The prospect of the Malignaggi fight captures something essential about Garcia’s status these days: he’s damned if he beats Malignaggi and damned if he doesn’t … and doubly damned when he opens his mouth either way. Who needs the victory more? Despite sideshows involving the disreputable Memo Heredia joining Malignaggi’s camp, and Garcia’s reliably buffoonish father Angel, the upshot promises to be straightforward: that Malignaggi is past his prime and that Garcia is too good for him anyway. Padilla was out five years, came back in June 1991 and won a junior welterweight world title when he took a 12-round unanimous decision over Carlos “Bolillo” Gonzalez in June 1993 in Las Vegas. No no, you couldn’t mess up the carefully crafted script there.
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Garcia’s move up in weight has been a long time coming.
In a unusual way, Malignaggi has Herrera to thank for this marquee matchup on ESPN as that fight called Garcia’s hype into serious doubt.
“I think styles make fight”. Promoted openly as the ritual chumming of the veteran to a young shark, this fight proposes to be the latest in a series of hoaxes that the PBC has conjured up for boxing fans this summer, on the heels of the farcical Shumenov-Flores spectacle.
So why would Malignaggi get back in the ring? Instead of facing tougher fighters during his prime years, the 27-year-old Garcia has committed the unforgivable sin of appearing to side with management to defend himself against fan complaints.
Junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia believes the few extra pounds on his lean frame will make a big difference as he moves up to welterweight. “But as time went by and I started working out again, I started realizing that it was something I missed”. In his prime, he had above-average speed, but his lack of power puts him at a distinct disadvantage in nearly every fight. He will test himself against Malignaggi. However, it should be a good technical fight, and I do not think Garcia will stop Malignaggi, so this maybe a fight that is “boring” to some, but entertaining to others. He made this fight.
But when asked about how he’s dropped two of his last three bouts and that he’s been out of action for over a year, the talkative Malignaggi scoffs at the notion that he’s washed up or that Garcia will steamroll him. Fans are correct to be miffed at being cheated out of a Matthysse rematch (which would still be a great fight), and our misguided expectation of fairness in the sport frequently leads us to (sometimes) unjustifiably blame the fighters who benefit from poor (or suspicious) scorecards from the ringside judges.
But as he got older – he’s 27 now – it became increasingly hard, and that showed in his recent performances. Garcia can not afford there to be any questions about the fairness of the results this time. With his fifth-round stoppage of Jarrod Fletcher in Brooklyn in August, Jacobs became the sport’s first-known cancer survivor to win a world title. Jacobs (29-1, 26 KOs), 28, is very easy to root for.
I’m not sure what’s in it for Malignaggi, other than the chance to stay relevant in the ring if he can manage to stick and move his way to a points victory.
“You get to the point when you’re not in the ring for a while”. All fighters made weight easily. Of course he’s getting paid well, but you still have to hand it to Malignaggi for accepting such a challenge for what could be his last fight, especially after things went so poorly last time he fought. “And now ready to box like a pro & shock the world”.
Please credit “Gayle Falkenthal for Communities Digital News“ when quoting from or linking to this story. Gayle can be reached via Google +.
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