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HBO Boxing After Dark Recap

August 22, 2009

Toyota Center-Houston, Texas

WBO NABO Junior Welterweight Catch-Weight (138.5 pounds) 12-Round Championship Match:

Juan Diaz (34-2, 17 KO's, 137.25 pounds) vs. Paulie Malignaggi (26-2, 5 KO's, 138.25 pounds)

This title is currently vacant. It was last held by Victor Ortiz who vacated it to go after a major world title at 140 pounds.

Diaz had an outstanding amateur boxing career. He qualified the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics at 16-years old. Unfortunately Olympic rules require a boxer to be 18-years old to compete in the Olympics. Therefore, multiple protests were filed to keep Diaz out of the Olympics. With the protests being upheld, Diaz looked to get a jump on his professional boxing career by turning pro on June 23, 2000 with a round 1 technical knockout of Rafael Ortiz in Mexico. Diaz had to begin his pro career in Mexico, because the rules in Texas prohibit anyone from competing in professional boxing in the state until they are 17-years old.

Diaz' last match was the probable match of the year for 2009. On February 28 in the same building that is hosting this event, Diaz lost via technical knockout to Juan Manuel Marquez at 2:40 of round 9. Diaz had a phenomenal workrate through the early rounds. To stay competitive with Diaz, the future Hall of Famer Marquez bested his previous career high for the number of total punches thrown in a round several times. However, the best Marquez of all-time was still trailing Diaz on the scorecards after 7 rounds. Then in round 8 the match fell apart for Diaz. With around 2:30 to go in round 8, a left uppercut opened a cut outside Diaz' right eye. Diaz is a brawler, but seems to freeze whenever he is cut. The Houstonian has 2 career losses. Both of those losses came when Diaz was ahead on the scorecards, until he was cut. In both matches, once Diaz was cut he was completely dominated. When Diaz saw his own blood in this match, the look on the young boxer's face completely changed. For the first time in the match Marquez landed a left hook that badly hurt Diaz at the end of round 8. After 8 rounds, Marquez had shattered his career best for total connects in a match, but was not winning on the scorecards with how good Diaz had been early in the match. The scorecards became irrelevant in round 9 as a combination capped by a hard right hand dropped Diaz to the mat with 45 seconds to go in the round. A glassy eyed Diaz was allowed to continue. However, Emmanuel Steward, who was doing color commentary of the event for HBO, knew immediately Diaz had no chance to last out the round. Diaz does not know how to hold on to recover, the Houstonian's instincts are to keep punching when he is hurt. That allowed Marquez to land a match ending right uppercut with 26 seconds to go in round 9. A full recap of that epic match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2009/8/20/recap-of-juan-manuel-marquez-vs-juan-diaz.html The 6 month break Diaz has had between that match and this one is only partially to recover from the damage he took against Marquez. In May Diaz graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science for University of Houston-Downtown and he needed the time off to finish his degree.

Diaz is The Ring's number 1 contender at 135 pounds to their champion in the weight class, Juan Manuel Marquez.

Malignaggi had a good amateur boxing career that culminated when he won the 2001 United States National Amateur Championships at 132 pounds.

The Brooklyn, New York native's last high profile match was a technical knockout loss at 3:00 of round 11 to Ricky Hatton on November 22, 2008 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Malignaggi entered the match as The Ring's number 1 contender to Hatton's Ring Championship at 140 pounds and the New Yorker chose to vacate his alphabet soup belt to determine who was the best 140-pounder in the world. At the end of the night, there were no doubts that Hatton was the king of the 140-pound division. Malignaggi used his excellent jab to win round 1. That was the only round Malignaggi would win in the match. Hatton dominated the rest of the match with his usual brawling tactics. Finally after round 11, Malignaggi's trainer, Buddy McGirt, threw in the towel to stop the American from taking any more of an unnecessary beating. This act of mercy had Malignaggi incensed and he immediately fired his trainer. However, it was the right move and is clear reading a recap of the match that can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2009/4/28/recap-of-ricky-hatton-vs-paulie-malignaggi.html

Malignaggi's last match, and only match since the loss to Hatton, was an 8-round unanimous decision victory over Christopher Fernandez on April 25, 2009 at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Malignaggi is The Ring's number 5 contender at 140 pounds to their champion in the weight class, Pacquiao.

At 25-years old, Diaz is 3 years younger then the 28-year-old Malignaggi. Malignaggi has the height advantage standing 5' 7" tall, while Diaz stands 5' 6" tall. The New Yorker has the reach advantage with a 23" arm length, compared to the 21.5" arm length of the Houstonian. Malignaggi will be the heavier boxer in the ring, having unofficially rehydrated to 149 pounds approaching match time. Diaz has only unofficially rehydrated to 145 pounds approaching match time. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

The judges keeping official score of this match from ringside are from Oklahoma, Texas and California. (It is the same judging panel from the first match and HBO is still listing the California judge from Texas.) The referee is Laurence Cole. Cole is the top official in Texas and gets assigned to almost all of the big matches in the state. However, Malignaggi agreed to take this match at a catch-weight in Diaz' hometown on the condition that there were neutral judges and there was a neutral referee. A referee from Diaz' home state, would not count as neutral. Neither would the judge from Diaz' home state. Malignaggi is even upset about the California judge, because he is a Mexican-American and Malignaggi feels that favors the Mexican-American Diaz.

