so the energy will be completely against him which can also affect his performance. Sorry such a long reaponse but I’ve given a lot of thought to this.

Great post, and I also have doubts about Paulie's chances in BKFC, but purely because of his brittle hands. I mean he was breaking them with boxing gloves... what happens if he lands a jab high on Artem's stone hedge head? I can easily see Paulie's corner throwing in the towel due to hand injuries.

 

[Canelo]

Overrated more than anything, had the appearance of a slick, technical boxer but didn't have the skill, reflexes or reaction time to pull it off. His defence for a top level boxer was terrible, a past it Ricky Hatton boxed the piss out of him and outjabbed him all night. Got a hiding any time he stepped up past C level opposition. His titles come against very poor opposition that would not be considered world champion calibre in any other era.

Artem probably beats him up and it will be glorious to watch.

 

[eternaldarkness]

2x Former World Champion.
Won a title in two weight classes, and they were legit titles.
The 4 legit titles in every weight class are the WBO, WBC, WBA, and the IBF.
He was the IBF World Super Lightweight Champ and the WBA World Welterweight Champ at different instances in his career.
Fast hands, good movement, good chin, just not very hard hitting.

I don't know who the MMA comparison would be, but Paulie will beat Artem brutally when they fight

don't know if pauly knows what brutal is. he's a great boxer but he can't punch for shit.

 

[eternaldarkness]

Spot on, bro. The only thing I'd add would be that he's also got loads of heart. He suffered a broken cheekbone vs a prime Miguel Cotto & still went the distance with him back when Cotto was knocking everyone out. He also took man-sized beatings from Ricky Hatton & Amir Kahn but complained when those fights were stopped. So, those MMA fans who think that Paulie will somehow get squeamish if things get bloody against Lobov are going to be in for a surprise. Although I doubt whether Lobov is going to be able to land very often against him. Paulie may well be past it but even a past his prime Paulie's defense is going to be too much for Lobov to handle.

it's the same things you praise paulie for that i have a lot of respect for jeff horn for, except horn can't box. he's a better puncher than paulie though (not that means much) but i'm sure you appreciate what it takes to go as far as jeff horn with such a limited background in boxing (started in late teens).

 

[sweetviolenturg]

it's the same things you praise paulie for that i have a lot of respect for jeff horn for, except horn can't box. he's a better puncher than paulie though (not that means much) but i'm sure you appreciate what it takes to go as far as jeff horn with such a limited background in boxing (started in late teens).

I enjoy watching Horn fight. Especially his last time out when he KO'd Mundine in the first round. That alone earns him my devotion as a fan because of how much I despise Mundine. LOL.

 

[HandNoise]

Artem probably beats him up and it will be glorious to watch.

Geez thanks for sticking up for Boxing...

 

[Absolut]

Look bacc to
The 90s and u will see all the great names of the game have losses to one another and their was always a priority to become an undisputed champ. Now that I have that out the way..

Ya’ll musta forgot. I counter this statement with RJJ. Left a lot of names on the table. Floyd didn’t invent that game. Look how long it took hagler to get a shot. That’s been going on for ever.

One brutal body shot can change a fight, even a short one. The same way one good leg kick makes a fighter wary, one breathtaking shot to the gut makes a fighters hands drop. It’s not all about paying dividends in the 11-12 rounds.

To compare it to mma, I’d see this like a Diaz brother swarming- Paulie (which my phone wants to switch to Pauline...) is too slick to get caught clean by Artem and just peppers him from all sides. Easy nights work.

 

[eternaldarkness]

I enjoy watching Horn fight. Especially his last time out when he KO'd Mundine in the first round. That alone earns him my devotion as a fan because of how much I despise Mundine. LOL.

you know what i'm saying about a limited background though. he has done amazingly well considering his lack of experience and limited sparring/coaching.

 

[Seano]

are you describing
Paulie or Seano?

Yes.

 

[Seano]

C level in his prime.

C level is harsh. He was A level but sub elite. Only elite guys beat him at his best and he beat the b level guys he fought.

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

odd username

paulie was decent. not very good, not great.

 

[CobraCmndr6193]

Very slick, little to no power, tough as nails. I always enjoyed watching Paulie fight. I enjoy his commentary work quite a bit as well. This whole McGregror/Lobov/MMA thing is tired and ridiculous.

 

[JEREMIAH WHITE]

He was a very good stick-and-move boxer. Solid jab, solid mechanics. But never above the B or B+ level, and that's coming from a HUGE old school Paulie fan.

He beat some solid fighters, but when he got in there with the elite of the elite (Cotto, Hatton, Khan, Porter, Danny Garcia, etc) he wasn't able to be competitive and ended up taking beatings. Paulie was very tough, with a lot of heart and had a solid chin.

I think the biggest thing that let him down was his lack of power. Paulie was truly feather fisted in every sense of the word and had a bunch of hand issues. You take a guy like Mayweather - people point that he wasn't a KO puncher, which was true, but he had enough power to keep guys honest. Paulie really wasn't blessed with any wallop whatsoever in his hands. I think if he even had average punching power, he would have went farther. But when you're fighting a guy like Cotto in his prime, who can box and hits like a sledgehammer with both hands, and you've got pure cotton candy in both your hands, it's really tough to be competitive.

I agree completely! Good post. I also forgot he fought Garcia.