Malignaggi-Broner (spoilers)

[Romultiltus]

The only part of the interview I remember hearing a snippet of was Broner bragging about his 18-carot grill and flashing his gold teeth to the camera. That low-class attitude disgusts me and I really had no interest to hear anything that came out of his mouth.

That being said, I don't like Paulie either and kind of wanted him to get knocked out. If he had any power at all to go along with his defense and speed, he would have comfortably won the fight. Unfortunately, his slapping punches couldn't have knocked down one of the ring card girls

As for Broner, he'd be best suited to drop back down to 140 or 135. A WW with power should be able to take care of him and his title.

[Romultiltus]

(Part 4 - Showtime)

Not going to be too long-winded with these last 3 fights. By the time Bika-Periban started, we had been in the arena for over 4 and a half hours. Although it wasn't late, I was starting to drag a bit. It's a miracle that I stayed awake during the Banks-Mitchell snorefest

Bout #8

Vacant WBC Super Middleweight Title (12 Rounds)
Sakio "The Scorpion" Bika 31-5-2 (21KOS) vs Marco Antonio Periban 20-0-0 (13KOs)
The Scorpion on a 3 fight winning streak makes his 4th attempt at a world title. The WBC Title is the one vacated by Andre Ward. Peribon makes his 3rd visit to the USA after fighting primarily in Mexico and Argentina who won the vacant NABF Super Middleweight Title in his last bout back in March.

Peribon is the taller fighter and starts out strong, possibly winning the first couple of rounds. Bika starts imposing his will as the fight goes on. Very close fight. No knockdowns. Bika almost had Peribon out on his feet in the last round, but it goes the distance. Enjoyable fight, not much else to say. I found myself watching the giant jumbo-tron more than the live fighters in the ring a little too much in this fight. Once it dawned on my that I was here to watch the ring instead of on a big TV, I really lost track of the flow of the fight. Closeups of the action is better on the jumbo-tron, but you lose the full effect of ring movement that watching the ring from the arena gives you. Overall, my favorite fight of the night. Hope to see Bika in more entertaining fights soon.

Bout #9
NABO & WBC International Heavyweight Titles (12 Rounds)
Now it's even later and I'm dragging a bit. Going into this card, Banks-Mitchell was the one fight I really was looking forward too - Boy am I a dumbass!!!

Jonathon Banks 29-1-1 (19KOs) vs. Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell 25-1-1 (19KO's)
Let's be blunt. This fight sucked. It was probably one of the most boring fights I've seen in a long time and only hurts the Heavyweight divison. Vlad Klitchko was ringside to support Banks (his trainer after the passing of Emmanuel Steward) and he probably came away with 2 things: 1. Mitchell is never going to be a legitmate threat to any of his titles and 2. Maybe its time to get a new trainer.

This fight was so uninteresting, that both Will and I scored the 1st round 10-9-9 to referee Mike Ortega based on his own ring generalship. Round 2 was a joke considering that the knockdown of Banks was caused by a blatant blow to the back of his head. The brief explosion of action in Round three was overshadowed by a fight in the stands on the other side of the arena and the flood of red polo-shirted security who rushed to break things up. I missed the beginning of Banks' one good round, but from what I did see, Mitchell cannot take a punch. By the end of the round he was out on his feet and only saved by the bell. When Banks came out in Round 4, "Mayhem" had still not recovered but since Banks chose to do absolutely nothing, his opportunity was lost and so was the bout. The rest of the bout was just a very very slow blur where I really can't remember anything of note.

After the fight, the punchstat numbers illustrated just how pathetic this fight really was. If I remember correctly, both fighters seemed to average about 7 landed punches a round. The Heavyweight divison does not need that kind of mayhem... Maybe Mitchell can contend for the World Chess-Boxing Championship (if that still exists in Europe)

Bout #10
MAIN EVENT - WBA Welterweight Title (12 Rounds)
Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi 32-4 (7KOs) vs. Adrien "The Problem" Broner 26-0 (22KOs)
By the time the fight started, I was shot. Knowing that we had a 2+ hour drive back to CT, I wasn't looking forward to another 12 rounds - no matter how good the fight was. Knowing that the only way that Paulie could win inside the distance was a freak DQ or if he took off his gloves and tied a brick to each hand, I was hoping for a Broner knockout. Don't get me wrong, Broner is an ass, but I like to see knockouts and Paulie just doesn't have to tools.

