Paulie Malignaggi Tops Card at Manhattan Center Tonight

17.02.07 – By Kirk Lang, photo by Teddy Blackburn/DBE – Flashy junior welterweight Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi makes his return to the ring tonight – on HBO no less – after giving a credible performance in a 12-round decision loss to Miguel Cotto back in June for the WBO 140-pound title. Malignaggi proved against Cotto that he’s a lot tougher than people had realized. He suffered a broken orbital bone and a gash over his right eye early in the fight but never showed an ounce of quit in him. In addition, Malignaggi, unlike Cotto’s previous six victims, was able to make it to the final bell. Cotto has since moved up in weight and captured the WBA welterweight title..

Malignaggi weighed in at 139.5, Cherry weighed 137.25 Malignaggi, 139.5, will be shedding his ring rust against Edner “Cherry Bomb” Cherry, 137.25, a solid contender who looked impressive in his last outing, a 12th round TKO of Daniel Alicea for the NABF lightweight title. The fight will be taking place at the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center, a short distance from Madison Square Garden.

Also featured on the card is junior middleweight Sechew “The Iron Horse” Powell, who will be squaring off against Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith. Smith gained celebrity status after appearing on season one of “The Contender.” However, Smith is not just a reality TV show boxer. Oscar de la Hoya thought enough of him to sign him to his Golden Boy Promotions company.

Rising star Andre Berto, 16-0 (14), is also on the card. Berto, a 2004 Olympian, will be taking on 38-fight veteran Norberto Bravo. The Berto-Bravo welterweight clash is scheduled for 10 rounds. While Berto, Powell and Malignaggi will be on the televised portion of the fight card, anyone living within reasonable driving distance of New York City should make an effort to see the fight live.

This is promoter Lou DiBella’s best card yet at the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center, and tickets to see Berto alone, in the future, will cost a lot more when he’s one of boxing’s top stars. Also, there’s an atmosphere to DiBella’s fights at the Manhattan Center that can’t be duplicated at casinos and other venues. Berto is explosive, Malignaggi is flashy and Powell is a solid boxer who showed his potential for greater things in a losing effort to former junior middleweight champion Kassim Ouma last August.

Anyone interested in purchasing tickets is encouraged to call 1-212-947-2577.