Paulie Malignaggi, nicknamed the "Magic Man" for his ability to elude punches and pull out victories despite a severe lack of punching power, is set to square off against Zab "Super" Judah in a battle for Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on December 7th.
Both fighters are coming off strong showings in losses to younger contenders. Malignaggi was embroiled in a nasty buildup to his fight with Adrien "The Problem" Broner, in which ex-girlfriends and sexual histories became prominent storylines.
In the ring, Malignaggi surprised Broner with his activity and made the bout close, although losing a split decision on the scorecards. After the fight, Malignaggi railed against the politics of boxing and claimed Broner received a gift as an Al Haymon fighter.
Now, Paulie has decided if he can't beat them, he might as well join them. He nearly retired from the sport after losing to Broner, but Haymon contacted him and convinced him to keep lacing up the gloves, according to reports.
"The complaint about Al Haymon [is that]when you're not with him you're fighting an uphill battle," Malignaggi said. "When you're with Team Haymon it puts less pressure on the fighter. It seems like his fighters get treated the way they should and other fighters don't."
Judah faced Danny Garcia in his last fight, also at Barclays Center. He lost more decisively than Malignaggi did, but also provided more fireworks. "When you saw Paulie fight Adrien Broner in June, that was the best Paulie Malignaggi we've seen in a long time even though he didn't get the decision," Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said. "And when Zab Judah fought Danny Garcia, same thing. So now they'll fight each other, and if they both fight as well as they fought in their last fights, this is going to be a great fight."
Both men have taken great pride in their Brooklyn heritage throughout their careers, and the pair has known each other since they were teenagers.
"I think the fight could have been made for more money for us, but it's made now and it's a fight the fans still want to see. We're going to battle for Brooklyn," Malignaggi said. "We've circled each other's orbit for a long time."
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