Malignaggi who is dedicating his ring walk to Gatti is vociferously booed coming to the ring. If Zach Ryder's current gimmick were a real person, it would be Malignaggi. He is a natural heel and instantly hated by every crowd for being an arrogant, annoying New Yorker.

Malignaggi starts this match very fast, and shows superior hand-speed in winning round 1, 10-9. At the end of round 1, Malignaggi was cut over his left eye by a right hand. Malignaggi was cut during the training camp for this match and it appears that small cut over his left eye has been re-opened. The cutman should be able to keep that wound from effecting Malignaggi as it is very small. Malignaggi who has historically been a jab heavy boxer due to an oft injured right hand, set the CompuBox record for the most jabs he has thrown in a round in round 1 at 84. To put that in perspective, the average number of jabs thrown in a round by a boxer at 140 pounds is 20. In round 1, Malignaggi more then quadrupled that number. Lederman scores round 1 for Malignaggi, 10-9. At the end of round 2, Diaz is once again confronted with his Kryptonite. Diaz has been cut over his left eye. The referee did not see what caused the cut, therefore he is ruling the cut came from a punch. That is the correct call, because a later replay showed Diaz was cut by a right uppercut. The Houstonian landed some good power punches on the inside to win round 2, 10-9. A close up in the corner after round 2 reveals that Diaz is cut much worse then Malignaggi. Diaz' cut runs almost the entire length of the upper eyelid on his left eye. The boxer's vision is likely to be impaired for the remainder of the match. Diaz wins round 2 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. Malignaggi boxes well on the outside to win round 3 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9, and the New Yorker leads on both of our scorecards after 3 rounds, 29-28.

In round 4, Diaz appeared to hurt Malignaggi on the way to winning the round big, 10-9. However, Diaz is not in great shape. In round 4, he was wiping at his left eye several times, because so much blood had gotten into his eye. Lederman scores round 4 for Diaz, 10-9. Diaz lands the harder punches to win round 5 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. A close up in the corner after round 5 shows Diaz is in even more trouble. A second very wide cut has opened in the brow line directly above his left eye. That cut was bleeding heavily in round 5. The referee is saying between rounds that this second cut was caused by an elbow. The referee gave Malignaggi a second and very stern warning for elbowing saying it was the New Yorker's last warning in round 5. At the time, that appeared to be a very weak call, since far worse elbows are not penalized all the time. (Guerrero threw a few nifty ones in the last match to counter Klassen's head butts.) At the start of round 6, the referee calls timeout to signal to all of the judges that the second cut above Diaz' left eye was caused by an accidental clash of heads. This is confusing. For the record, Malignaggi's cut has not been bleeding for several rounds. The busier Malignaggi wins a very close round 6, 10-9, and that makes the match even on my scorecard after 6 rounds, 57-57. Lederman scored round 6 the same with Malignaggi winning it, 10-9, and also has the match even after 6 rounds, 57-57. The doctor checked on Diaz in the corner after round 6, and ruled the Houstonian fit to continue. Through 6 rounds, Diaz has landed 91 of the 362 total punches he has thrown, for a 25% total connect percentage. Malignaggi has landed 105 of the 519 total punches he has thrown, for a 20% total connect percentage. This event, which had already been scheduled for 2:45 is running ridiculously long. When the bell sounded to end round 6, HBO had been scheduled to run the screen advising parents that True Blood is starting and to get the children out of the room.

Diaz lands the more significant punches to win a close round 7, 10-9. The hometown boxer takes round 7 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. With about 1 minute to go in round 8, Malignaggi begins to experience a significant equipment malfunction. Malignaggi is wearing very elaborate trunks that have lots of tassels. These trunks have now become wet and because of the added weight are steadily working their way down Malignaggi's backside. This is the spot that Shawn Michaels did with Razor Ramon in their ladder match at WrestleMania X, where Michaels' backside was completely exposed for about a minute. Luckily, Malignaggi is wearing undergarments that the entire world is getting the privilege of seeing, many in high definition. Malignaggi wins round 8 with his superior jab and underwear exposed, 10-9. Lederman scores round 8 for Malignaggi, 10-9. Malignaggi appears to greatly out-land Diaz in round 9, but Diaz appeared to land the only meaningful punches of the round. The effective punching earns Diaz the very close round 9, 10-9, and he leads on my scorecard after 9 rounds, 86-85. At this point, Diaz' left eye is a mess, but he is not letting it effect him. Lederman scores round 9 for the busier Malignaggi, 10-9, and has Malignaggi ahead after 9 rounds, 86-85.

