TalkingBoxing Interviews
Talking Boxing with PAUL MALIGNAGGI
THU August 25, COYOTE DURAN - With a personality like Paul Malignaggi's, you'd think the
kid would be going through the roof with impatience as a by-product of
such a long medical layoff resulting from rehabbing his problem right
hand.
But leave it to Malignaggi (19-0 with 5 KOs) to stay in the consciousness of boxing fans everywhere in some way. After all, didn't "The Magic Man" actually get bounced from the Foxwood Resort Casino in Connecticut for raising hell after getting doused with water by "Speedy" Gonzales' manager,Pat Doljanin, when Malignaggi openly razzed Gonzales for losing to Oscar Diaz back in February?
But now, the current WBC International Junior Welterweight titlist is finally returning to the ring after eight months on the disabled list and is looking forward to picking up where he left off: Driving both opponents and fans absolutely nuts. And he wouldn't want it any other way.
Tonight, as part of New York's famous Ballroom Boxing series, Malignaggi makes his return in an eight round attraction against Jeremy Yelton (16-1 with 8 KOs), a young, but untested fighter who should be a good gauge for Malignaggi's healing right paw.
I caught up with the young, returning prospect and we chatted about Yelton, Paulie's new manager and whom he'd really like to see across the ring with him next year.
Coyote Duran: Welcome back, kid!
Paul Malignaggi: Aw, thanks a lot, man! It's great to be back!
Coyote Duran: Fight's on Thursday, man. How're you feeling?
Paul Malignaggi: I'm feelin' good! I'm feelin' revved. I'm ready to go! I've been out for a long time and I'm excited to be back. You know, I miss bein' in the spotlight. It's a good feeling to be back in the ring.
Coyote Duran: It's been a little over 8 months since you defeated Sandro Cassamonica. Since having your hand repaired, what's the transition from healing to a regular training regimen been like?
Paul Malignaggi: Oh, it was tough at first. I was real hesitant with the hand. I was a little apprehensive to throw the punch. But I've been getting over that a little bit at a time and I feel better and better everyday in the gym. I feel sharp and ready to go for the fight. Obviously, the ultimate test will be the fight to see how the hand feels but I've become less and less apprehensive to throw it.
Coyote Duran: Cool. In training and sparring, are your hands being wrapped differently and what fail-safes are you using to keep from falling back to Square One?
Paul Malignaggi: Yeah, we're definitely much more careful with the hand. Obviously, you have to be now. I've had two surgeries in three years so it doesn't leave me much of a choice. This is my livelihood. If I wanna continue to box, I've gotta take care of my hands. It's pretty much basic knowledge. So we're training with better hand wrapping. We're putting sponges underneath the wraps in the gym and all that kind of stuff. You know, being more careful with the wrapping.
Coyote Duran: Your opponent for Thursday, Jeremy Yelton is 16-1 with 8 KOs. Throughout his young career, his weight's been all over, competing as high as a middleweight. What's his contracted weight for weigh-in?
Paul Malignaggi: The contracted weight is 142 pounds for the fight. I actually saw him today at the press conference. He's a taller fighter than me so I'm sure that's why he's been fighting at a higher weight also. He probably holds the weight well. But it won't really matter to me, you know what I'm sayin'? I've fought tall guys. I've fought short guys. I've seen 'em all so whatever he brings to the table, I'm pretty much very confident I can neutralize it and do what I gotta do.
Coyote Duran: Obviously if the contracted weight is 142, this isn't a WBC International Junior Welterweight title defense. What is this, ten rounds we're looking at here?
Paul Malignaggi: No, this is an eight-rounder to kind of get me back into the mix, you know? I'll probably be defending that belt in my next fight.
Coyote Duran: Paulie, what's (Paulie's new manager) Sal LoNano brought to the table since joining the fold?
Paul Malignaggi: Sal LoNano's brought a lot of things to the table. Most of all, he's brought his knowledge of the game. My old manager was a good financial backer but didn't know too much about the boxing game so we had to bring in Sal to help out with that. He knows what to do and what decisions to make for my career. So he's the best-suited guy for the job. Also, he's provided me with the training facilities, provided me with a training camp, a strength and conditioning coach. He got me away from home so that I would be away from the distractions. You know, he brought in a lot of things that can only be a positive for my career so I'm very thankful for that.
Coyote Duran: You said Sal took you away from Brooklyn to keep you away from distractions. Where did you train and for how long?
