Malignaggi's Taste For The Fight Game Soured After Cotto Weigh-in Debacle

http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=20201

By Michael Norby: Dr David J Ryan gave Paulie Malignaggi the news that he had longed to hear on Monday August 21st. The senior plastic surgeon from The Lahey Clinic and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts saw fit to give Malignaggi the green light to resume training and thus paved the way for a proposed return to the ring for the Brooklyn native this December.
Malignaggi,21-1-(5), suffered horrific facial injuries at the hands of WBO junior-welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden, New York on June 10th. His attempt to relieve the Puerto Rican of his title ended in a 12 round defeat for Malignaggi who, in addition to a broken orbital bone, gained the respect of boxing fans throughout the world as a reward for his courageous effort.
However, that evening in New York would change Malignaggi's outlook on the sport that he has loved and trusted ever since he was a child growing up in Brooklyn. Going into the bout, Malignaggi was supremely confident that his boxing ability, movement and hand speed would neutralize the power advantage that Cotto possessed. Couple that with the fact that Cotto's excruciating efforts to make 140lbs would significantly weaken the champion, and Team Malignaggi must have been feeling pretty good about their chances.
Enter the New York State Athletic Commission, who decreed that the June 9th weigh-in for the bout take place at 1pm instead of the traditional time of 5pm. This gave Cotto a significant amount of extra time to recharge and gain weight and, as the two fighters met in the center of the ring, the size difference was instantly apparent.
Malignaggi believes that the weight factor, in addition to the small ring, changed his strategy for the fight and therefore may have changed the outcome.
"A couple of things changed my approach to that fight." said Malignaggi, "The early weigh-in was definitely something we were not happy about. But it was the day before [the fight] and it wasn't something that I wanted to concentrate on too much because I wanted to focus on the fight.
"Then, on top of that you had the small ring, which kind of made me not want to use it as much. I wanted to smother him rather than use the ring because I felt I had no room to move around. You know, it kind of changed my approach a bit but you've got to take what you got."
Disappointed but accepting in defeat, the brash Italian-American went about his business, and after completing surgery one week after the bout, he began the long healing process. He had proven to the world that he belonged among the sport's elite fighters and now he waited patiently, determined to come back stronger than ever and climb the short ladder to the top of the junior welterweight division.
He waited, not allowing his burning desire to get back into the ring to dictate his actions. He said, "When you get an injury like that you have to make sure that you heal properly before you start training and taking punches because it could break on you again and really set you back. You want to do it the right way and I'm excited that earlier this week I got the clearance to train. It's been a long time coming and I'm antsy to get back in the gym."
His determination is as strong as ever, but as Malignaggi points out, his motivation has changed. No longer is 'The Magic Man' looking to cement a legacy, nor is he out to promote the sport of boxing. Paulie Malignaggi is out for himself and to make money so that he can retire a rich man, and he will use boxing solely for that purpose, just as he believes that boxing has used him.
His grievance with the sport and his home state athletic commission (NYSAC) was brought to light before the August 5th HBO fight between Ike Quartey and Vernon Forrest in Madison Square Garden, New York - the same venue where almost two months before, Paulie suffered a possible career threatening injury against a much bigger man in Cotto.
It was brought to Malignaggi's attention that the weigh-in for the Forrest/Quartey bout was at 5:30pm the day before the fight, and not the 1pm time slot that was the case in his last fight.
An incensed Malignaggi explains why this is a burning issue. "Two weeks ago Ike Quartey fought Vernon Forrest and it was at Madison Square Garden in New York. The weigh-in was at 5:30 or 6pm the day before." He continued, "When we complained about the 1pm weigh-in on June 9th [for the Cotto fight] they told us that the early weigh-in was going to be the new rule in New York State from now on. Then two weeks ago at the big HBO fight the weigh-in is at 5:30 or 6pm. It makes me want to spit on somebody.
"It may seem like a little thing, but it's not - when you're fighting Miguel Cotto - who is such a big puncher and puts on so much weight and who depends on putting on that weight because he is so weak at the original weigh-in - then it bothers me. But there's nothing I can do about. I just look at boxing now as something that will make me money and set me up for life - not as something that I'll enjoy from here on."
Malignaggi feels let down and betrayed by the sport that he felt he had so much to offer and he has adjusted his approach dramatically, swapping his dreams of a hall of fame career and greatness in favor of a more cynical and selfish approach. He believes that this will hold him in good stead as he progresses through his career.
He said, "There was a person in Paulie Malignaggi that loved boxing. He loved boxing and he would always defend it in any argument and wanted to be an ambassador for the sport. People used to say to me that I had the looks and the charisma to bring boxing to the next generation and I was willing to do that. But now, I'm in this for myself.
"At the beginning of my career and even before the fight, I always had dreams of being in the hall of fame and remembered as a great world champion. I couldn't care less about any of that now. I look at boxing more as my job and I just want to make money out of it and win world titles. Whatever gets me the most amount and will set me up for life. I've completely changed my approach because I'm so disgusted with boxing as a whole."
Malignaggi, while completely soured by the shenanigans surrounding the Cotto fight, still sees the experience as a valuable lesson. He is confident that his experience on June 10th will help him immensely as he sets his sights on the likes of Ricky Hatton and Jose Luis Castillo in the near future.
"This experience is very valuable. I wouldn't take the 12 rounds that I fought with Miguel Cotto back for anything. In the end, it's something that I will learn from and will help me in those fights with Hatton or Castillo. I believed that I showed that I could outbox Miguel Cotto."
Aside from the financial rewards that he will enjoy if he can successfully achieve all he needs to at 140lbs, the New Yorker has another goal. It's something that he already thirsts for - a rematch with Miguel Cotto. Malignaggi is so eager to fight Cotto again that he'll even follow the Puerto Rican up to 147lbs to gain his revenge.
He said, "I hope and pray that I can get him [Cotto] again, even at welterweight. I don't mean this as disrespect to Miguel Cotto, but I know that the rematch won't even be tough for me. I just need an average sized ring and I'll do what I need to do to Miguel Cotto"
When asked what could be done to banish corruption and favoritism once and for all from the fight game, Malignaggi conceded that the outlook was bleak, "Boxing will never be as big as it was in the 80's, 70's or 60's." He added, "But it will always be around and top level fighters will always be able to make a lot of money. Boxing will remain a second tier sport because of all this going on. It's not going to change."
Maybe boxing won't change, but one thing is clear - the threat of career altering incidents, perceived or otherwise is turning young fighters away from boxing or souring their experience in the sport that used to be king in America. People wonder why the fight game is faltering in the United States, why there are no young American heavyweights coming through the ranks for example - maybe Malignaggi's story will go some way towards answering the question.
August 25, 2006.

Please. Just say that you got your ass kicked so bad that you want out of the game.

Be a man about it.