The busier Malignaggi wins round 10 on Lederman and my scorecard, 10-9. During round 10, Malignaggi twice stopped to shout something over at the HBO commentators and completely took his focus off of Diaz. The doctor again checked on Diaz' cuts after round 10 and ruled the boxer fit to continue. Malignaggi uses excellent movement to win round 11, 10-9. The New Yorker wins round 11 on Lederman's scorecard, 10-9. The busier Malignaggi wins round 12, 10-9, and takes the match on my scorecard, 115-113. Lederman scores round 12 for Diaz, who landed the harder punches in the round, 10-9, but Malignaggi wins the match on the Lederman scorecard, 115-113.

The official decision courtesy of Michael Buffer is that the judges have scored this match: 116-112, 115-113, 118-110 all for the winner by unanimous decision and the new WBO NABO Junior Welterweight Champion, Juan "The Baby Bull" Diaz. The win moves Diaz to 35-2 with 17 wins coming by way of knockout.

The final punchstat numbers have Diaz landing 178 of the 663 total punches he threw, for a 27% total connect percentage. Diaz landed 123 of the 434 power punches he threw, for a 28% power connect percentage. Malignaggi landed 191 of the 949 total punches he threw, for a 20% total connect percentage. The New Yorker landed 80 of the 328 power punches he threw, for a 24% power connect percentage.

Diaz said in his post match interview that he was glad to prove in this match that he can box effectively after being cut. The Houstonian says he wants a rematch with Marquez next.

Malignaggi in his post match interview said that Texas always gives decisions in favor of local boxers. That is largely true. Texas has a horrible boxing commission. Malignaggi then put over Houston as a great boxing city and Diaz as a great boxer. When asked about who he would like to face next, Malignaggi went on a Vince Russo style rant about politics. At that point HBO shut the microphone off while he was still ranting and Kellerman was smiling at the run away train that is Malignaggi's mouth.

Diaz was solid in this win. He is now The Ring's number 5 contender at 140 pounds. That makes 4 of The Ring's 6 top ranked boxers at 140 pounds 25-years old or younger. However, Diaz is probably not best suited to the 140-pound division. Diaz is seen as a smaller version of Ricky Hatton. The real Ricky Hatton overwhelmed Malignaggi with his strength and physicality. Diaz was never able to manhandle Malignaggi the way Hatton was. The direct comparison seems to indicate that Diaz does not have the size to be successful doing what he did at 135 pounds at 140 pounds. There are still plenty of matches out there for the young boxer at 135 pounds. Should Marquez lose to Mayweather, a rematch between the 2 Golden Boy promoted boxers seems a lock. There is also the huge positive for Diaz to take out of this match that he proved for the first time that he can box effectively after being cut.

It appears the people who wrote Malignaggi off after his loss to Hatton were a bit premature. He is a legitimate top 140-pounder, who came up against the best 140-pounder in the world and got beat. The same thing that had happened to everyone else Hatton had faced at 140 pounds. A lot of people were outraged by this decision, but it was not that bad. The 115-113 and 116-112 scorecards in favor of Diaz were completely justifiable. The 118-110 scorecard in favor of Diaz was ludicrous. (However, it was not as ridiculous as that 100-89 scorecard in favor of Jacobs turned in by another judge on this panel in the opening match of this telecast.) Still paraphrasing the comments from the first match, Malignaggi was reasonably beaten in this match. Arguing the margin of defeat or victory is rather pointless. Wins and losses are what matter in boxing, there is no tie-breaker in boxing where someone can miss the playoffs based on their margin of victory totals. The fact this was in Diaz' hometown may have factored into the decision, but Malignaggi has gotten a hometown decision in his career, too. Malignaggi probably benefited from being the hometown boxer to make the first successful defense of his 140-pound title against Herman Ngoudjo. A full recap of that match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/11/23/recap-of-paulie-malignaggi-vs-herman-ngoudjo.html This outcome was probably the best thing that could happen to Malignaggi. Malignaggi is known for being a boring boxer. Tonight he lost an exciting and controversial decision. The fact 1 of the scorecards was completely ridiculous helps his case as he markets himself down the line as a boxer wronged by the system. That will make people want to see him, again. That means Malignaggi's next match will probably not be an untelevised 8-round match, like his last match. The Ring only dropped Malignaggi 1 spot to make him their number 6 contender at 140 pounds. There are currently 6 world champions in this division and several other big names. Malignaggi will likely end up facing one of them in the next 6 months by default.

Despite what Malignaggi said, this event had a terrible crowd. This was a really good show throughout. All of the matches were fast-paced and entertaining. However, the crowd only cared about this main event match and were booing very good undercard matches. That meant to enjoy the undercard matches at times the viewer had to ignore the crowd. Still an absolute recommended watch.