Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (born November 23, 1980) is an Italian-American professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. He is the former IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

 junior welterweight champion, and former WBO

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

 NABO

North American Boxing Organization

The North American Boxing Organization is one of several regulators of boxing that works in North America. The NABO is one of the regional bodies that is part of the World Boxing Organization.Legendary Roy Jones Jr is former Light heavyweight champion....

 light welterweight

Light welterweight

-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

 champion.

Light Welterweight

On June 16, 2007, Malignaggi defeated Lovemore N'dou

Lovemore N'dou

Lovemore N'dou is an Australian based South African boxer.He was the IBF world light welterweight champion, until he lost the title to Paul Malignaggi.-Fight career:...

 via a 12 unanimous decision to win the IBF World Junior Welterweight Championship at the Mohegan Sun

Mohegan Sun

Mohegan Sun, located in Uncasville, Connecticut, is the second largest casino in the United States with of gaming space. It is located on along the banks of the Thames River. It is at the heart of the scenic foothills of southeastern Connecticut, where 60 percent of the state's tourism is...

 Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut

Uncasville, Connecticut

Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut. The area traditionally known as Uncasville is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River...

. The bout was one sided with one judge awarding the bout a 120–106. Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis

Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...

 who was commentating at ringside for HBO described Malignaggi's performance as a "boxing clinic". After this win and the victory over Edner Cherry

Edner Cherry

Edner Cherry is a professional boxer. He was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and currently lives in the United States, residing in Wauchula, Florida....

 earlier in the year Malignaggi was awarded the Ring Magazine comeback of the year

Ring Magazine comeback of the year

The Ring was established in 1922. Since 1980, it has named a fighter who has come back from adversity or reversed a career decline as comeback of the year, based on the magazine's writers' criteria...

 award at the end of 2007.

On January 5, 2008, Malignaggi defended his title against Herman Ngoudjo

Herman Ngoudjo

Herman Ngoudjo is a Cameroonian-Canadian Professional boxer and former Olympic boxer, losing his opening round match against Talaybek Kadyraliev in the 54kg weight class at 2000 Summer Olympics...

 in a highly competitive match held at Bally's Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

. Malignaggi controlled the fight with his jab until he was stunned in the 7th round, but Ngoudjo failed to finish the job. After the seventh, Ngoudjo became ineffective with his aggression and came up short and lost a wide unanimous decision, which although fair, did not reflect the competitiveness of the fight.

On May 24, 2008, Malignaggi beat Lovemore N'Dou in a rematch by split decision to retain his IBF title at the City of Manchester Stadium

City of Manchester Stadium

The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...

 in Manchester, England. Malignaggi was in control for the first half of the fight, boxing behind his faster and crisper jab. Prior to the fight, Malignaggi was sporting hair extensions which proved to be a problem throughout the fight until his trainer Buddy McGirt cut them off in his corner between rounds eight and nine. Malignaggi appeared sloppy in the second half of the fight as N'Dou came back to make the fight close. In the end, Malignaggi pulled out a close victory and also suffered a fractured right hand in the fight. Malignaggi vacated his title on September 19, 2008.http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=17268&more=1

On November 22, 2008 in the MGM Grand

MGM Grand Las Vegas

The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...

 Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, Malignaggi fought the Ring Magazine and IBO

International Boxing Organization

The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...

 Light Welterweight World Champion Ricky Hatton

Ricky Hatton

Richard John Hatton MBE, more commonly known as Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton, , is a former British professional boxer, and currently a promoter....

. It was billed as the boxer against the brawler, and it was Hatton who dominated and won every round bar the first. Hatton rocked Malignaggi in the 2nd and several other times during the fight, leaving Paulie to hold on, doing exactly what he publicly said Hatton does. With Malignaggi way behind on points, his trainer Buddy McGirt

Buddy McGirt

James Walter "Buddy" McGirt is a boxing trainer, and retired boxer. He was born in Brentwood, New York.- Professional boxing career :...

 threw in the towel during the 11th round.

On August 22, 2009 at the Toyota Center

Toyota Center (Houston)

The Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Houston, Texas. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Rockets of the National Basketball Association, the principal owners of the building, and the Aeros of the American Hockey League.Rockets...

 in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. Malignaggi fought former lightweight titlist Juan Diaz for the vacant WBO NABO light welterweight title at a catch-weight of 138½ pounds. Unofficial HBO scorer Harold Lederman

Harold Lederman

Harold Lederman is a celebrated boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of HBO World Championship Boxing in 1986, where he has been ever since....

 scored the fight 115–113 for Malignaggi, but none of the three judges saw the fight this way. Gale Van Hoy had it by an 118–110, Raul Caiz had it 115–113 and the other Judge, Dave Sutherland scored it 116–112, all in favor of Juan Diaz

Juan Díaz

Juan Díaz may refer to:*Juan Díaz Canales, Spanish comics artist*Juan Díaz de Solís, Spanish navigator*Juan Díaz , Mexican-American boxer*Juan Díaz , Cuban baseball player...

. In the post fight interview of the Juan Diaz

Juan Díaz

Juan Díaz may refer to:*Juan Díaz Canales, Spanish comics artist*Juan Díaz de Solís, Spanish navigator*Juan Díaz , Mexican-American boxer*Juan Díaz , Cuban baseball player...

 fight (interviewed by Max Kellerman, HBO boxing analyst) Paulie was furious stating that "boxing is full of shit". He also stated that the only reason he is continuing to fight is because of the good pay day.

