This article will take a look at the two weight world champion and one of the greatest thinkers in the world of boxing today, Paulie Malignaggi.
After being stopped by Shawn Porter, in brutal fashion, and then by Danny Garcia in August 2015 it looked as though Paulie Malignaggi's career was over. However just two months later he was back in the ring fighting in his family's country of origin, Italy, an aim that Paulie had wanted to fulfill his whole career.
Next it was to Wembley where he fought for the EU title in December and won. What 2016 brings for Paulie, no-one, least of all him seems to know. Is he going to give it one more shot at a world title?
It is clear that the fans all want to see him try and if he is to fight then 2016 will definitely be his last year. This time, however, he wants to do it the hard way, unlike against Danny Garcia which he openly admits he was not ready for.
In interviews, he almost bemoans the fact that he has been able to get great opportunities at this stage in his career due to his promoter Al Haymon whereas in the prime of his career he found it very tricky to get the right match up to become world champion.
Throughout his career Paulie has had to do it the hard way. His first title shot came in 2006 and was against future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto in the prime of his powers. Throughout his career he has always fought the best, Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Shawn Porter, all world class opposition.
He was robbed of his WBA welterweight title by Adrien Broner in 2013 with Paulie outworking Broner for 12 rounds but Broner, undefeated at that point, rode his reputation. What came with that fight was a crazy amount of trash talking in the build up (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKf2kZE0GQ) which makes for unbelievable viewing.
What comes to the ring with Paulie is very fast hands, a good chin, heart, and an unbelievable ring IQ. This ring IQ enables Paulie to control the range and the pace in the majority of his fights. One must remember that Paulie has been fighting with a messed up hand for the majority of his career, he has no power in his right hand, even to this day, which makes his career even the more impressive.
Where does he go from here, only Paulie knows, but one thing that is for sure is that all boxing fans would love to see him continue fighting in 2016.
Tom Eckett
@boxingguru44
https://twitter.com/boxingguru44
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