411 Prizefight Preview: Diaz vs. Malignaggi

Posted by Matt Knowles on 08.21.2009

Two former world champions look to get back into the title picture this Saturday night on HBO! Plus tune in to 411mania for a live round by round blog of the card.





Welcome back to the Prizefight Preview!

This Saturday night, HBO's Boxing After Dark will bring us a great cross-roads bout between two former champions who are looking to re-establish their previous ring glory. In the main event, former unified lightweight champion Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz will go head-to-head with former IBF light welterweight champ Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi. The bout will headline a triple-header card which also features Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero going after IBF title #3 as he takes on junior lightweight belt-holder Malcolm Klassen, while rising star Daniel "Golden Child" Jacobs faces his 1st tough test in welterweight contender Ishe Smith. The bouts will be taking place from the Toyota Center in Diaz' hometown of Houston, Texas.



A few years back, Juan Diaz (34-2, 17 KO's) was easily the hottest young talent in the entire sport. In a two year span, he unified three of the major lightweight title belts by defeating Lavka Sim, Acelino Freitas, and Julio Diaz. All three victories came in spectacular fashion, and with each progressive belt that he collected, the legend of the Baby Bull seemed to inflate accordingly. It was almost too good to be true; a young, talented boxer, who fought with everything he had, bringin' home "the bacon" with every successive title belt he won, while maintaining a spot-free reputation in his home community. Can this really be a pro boxer we're talkin' about? SERIOUSLY?!?!

Then, just as quickly as the legend grew, the reality of the fight game caught up to the unified champion. In an auspicious event in Cancun back in March of '08, an unfocused version of Diaz took on long-time contender Nate Campbell, who brought forth every trick in the book and took away all of Diaz' prized title belts via unanimous decision. It was a harsh dose of the quirks of the fight biz for Diaz, who absorbed a brutal head butt cut and couldn't get into gear against a more seasoned opponent than he had ever faced before. Following a comeback bout against Michael Katsidis (which he won by split decision), Diaz again tasted defeat, this time to Mexican icon Juan Manuel Marquez. Now, once again, the Baby Bull is left to pick up the pieces of what may possibly be a slow-sliding status within the overall picture of the sport.



Comebacks are nothing new in boxing, however, which makes Diaz' weekend match-up with Paulie Malignaggi (26-2, 5 KO's) all the more ironic. The Magic Man is also on the comeback trail, looking to bounce back form a dismal performance this past fall against Ricky Hatton, a bout in which The Hitman surgically took apart Malignaggi for 11 straight rounds before Paulie's corner threw in the towel. Since then, Paulie has had 1 non-descript tune-up bout back in April, and is now in line to get his once-budding career back in the fast lane towards another shot at a championship.

The greatest asset that Paulie has always brought to the table has been his overall speed. His feet and hands move as swiftly as any current fighter in the 140-pound class, which has enabled him to work fluidly around the tactics of his previous opponents. In his title-winning effort against Lovemore N'dou, Malignaggi boxed a masterpiece, winning nearly every stanza while barely absorbing a nick or scratch.

The other trait that Paulie brings is his straight, accurate punching style. His shots come right up the middle, and usually in sets of 2 or 3. He may not pack much power behind those punches, but he can definitely pile up the points and dazzle the judges with his finesse and work-rate. These are the skills and habits that Paulie must utilize if he's going to have any success in the bout this Saturday night.

For Diaz' part, his greatest strengths have been his conditioning, pace, and tenacity. He, like Malignaggi, doesn't have a ton of natural punching power, but he gets inside "the pocket" of his opponents' guard and goes to work with no remorse. The beat-down he layed on Acelino Freitas to win the WBO title was downright criminal; he basically trapped the Brazilian star against the ropes for the latter-half of their bout, raking Freitas with lefts and rights to the head and body until he could take no more, eventually throwing in the towel.



Although this style has produced a few title belts and a raucous fan following, it has also provided his opponents with numerous golden opportunities on offense. To say that Juan Diaz is no Pernell Whitaker is a monster understatement; the Baby Bull basically never saw a punch that he wasn't willing to absorb. His lack of defensive savvy has made him a wide-open target for sharp-shooters such as Campbell and Marquez. Combine this with the idea that Malignaggi is a very accurate puncher, and we are left with the distinct possibility that the Baby Bull may once again get picked apart by a more traditional straight-shooting boxer.

Then again, with Diaz' whirling style, combined with Malignaggi's lack of pop, the Baby Bull may in fact be able to cut through Paulie's offense and swing wildly once he gets inside. It is this notion, combined with Diaz' home field advantage, that has most experts leaning towards a big win for Big Juan. Still, this is why we are the reporters, and they are the fighters. Only time will tell who will be victorious this weekend, but until then, let's look into our crystal balls to stake our claims….

WHO YA GOT ON SATURDAY NIGHT: DIAZ OR MALIGNAGGI?!?!

Also be sure to check us out this Saturday night for a live round by round blog of the card!