INSIDE BOXING "WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET"
BY STEPHEN S. JOHNSON    

(IB-January 13, 2009) The list of worthy opponents for the now scrambling Floyd Mayweather, Jr.,  is full of  yawners. No bigger yawner could be chosen than if 29 years old Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO's) of Brooklyn, New York were selected to fight on March 13, 2009 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Malignaggi has been a "talker" for his entire professional career. He feels that what he does is entertain the people. He is in denial. He really has no idea that his Olympic style boxing is boring at the professional level and continues to proclaim himself "the best".

Malignaggi could possibly make a case for himself fighting Mayweather, Jr. were it not for the fact that he has not 1, not 2 but 3 losses in his career. Those 3 losses were against Ricky Hatton, Juan Diaz and Miguel Cotto, all rough and tough body punching machines. 

To his credit Malignaggi did avenge the loss to Diaz in the rematch, but giving the smaller Diaz a boxing lesson the 2nd time around did little to attract attention to the "mouth from Brooklyn". He didn't get it.

Common sense reveals the obvious. Paulie Malignaggi is not as great a boxer as he thinks he is and to make matters worse, he still doesn't get it. 

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is undefeated and until he has that "1" in the loss column he remains "the villain".  

Paulie Malignaggi is non other than "the wannabe villain", the one we all love to hate. A fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would force Malignaggi to do the one thing he is incapable of doing...FIGHT! Malignaggi even brags that "when people see me fight, they always want to see me get beat up. I ain't ever gonna get beat up if I can help it!". Does that game plan sound familiar? (Ahem...Floyd Mayweather, Jr.).

First off, the pre-fight promotional tour would be a disgrace.

Both Mayweather, Jr. and Malignaggi would resort to their usual styles of name-calling and attempts to fight right there on the podium. A real, live circus.

Boxing, especially now, has no place for this type of self-degradation. Like him or not, this is one of the main attributes possessed by Manny Pacquiao...he is a gentleman. 

Paulie Malignaggi showed himself to be the class-less idiot he embraces when in the 1st Juan Diaz fight he went berserk when the decision didn't go his way. He ranted, cussed and even accused Golden Boy Productions (not a stretch) of playing a major role in his defeat.

Can you imagine his antics should he believe he beat Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in Las Vegas? YIKES!

That visual is something Las Vegas has tried (successfully) to rid itself of...the ghetto mentality associated with many of the major fights held there that have ended in near riot mode.

Paulie Malignaggi further puts himself behind the 8-ball by publicly stating that he has no love for the game of boxing and only fights for the "easy payday". Is this the type of fighter you can give your full support?

Try walking into your bosses office tomorrow and loudly proclaiming "I hate my job, but this sure is some easy money"? This is Paulie Malignaggi, in the flesh.

Malignaggi is correct in one aspect of his self assessment. People DO tune in to see him get beat, but purely as an after-thought. There has NEVER been a conversation at the local watering hole where you would hear this: "You gonna make it home in time to watch Paulie Malignaggi fight?"...HELL NO!

Malignaggi has yet to figure out that at this level, where Pay-Per-View is the measuring stick, the only thing that draws "fight fans" is two guys that are going to FIGHT!  The mere possibility of two "dancing bears" in  a "big money fight", would be considered a travesty for the sport. 

There is nothing unique about the "Paulie Malignaggi story".

All you do is substitute "Italian-American" where any other ethnic name would fit. A troubled kid who walks into a gym with his uncle and immediately falls in love with the entire world of boxing discovers that being able to avoid taking a beating is his gift and he turns that gift into a well-paying employment opportunity. 

That ideology would serve Malignaggi well, until he had risen in the ranks and found that fans don't want to see "tap, tap and more tap". For the hard-earned dollar of the majority of fight fans, someone needs to leave the ring on a stretcher. Not hurt badly, but for there to be no dispute as to who the victor was.

It's a totally convincing beating one fighter needs to administer because anything less and we're looking at what we see once every four years...The Olympic Games that promotes the best AMATEURS.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. presently has the role of "the villain" locked down.

Should Paulie Malignaggi wait for Mayweather, Jr. to retire OR attempt being a professional fighter, who can box, he may as well get used to taking fights where his bravado and "score points and don't get hit" style is acceptable. 

Until that happens, we should all wish Paulie Malignaggi the very best in his desires to get married and have a family. For that he should be applauded. 

With his current boxing style and irritating self-proclamations, Paulie Malignaggi should just sell the obvious..."What you see is what you get".

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For that he should be applauded, and nothing else.