On Saturday night at the Barclays Center, two Brooklyn natives, Paulie Malignaggi of Bensonhurst and Zab Judah of Brownsville laced up their gloves and fought for borough supremacy. During the course of action Malignaggi's jab ruled the day, discouraging Judah and launching Paulie into potentially big money fights.
"This is an emotional win for me," said Malignaggi. "It definitely allows me to continue boxing. If I had lost, I don't know that I would have wanted to continue. But this big win puts me in the right spot to fight in this division for lots of money. Lots."
Judah entered the fight having talked about storming Malignaggi with aggression, taking advantage of his inability to knock opponents out by walking through his shots to deliver his own. Malignaggi's jab kept Judah at bay, though, swelling up Judah's eye and making him uncomfortable. After the fight, Judah seemed to indicate Paulie was unwilling to trade with him.
"I came to fight and so did Paulie," he said. "It just wasn't there. This was a great opportunity and a great event. I wanted to be the King of Brooklyn. He wasn't tougher than me. He stayed on the outside and didn't engage."
The loss is the ninth of Judah's career, and second straight. It is conceivable that at 36 years old, his time as a major headlining fighter is over. Paulie's time is not, though, and he is looking to fight the winner of Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Maidana, which is happening on Saturday.
Another potential matchup for Malignaggi could be Danny Garcia, who seems to be out of the running for a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, but still is mulling a move to welterweight. Much like Broner did when moving up, Garcia could view Paulie as a quality matchup while avoiding the dangers of a natural 147-lb. fighter with power.
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