Brick City Boxing

By: Christopher Roche
Brickcityboxing/Doghouseboxing exclusive interview.

“I want to fight the best of my generation. The bar is always high.”

Those are the ambitious words of Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi, who was en route to his appearance on ESPN2 as a guest analyst tonight for “Friday Night Fights”. Malignaggi, 26, of Brooklyn, is taking a one day break from camp, but he is not taking a break from top-tier competition. Malignaggi is set to fight 24 year-old Edner “Cherry Bomb” Cherry at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom on February 17.

When faced with adversity, an athlete’s true character is revealed. In the zero sum game of professional boxing, nearly all contestants suffer disappointment at least once in their careers. At some point when the fans all leave and the reporters stop calling, the fighter must look into the mirror and face himself. If the fighter is short on character and cannot handle what is reflecting back at him, then he might never recover. In his last bout with Miguel Cotto, Malignaggi tasted bitter disappointment, but he handled it beautifully. In his duel with Cotto, Malignaggi won the hearts of boxing fans around the world, as he overcame cuts and a broken bone in his face while going the distance. Despite Malignaggi’s significant injuries, the fight was close, but Cotto got the unanimous decision and retained the WBO light welterweight title. After such a brutal war, Malignaggi raised a lot of eyebrows when he agreed to return against an opponent the caliber of Edner Cherry. However, Malignaggi realizes that fighters have a limited window of time to prove themselves, and he wants to fight the best the sport has to offer, while he is in his prime. Losing is unacceptable to Malignaggi, but his analysis of the aftermath of the Cotto bout was upbeat.

“The few days after the fight were painful, physically, and I was disappointed that I came up a little short, but I got to have a free summer,” said Malignaggi, who is training in Vero Beach, FL, “The fight did a lot for my career. HBO picked me right back up.”

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In addition to being picked up by HBO, Malignaggi aligned himself with a new trainer, Brentwood, Long Island’s Buddy McGirt. Malignaggi said he always trains hard and prepares for fights, but he said he now has the advantage of a world-class trainer; something he admitted is a necessity. Judging by McGirt’s track record as both a fighter and a trainer, it is impossible to argue with Malignaggi’s observation of McGirt’s credentials.

Malignaggi is also a diligent student of boxing, and he watches a lot of film of fighters from all different eras. He even chuckled when I asked him if he watched any of McGirt’s fights. Malignaggi answered in the affirmative.

“I try to look at speedy fighters, reflex fighters,” explained Malignaggi, “I will sit there with the remote and rewind it and watch how the fighter sets it up…I have seen Edner Cherry fight, and he is a boxer and brawler. We will do it however he wants it.”

Malignaggi watches film on everyone from Sugar Ray Leonard to Willie Pep, and he is confident his studies will yield a victory over Cherry.

While he misses New York and all of the great eateries, Malignaggi acknowledged that in training camp the absence of elaborate New York cuisine is a blessing. Malignaggi did not reveal training techniques or his specific strategy. He simply said it is important to just “be Paulie Malignaggi”. Boxing fans will get a preview of what it means to be Paulie Malignaggi, tonight on ESPN2, where Malignaggi promised to never stop talking when the camera is on him. Malignaggi’s confidence is sky-high right now, and there is no reason to think it will dissipate on fight night. I came away from our conversation with the distinct feeling that Malignaggi is motivated, focused and ready to put forth his best performance against Cherry. As a boxing observer, I cannot ask for anything more, and I look for this fight to be a flat out barn burner.

The 5’8” Malignaggi enters the ring against Cherry at 21-1 with 5 KO’s and is one of the most highly regarded light welterweights in the world. Cherry comes into the bout at 21-4-2 with 10 KO’s, and he is one of the top ranked lightweights in the world. The Malignaggi-Cherry fight will take place in the light welterweight division. The bout is being promoted by DiBella Entertainment, and it will be broadcast worldwide on HBO’s “Boxing After Dark”.