Malignaggi on Diaz: 'I'm Going to Pick Him Apart'

Brooklyn junior welterweight Paulie Malignaggi will be an angry man heading Saturday night's 140-pound rematch with Houston's Juan Diaz to be televised from Chicago's UIC Pavillion on HBO's Boxing After Dark.

And the talented, 29-year-old boxer, while thankful he's got an unlikely return bout, will be champing at the bit for revenge.

Malignaggi was furious following a controversial, unanimous decision loss to the 26-year-old Diaz (35-2, 17 KOs) in his hometown of Houston, where the New York resident lost, 115-113, 116-112, and, 118-110, respectively, on the cards of Raul Caiz, David Sutherland, and, Gale E. Van Hoy, even as HBO's ringside official scorer, Harold Lederman, had him winning, 115-113.

Malignaggi, whose only other career losses were against Miguel Cotto, and, Ricky Hatton, by decision, and, knockout, respectively, took time for Wednesday's Q&A with FanHouse to discuss this highly-combustible, and highly-anticipated matchup.



FanHouse: How does it feel to get this rematch with Juan Diaz?

Paulie Malignaggi: I feel really good. Not everybody gets rematches in controversial fights. I'm glad that HBO stepped up and was willing to make this fight and appease the fans more than anything else.

As well as myself, I think that I really deserve it.


FH: Is the change of venue from his hometown of Houston to Chicago going to make you feel comfortable enough to believe that you will be rewarded for your style of fighting with a decision against Juan Diaz this time?

Malignaggi: The change of venue in itself is definitely a big plus, but as far as improving, I need to be more consistent.

I did a lot of good things in the first fight, but I didn't do them as well or as consistently as I could have and should have. That's really going to be the main thing in the rematch is the consistency.


FH: Did you not step it ups as early as you wanted to against Juan Diaz the first time?

Malignaggi: Like I said, I needed to be more consistant. I needed to do more of what I did in the good rounds that I had in more of the rounds. I think that the fight was closer because I allowed it to be close the first time around.

I really shouldn't have allowed Juan in the door. I allowed him to get close at times and get into the door and steal those rounds. He doesn't sit down on his punches, he's not a bangar like that.

He basically just flurries like an amateur, and throws a million punches as fast as he can and steals rounds. He's not hitting you hard, but when I stayed in too close, I allowed him to steal the rounds a lot of times.

In actuality, I threw and landed the harder punches, and his face told you the whole story. So basically, I need to do what I do, and to do it more consistantly and not allow him to do what he wants as consistently.




FH: How does Juan Diaz's punching power compare to Miguel Cotto's and Ricky Hatton's?

Malignaggi: Cotto's the hardest puncher I've fought. Cotto's a very, very heavy puncher. Hatton, I would say that he's maybe an average junior welterweight puncher, maybe a little above average.

Although I believe Juan Diaz is a better figher than Hatton, and not Cotto, I don't believe that Juan Diaz has the power punching power that rates anywhere near as high as most of the fighters that I've fought in my career.

Juan is a good fighter, but he's one of the softer punchers that I've ever fought.


FH: Did you have any injuries or problems with your hands after the fight?

Malignaggi: I just had some bruising. It wasn't bad. I had some very serious injuries in my hands earlier in my career. But luckily, that wasn't the case after my last fight. I just had a lot of bruising in my hands.

But when you hit somebody and pop somebody all over their face like I did Juan for 12 rounds like I did the first fight, I think that it's going to be natural that you're going to get bruising and swelling in your hands.


FH: What possibilities are there for you beyond a victory in this fight?

Malignaggi: There are possibilities that are endless involving myself. I want a chance to avenge the Ricky Hatton loss. I don't think he's better than me.

I just believe that I should have never been with Buddy McGirt for that long in my career. I believe that I overstayed my welcome. I believe that, with hindsight being 20-20, the facts were there that I should have changed trainers before that fight.


FH: Can you elaborate on what you mean about Buddy McGirt?

Malignaggi: With every camp with Buddy Mcgirt, I felt like I got worse and worse. Having said that, since I got with Sharif Younann, it's gotten so much better.

He came to me after the Ricky Hatton fight, so I've been with him all year. I think that the proof is in the pudding.

I'm a very talented fighter and a very talented athlete in general. But I felt like training with Buddy McGirt, my creativity and my athletism was being bottled up.

Buddy was basically keeping me fighting within a shell. I think that stayed too long in a situation that was no good for me.

Ultimately, it cost me a lot of money and it cost me the way that people look at me in my career and my legacy.

I was winning fights looking bad, and I was losing looking bad, like when I lost to Hatton. That shouldn't be the case.

Hatton beat me pretty badly, and it's a shame, because I don't believe that he's better than me. I'd beat him worse than he beat me the first time if I could fight him again.




FH: Your forte is eluding punches and being a very good boxer, but will you try to sit down on your punches any more than you did the first time, when you were able to get to him and cut him in the last fight?

Malignaggi: If the opportunity presents itself, I'll do what's necessary. If that's necessary that I sit down on my punches, I'll definitely be doing that.

At the same time, I'm not going to be giving Juan Diaz any advantages. I think that we all know that Juan is a pressure fighter and he's at his best when you're close to him.

And I'm a boxer, and I'm at my best from a distance. Having said that, I'll do what I feel I need to do as the fight progresses.


FH: Do you feel that he can change much from being the one-dimensional fighter that you have said that he is?

Malignaggi: No, I don't believe that he can change much. He's said that he's going to move his head a little bit more, but, honestly, his head movement is a little predictable.

He tried to move his head the last time too. Regardless of what he wants to say, Juan is going to come in the same way that he did in the first fight.

And if he thinks that he's going to put on more pressure, then he's going to be sadly mistaken, because the more pressure that he adds, the more he's going to walk into my shots.

And if he doesn't put on more pressure, and he tries to say on the outside, then he's going to be picked apart. So Juan is actually in a very bad situation on Saturday night.

That's what excites me the most about this fight, is that he is the kind of fighter that can really make me look good.

I've felt sharp and I've had a good camp. I'm at my best, and I really that this can really be a great performance on Saturday night.

Juan Diaz is going to get out-boxed whether he comes, or whether he doesn't come. For his own sake, he had better come, so he can try something.

Because if doesn't come, and he stays on the outside, he's going to get tore up and tore our of the frame. I'm going to pick him apart.

If he comes, I'll just work to walk him into my shots, which is going to happen, because I'm sharp enough to do that. I don't see any way Juan Diaz is going to win on Saturday night.