by James Slater – The fight is not in any way a done deal yet, but there is a good chance, reportedly, that former world champions Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi will clash in the summer. “The Baby Bull,” who is coming off a courageously exciting stoppage loss to the superb Juan Manuel Marquez, is scheduled to fight on August 22nd, in his hometown of Houston, Texas; and there is a good chance his dance partner will be “The Magic Man.”
Diaz, the former WBA, WBO and IBF lightweight champion, can’t be expected to go up to 140-pounds, but a catch-weight bout is very much on the cards. Former IBF light-welterweight champion Malignaggi, himself looking to get his second win since his forced retirement loss to Ricky Hatton, is no big light-welterweight, and as such he could perhaps drop a few pounds and meet the 25-year-old in what would surely be a most interesting and compelling fight..
Malignaggi, now aged 28 and 26-2(5) as a pro, is approx two inches taller than Diaz, but he is no huge puncher, to say the least. If the fight is made, the all-action and aggressive Diaz will no doubt feel he can win – perhaps he will even go out looking to become the first man to legitimately KO the New Yorker? Putting the still slick and speedy Malignaggi away really would be a statement by Diaz, 34-2(17). Catch-weight fights seem to be all the rage as of late, and if this one comes off it will be a good addition to the series. Who would win, though?
Both men took more than enough punishment in their recent defeats – even though Diaz gave a better account of himself against Marquez than Malignaggi did against Hatton. “The Magic Man” was demoralised after trainer Buddy McGirt pulled him out late last year, and though he has won one fight since (out-pointing Christopher Fernandez over 8 rounds in April of this year) it remains to be seen how much ambition and sheer desire he has left inside. Diaz, who had good moments against Marquez before being nailed and TKO’d in the 9th round back in February, may not be the same fighter either, after suffering his own first stoppage loss.
Basically, the loser of this fight would have nowhere to go; whereas the winner would be right back in the title picture – especially if he won in style. Though we will know more if and when an exact weight for the bout is announced, Diaz would have a shot at stopping Malignaggi. A stoppage win for the man who has just 5 KO’s on his record, however, would really be a shocker. No, Paulie’s best chance, clearly, would be to out-box and out-speed the younger man. But with his incredible work-rate, would Juan let him win that way?
Whichever way you look at it, Malignaggi-Diaz is a pretty good match-up at the very least.