First couple of rounds, Paulie looked great and did what he had to do - show off his speed, move alot and outland Broner 10-to-1. Broner probably felt more from his cornermen touching him between rounds than he did from any punch Paulie landed, but Paulie needed to land and score points which he did. After the 4th round, Broner started throwing more punched and he confidently walked through anything Paulie threw at him. Broner landed them more telling punches but at no time did Paulie seem hurt either. As the fight wore on, it was clear that as Paulie slowed down, Broner would start winning rounds and this was going to go the distance.

Overall this was very entertaining and especially after the last fight, I was hoping this card would elevate itself to true train-wreck status by having the judges award a lopsided hometown decison to Malignaggi. And as Jimmy Lennon Jr. started reading the scorecards, it almost happened. In the end, the better fighter won, not necessarily the better man.

----

Ignoring the post-fight interviews, Will and I headed back to the car. Since we had arrived to an almost empty lot, we had parked right near the exit, so once the Garmin fired back up we were on the way back to CT. Felt bad for the line of hundreds waiting at the garage entrance to get their vehicles. They were probably still standing there after we finally plodded back down Flatbush Ave - taking about a half hour just to get to the highway.

Another $7.50 donation to the Whitestone Bridge toll and we hit I-95 with light traffic. A couple of white-knuckle moments as my questionable driving skills put the care inches away from several concete abutments along the highway. One last toll - $1.75 at the New York Thruway 1-95 toll plaza. Got stuck there in line for over 30 minutes. Once through, a quick hour ride back to 'Staven. Arrival a little after 3:00am. Overall door-to-door a 15 hour roadtrip for me. Will on the other hand, still had to drive back home.

[darthpb]

I've never liked "talkers" myself. I was a Ken Norton v Ali guy; Hearns v Leonard guy but talking is one thing, being a total douchebag is another. He was an 11-1 favorite and IF he won he barely won. He claims Paulie never hit him, maybe he never hurt him but he did hit him plenty. I had it 115-113 AND I thought Broner could have lost a point for fouls(even Hopkins yelled foul a couple of times). w/e.

[BigFiasco]

very entertaining fight. Prior to Sat. nite, i thought broner was going to really work Paulie, but Paulie showed alot of heart and skill. Pretty close fight for sure

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by Romultiltus

The only part of the interview I remember hearing a snippet of was Broner bragging about his 18-carot grill and flashing his gold teeth to the camera. That low-class attitude disgusts me and I really had no interest to hear anything that came out of his mouth.

That being said, I don't like Paulie either and kind of wanted him to get knocked out...

I don't know Broner that well, because we don't have HBO or Showtime and we have not bought a PPV fight in years. But what I've read about him really turns me off. I know Malignaggi [sp?] a little better, and I'm not a big fan, but I was hoping Paulie would put the beatdown on Broner.

I'm not much for trash talkers. Zab Judah, for example, always made me want to change the channel. But I thought Tyson Fury was entertaining, at least what I heard.

Manny Pacquiao always made me laugh with his pre-fight comments: "Well, mmmmm, you know, he's a really good fighter, and I like to fight, so it will be good for the fans. We'll just see what will happen." Low key, until the sound of the bell...

Some of my pet peeves [and I apologize for going off-topic]:

1] trash talking that descends into insults about family or race

2] boxers who bring their young children to their fights

3] boxers who call somebody on their cellphone right after their fight [see: Friday Night Fights]

[darthpb]

Originally Posted by Antonin

I don't know Broner that well, because we don't have HBO or Showtime and we have not bought a PPV fight in years. But what I've read about him really turns me off. I know Malignaggi [sp?] a little better, and I'm not a big fan, but I was hoping Paulie would put the beatdown on Broner.

I'm not much for trash talkers. Zab Judah, for example, always made me want to change the channel. But I thought Tyson Fury was entertaining, at least what I heard.

Manny Pacquiao always made me laugh with his pre-fight comments: "Well, mmmmm, you know, he's a really good fighter, and I like to fight, so it will be good for the fans. We'll just see what will happen." Low key, until the sound of the bell...

Some of my pet peeves [and I apologize for going off-topic]:

1] trash talking that descends into insults about family or race

2] boxers who bring their young children to their fights

3] boxers who call somebody on their cellphone right after their fight [see: Friday Night Fights]

Well said. To me Paulie talks to sell the fight, like a lot of guys do, no problem BUT this was after the fight. Usually there is some respect shown(sportsmanship). Broner was STILL talking about some girl he took from Paulie and saying he never touched him. Disgusting. Fury's talking might wind up being a problem, we'll see, but I think he's more marketing himself for some cash because his talent will NOT talk him very far, even among today's HW crap.