Paul Malignaggi: I was training in Massachusetts in a suburb of Boston called Tewksbury. I was there for 10 weeks. June 12 to August 17. Man, at times, I really missed being home. I got real homesick but I've come back a very strong fighter, a very hungry fighter and I've got that mean streak in me from being away from home for so long. I've got that mean streak in me and I'm lookin' to really take someone's head off.
Coyote Duran: You say you've really got this mean streak going. You've got that and that's contrasting to trying to keep your right hand in shape. You don't wanna mess it up and go back to Square One. How does it feel for you to have that kind of hunger and knowing that in less than two days, you're gonna be stepping into the ring? Is it gonna be difficult to kind of keep that hunger in check, knowing that in the back of your mind, you have to keep your hand safe?
Paul Malignaggi: Well, I don't think it's gonna be difficult. I live off this. I live off the adrenaline rush of this sport. You know what I'm saying? It's like a drug to me. I mean, I don't really need to contain it. I just need to be smart in there once I'm in the ring. I don't think I have a problem with that 'cause I'm always a smart fighter. In terms of the hunger, I feel kind of almost like I'm starting over in a way. Like when you have that excitement when you first start boxing and you're excited to fight and you're excited to train and everything. I had that excitement come back to me because I was out for so long and I was seeing all these bums making more of a name for themselves and so it made me hungry because I know I belong in that mix. I don't belong above those guys so I'm comin' to take my rightful spot.
Coyote Duran: Your promoter Lou Dibella's been really supportive of you. He's stuck with you every step of the way during your long lay-off. What does Lou have planned for you should things go well and the hand holds up? Is there a pace he wants to get you used to?
Paul Malignaggi: yeah, well he and my manager Sal LoNano have talked it over and we're looking to do big things, man. After Jeremy Yelton, we have a ShoBox date on November 4. We don't have an exact opponent but it looks like Oscar Diaz is gonna be the opponent. After that, we're just lookin' to get bigger names like a DeMarcus Corley-type of opponent and we would like to fight for a world title by next summer, preferably against a Miguel Cotto-type of opponent. So, we've got big things planned, you know what I'm sayin'? As long as the hand holds up, you're gonna see that I'm ready for those kind of step-ups, you know what I'm sayin'? I'm ready for those kind of fights. Time will tell.
Coyote Duran: That's a pretty big "step-up", Paulie. You're talking about (WBO Junior Welterweight titlist) Miguel Cotto! A guy who's renowned for coming in as a smaller middleweight, sometimes gaining up to 17 pounds like he did against Corley within 24 hours of the fight from weigh-in. Do you think there's a way that you can possibly negate his power? What can Paul Malignaggi do to even the scales?
Paul Malignaggi: Miguel Cotto does gain a lot of weight but that doesn't bother me at all 'cause I'm the type of fighter that doesn't get hit anyway so, you know, it would be a fight where he would have to find me. He would have to hit me and that's a tough enough proposition as it is. It looks like it's a big step up right now on paper but when it's done, it won't look as big of a step up because I'm gonna annihilate whoever's in front of me from now until then and people are gonna be looking forward to a fight like that. Yeah, you think right now, "Aw, that's a step up. Paulie, you're not ready for Cotto." yeah, that's what everybody thinks but wait until I annihilate all these guys in front of me between now and the Cotto fight next year. Wait until everybody gets annihilated. Everybody at my weight gets beat down and with non-competitive fights because everybody's gonna be expecting competitive fights. They're all gonna be non-competitive fights. I'm gonna keep winning all one-sided fights like I've been doing and then you tell me if it's a step up or if it's a mega-fight.
Coyote Duran: So, it's gonna basically come down to power vs. quickness and slickness.
Paul Malignaggi: Yeah, basically. You know what I'm sayin'? Basically, it's gonna come down to that. I've always said I believe I have more power in the right hand that people give me credit for. It's tough to punch. I had seven fractures in the hand and Lou Dibella can confirm that. He talked to the doctor. It's tough to punch when you have that type of injury. I mean, at today's press conference, I told the media, "You guys are quick to knock my power but at the same time, I had seven fractures in my hand. I wanna see you guys do your job, just writing on a pad and paper with a pen with seven fractures in your hand, let alone do what I gotta do and do my job which is punching people and try to take on people who are tryin' to take my head off." It kind of puts things into perspective. You know, you can't really knock it when you think of it like that. With the hand healed, it should really be a different story.
Coyote Duran: Having your sights set on a guy like Miguel Cotto is a game thought, but have you thought about taking on a fella like (WBA titlist) Carlos Maussa as well?
