Malignaggi-Hatton close, Paulie praises Hatton and calls him a "Great champion".

[CFH]

Paulie - Hatton should be a good fight but I just don't think Malignaggi has the power to get Hatton's respect and stop Hatton from fighting the fight he wants to fight (that was as confusing as some Teddy Atlas analysis, but I love Teddy). Witter on the other hand might have the power to do it, but I'd still favor Hatton over either.

Paulie just may have the 2 things that can beat Hatton. A decent jab, and good speed. He has also fought atleast two other pressure fighters recently in Cotto, and to a lesser extent Ndou. This will aid in him doing well against Ricky.

I'd pick Hatton at the moment but it'd be good to see how he looks in the Lazcano fight.

I think the best comparison for how Paulie will fare vs. Hatton is the Cotto fight. Paulie gave a decent account of himself, but still came up well short. Not that Hatton and Cotto are all together that similar, they're just the only top-tier opposition Paulie has/will face. I think if Malignaggi had any sort of decent power this fight would be a nightmare for Hatton, but I think Hatton's footwork/footspeed will go a long way towards negating the few advantages that Paulie possess.