[darthpb]

Originally Posted by BigFiasco

very entertaining fight. Prior to Sat. nite, i thought broner was going to really work Paulie, but Paulie showed alot of heart and skill. Pretty close fight for sure

Paulie is all heart...if he had just a little pop he wins that fight.

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by darthpb

Paulie is all heart...if he had just a little pop he wins that fight.

Agreed.

I was probably too harsh in my assessment of the HW fight. It was downright bland for three rounds, something I had not given it credit for. It was probably was better than the fight in the stands, but maybe I only say that because I couldn't see it.

Then for two rounds, it was actually "barely watchable" . . then it deteriorated.

[joestone]

Both these men crossed a line with their behaviour and words and brought shame to boxing. I therefore no longer have any interest in either man's career. Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail sums it up well:

"After all their repulsive verbiage, which went way beyond the usual trash-talking, Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi scrapped their way to a split decision in New York on Saturday night.
If the boxing authorities, in particular the WBA for whose welterweight title they were fighting, have any sense of responsibility the next appearance by this pair will be in front of a disciplinary commission.
As if the pre-fight language was not sufficiently obscene and the insults moronically crude enough, the disgusting jibes lurched over into verbal sexual abuse of the most sordid kind imaginable.
The degradation of a mutual sexual partner was even more vile than the infamous humiliation on air by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand of the granddaughter of an actor whose pleasures they had shared.

Main man: Adrien Broner became a three-weight world champion with victory over Paulie Malignaggi




These media conferences were televised and then, by way of a depressing commentary on much of modern society, went viral on the internet.
Since it is difficult to think of anything which could have done greater damage to a sport which is striving to enhance its image, both Broner and Malignaggi should be charged with bringing the hardest game into disrepute and fined heavily where it hurts most……in the wallet.
For the record, Broner won his third world title in different weight divisions. Hopefully success will mature him.

Malignaggi, a former loser to Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan, is now in the autumn of his career and expected to become a full-time commentator on American television. That won’t last long unless he cleans up his act, fast."

Read more: Matthew Macklin and Nathan Cleverly take on knockout artists Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev - Jeff Powell | Mail Online

[hamed2]

Originally Posted by darthpb

Paulie is all heart...if he had just a little pop he wins that fight.

I agree, Paulie doesn't have the eraser (big punch as Atlas calls it) so he knows he has to outbox the top guys in order to win.

All the problems he's had with his right hand probably made him think twice before using it too much as well.

[Rob Morris]

The fact that Broner is now described as a 3 weight world champion says a lot about the problems of modern boxing IMHO.

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by Rob Morris

The fact that Broner is now described as a 3 weight world champion says a lot about the problems of modern boxing IMHO.

He was 1/4 of a champion in three weight classes, including one jr. division. I'll call him a 5/8th champion for that.

[hamed2]

Originally Posted by Rob Morris

The fact that Broner is now described as a 3 weight world champion says a lot about the problems of modern boxing IMHO.

TV had a lot to do with that - they always wanted some bout they showed to be for some sort of belt.

Years ago when Foreman was still on HBO with Larry, I think Jim was making fun of the title they were fighting for & George in effect blamed HBO/TV for the desire to create all the belts.

He said something like: "Well HBO is probably showing this fight just because it's for a title".

[Hanson Bros]

I could care less what guys say leading up to a fight because they are trying to sell it ... after the fight have some class ... I liked Broner but I am off the bandwagon now

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by joestone

Malignaggi, a former loser to Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan, is now in the autumn of his career and expected to become a full-time commentator on American television. That won’t last long unless he cleans up his act, fast."

That's just silly. Showtime is not firing him for hyping a fight and then having other guy act like an ass when Paulie was being complimentary. And he's actually pretty good at it despite still being inexperienced.
B-Hop was a little out of his element as Paulie's replacement.

[Hanson Bros]

Paulie has a long long career ahead of him in broadcasting ... he will be just fine ...

[hamed2]

Originally Posted by Hanson Bros

I could care less what guys say leading up to a fight because they are trying to sell it ... after the fight have some class ... I liked Broner but I am off the bandwagon now

I totally agree. Most guys bury the hatchet after the fight. Really surprised AB said that because it seemed like he was just playing the game to get under his skin. To me, Paulie seemed to get more upset during the pre fight talk.