By James Slater: For some time now, there has been talk of WBA welterweight champ Paulie Malignaggi making his first defence against fellow New Yorker Dmitriy Salita; so much so that, according to Salita himself, in speaking with ESPN.com, people in the gyms in the New York area, “think the fight is a done deal.”
The fight is being talked about for the new Barclays Centre in New York, in October. And Salita, 33-1-1(17), who has won three on the bounce since his bad night against Amir Khan in late 2009, says he is inspired by the way huge underdog Josesito Lopez upset Victor Ortiz this past Saturday.
Speaking with ESPN, the Jewish fighter said “he is getting killed” for the way he lost to Khan (a 1st round KO loss in the UK) but that new trainer Emanuel Steward, a master at “correcting mistakes” has made him a new fighter.
Salita thinks he is deserving of another title chance, and I think he’s right. As the Kronk fighter said himself, any fighter can get caught (Salita pointed out Khan’s own one-round loss to Breidis Prescott) and one loss should not end a promising career.
As a neighborhood rivalry of a match-up, between two skilful, hard working welterweights, Malignaggi-Salita makes a whole lot of sense. On regular TV, as opposed to pay per view, this one would attract a good home audience, and the live crowd in the heart of The Big Apple would make it a special night.
Okay, “The Magic Man” would start out as a considerable favourite, but as Mr. Lopez (and Messrs Bradley, Bailey and others have proved) – the upset season is well and truly upon us!
Who would win this battle of New Yorkers, between two warriors who have reinvented themselves after suffering stoppage losses to “King Khan?”
I for one fight fan wouldn’t mind finding out.