Paul Malignaggi: Oh yeah, that's been brought up. That was brought up actually and we actually called Main Events to see if Maussa was available for this fall and winter. We wanted to make that but Main Events told us that they were looking for a (World Junior Welterweight Champion) Ricky Hatton fight and I can't blame them. there's more money in a Ricky Hatton fight than in a Paul Malignaggi fight at this point for Carlos Maussa. So, they're tryin' to get that but if they can't make that, it's still in the cards, in which I'm still tryin' to jump in there.
Coyote Duran: Would you say that you're going on with life and career because some of these fights can't be made in regard to the younger contenders and prospects that are coming up with you. We've noticed that in the past few months, we've seen Mike Arnaoutis get away by the skin of his teeth against Roberto Santa Cruz. We haven't seen Al "Speedy" Gonzales lately. Is this your way of saying, "The hell with it. I gotta go on with life." or would you say, "I'd still like to make these fight should these guys come around."
Paul Malignaggi: Yeah, well we wanted to make the "Speedy" Gonzales fight but things happened and it wasn't me. Things happened and it wasn't me. So, I don't know what happened with Gonzales and his people. They were talking a lot of garbage and then obviously they couldn't make the fight. So, that's on them, you know what I'm sayin'? I'm just kind of saying "The hell with it." because I'm moving onto bigger and better things. (Excited) Mike Arnaoutis and his people have a big mouth. They look like garbage in their last fight. You will never see Paulie Malignaggi lookin' that bad. I have a big mouth. I talk a lot but I'm always dominating my opponents. I'm always showing that I'm at least a level or two above what I'm fighting and I'm fighting tough guys that are comin' to win, you know what I'm sayin?" These guys are talking a good game but you've got Al "Speedy" Gonzales getting his ass kicked on national TV and you've got Mike Arnaoutis barely winning against a complete nobody on national TV! You will never see Paulie Malignaggi looking like that on national TV. I'm always dominant. I always know when I'm gonna step up. I always rise to the occasion.
Coyote Duran: Are you changing your style somewhat coming out of this long lay-off stylistically now as opposed to right before you started having hand problems? It's not like you haven't had knockouts.
Paul Malignaggi: Well, you're not gonna see my style change. You're gonna see the same Paulie Malignaggi: Slick, fast. You know, when I throw the right hand, you'll probably see me do more damage. You're still gonna see the same type of boxer. You know what I'm sayin'? I'm slick. I'm fast. I do what I do and I'm gonna keep doin' what I do. But at the same time, when I hit a guy with a right hand, it's gonna do more damage than it has been doin'.
Coyote Duran: Let's talk about Ballroom Boxing at the Hammerstein (in New York City) where your fight against Yelton is happening. How do you feel about showcasing your return in what's considered a New York City boxing institution?
Paul Malignaggi: It feels good and Ballroom Boxing has done a lot of good things for New York and New York prospects and has given us a chance to showcase ourselves on a regular basis. I've only fought on there once because obviously, I've got enough fights on other networks. But for a comeback fight, it's more than perfect for me to be on a showcase like this so I feel good! I'm privileged to be on a show with all my friends, Sechew Powell, Dmitriy Salita, Edgar Santana. We're all gonna put out fireworks that night and put on an explosive performance and we're all fighters that're probably main event status in other fights in the future. So this is an opportunity for everybody to see us live on the same show 'cause it might not happen again.
Coyote Duran: I know how you feel about support, Paulie. I know how you feel about the haters. How do you feel right now? What do you have to say to the fans before closing?
Paul Malignaggi: Everybody that missed me, everybody that didn't miss me, I'm back, no matter what. Whether you love me or whether you hate me, I'm back. I'm gonna be here for awhile, man, and there's nothing anybody can do about it. People say I've got a big mouth and somebody needs to shut me up. Well, somebody come and shut me up, man, because I'm gonna keep on talking! I'm gonna keep on saying what I wanna say. I don't think before I talk. I say what I wanna say. I speak my mind. So, if anybody wants to shut me up, come up and do it, you know what I'm sayin'? I dare anybody that wants to. Anybody to step up to the plate. I'm comin' and I'm here to stay. I'm comin' to take them titles.
Coyote Duran: It's good to see and hear you back Paulie.
Paul Malignaggi: No problem, man. Like I said before, I'm real glad to be back.
Coyote Duran: Thanks for your time, buddy. Good luck on Thursday.
Paul Malignaggi: No problem! Thanks a lot.
Talking Boxing would like to thank Paul Malignaggi for taking the time so close to his comeback fight to share his thoughts and plans with us.
Coyote Duran can be reached at coyoteduran@talkingboxing.com.
Forum