A rematch with Juan Diaz occurred on December 12, 2009 in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 on HBO. This rematch went in Malignaggi's favor, when he defeated Juan Diaz by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 116–111 in favor of Malignaggi. In the fight, Malignaggi threw more punches but only landed 21% of them while Diaz landed 28% of his, but threw less.
Malignaggi's next fight was against Amir Khan

Amir Khan (boxer)

Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....

 in Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 in New York on May 15, 2010.
The press conference took place in London, England on March 12 while another press conference was held in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on March 16. Malignaggi was stopped in the eleventh round by the referee. As the fight progressed, Malignaggi began to fall behind on points and the result began to get comfortable for Khan. He was very overmatched throughout the fight. On September 28, 2010 it was announced that Malignaggi signed with Golden Boy Promotions

Golden Boy Promotions

Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is a combat sport promotional firm started by former boxer six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya...

.

Welterweight

Following his TKO win over Michael Lozada in December 2010, Malignaggi will make his 2011 debut against Jose Cotto

José Miguel Cotto

José Miguel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is the brother of the four-time World Champion boxer Miguel Angel Cotto...

, older brother of champion Miguel Cotto, on April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Boxing style

Inside the ring, Malignaggi can best be described as a slickster. He adopts the "Hitman" stance popularized by Thomas Hearns

Thomas Hearns

Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...

, his left arm is kept beside his waist and he keeps his right hand at the chest level, leaving his head completely exposed. Consequently, he punches from his hips, something few boxers can pull off unless they have exceptional handspeed. Malignaggi moves around the ring well and counter-punches effectively against aggressive opponents. Compared to many other champions he lacks power but makes up for it for good handspeed and ring generalship.

Acting and other media

Malignaggi has done print clothing ads that have been featured in magazines such as Esquire magazine, Playboy magazine, and Frank 151 magazine. He also had a small role in the movie "Undefeated" featuring John Leguizamo

John Leguizamo

Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...

, and had a feature documentary on his life leading into his fight with Miguel Cotto titled "Magic Man". Japanese video game company Nintendo

Nintendo

is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

 used him as the model for their character Little Mac in the new sequel Punch-Out!!

Punch-Out!! (Wii)

Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game for the Wii. It is the latest game in the Punch-Out!! series. It was developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto served as the game's producer. It was first revealed at Nintendo's conference on October 2, 2008...

 for the Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

, and also featured him in the commercials as well. Malignaggi is a featured fighter in EA Sports' Fight Night Round 4

Fight Night Round 4

Fight Night Round 4 garnered positive reaction from critics for its strategic gameplay and strong multiplayer component. The PlayStation 3 version received an 87.89% and an 88% from review aggregate websites GameRankings and MetaCritic respectively...

for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|30 Wins (7 knockouts), 4 Losses, 0 Draws,0 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|-align=center
|Win ||30-4||align=left|  Orlando Lora
|||10||
|align=left| 
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||29-4||align=left|  Jose Miguel Cotto

José Miguel Cotto

José Miguel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He is the brother of the four-time World Champion boxer Miguel Angel Cotto...

|||10 ||
|align=left| 
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||28–4||align=left|  Michael Lozada
|||6 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||27–4||align=left|  Amir Khan

Amir Khan (boxer)

Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....

|||11 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||27–3||align=left|  Juan Díaz
|||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||26–3||align=left|  Juan Díaz
|||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||26–2||align=left|  Christopher Fernandez
|||8||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||25–2||align=left|  Ricky Hatton

Ricky Hatton

Richard John Hatton MBE, more commonly known as Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton, , is a former British professional boxer, and currently a promoter....

|||11 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||25–1||align=left|  Lovemore N'dou

Lovemore N'dou

Lovemore N'dou is an Australian based South African boxer.He was the IBF world light welterweight champion, until he lost the title to Paul Malignaggi.-Fight career:...

|||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||24–1||align=left|  Herman Ngoudjo

Herman Ngoudjo

Herman Ngoudjo is a Cameroonian-Canadian Professional boxer and former Olympic boxer, losing his opening round match against Talaybek Kadyraliev in the 54kg weight class at 2000 Summer Olympics...

|||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||23–1||align=left|  Lovemore N'dou

Lovemore N'dou

Lovemore N'dou is an Australian based South African boxer.He was the IBF world light welterweight champion, until he lost the title to Paul Malignaggi.-Fight career:...

|||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||22–1||align=left|  Edner Cherry

Edner Cherry

Edner Cherry is a professional boxer. He was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and currently lives in the United States, residing in Wauchula, Florida....

|||10||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss||21–1||align=left|  Miguel Cotto
|||12||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||21–0||align=left|  Donald Camarena
|||10||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||20–0||align=left|  Jeremy Yelton
|||8||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||19–0||align=left|  Sandro Casamonica

Sandro Casamonica

Sandro Casamonica is a professional boxer from Italy, who won the bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1989 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Athens, Greece...

||| 7 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||18–0||align=left| Ramiro Cano
|||10||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||17–0||align=left| Rocky Martinez
|||10||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||16–0||align=left|  Paul Delgado
|||8||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15–0||align=left|  Jesus Abel Santiago
|||8||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14–0||align=left|  Kevin Watts
||| 6 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13–0||align=left|  Shad Howard
|||6||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12–0||align=left|  Paul Delgado
|||8||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11–0||align=left|  Chad Lawshe
|||6||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||10–0||align=left|  Anthony Simpkins
||| 2 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||9–0||align=left| Jadschi Green
|||6||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||8–0||align=left| Andre Baker
|||6||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7–0||align=left| Sterling Gethers
|||4||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6–0||align=left| Antonio Young
|||6||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5–0||align=left| Jose LaPorte
|||4||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4–0||align=left| Cornell Jackson
|||4||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||3–0||align=left|  Luis Melendez
||| 3 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||2–0||align=left|  Robert Sowers
||| 4 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1–0||align=left|  Thadeus Parker
||| 1 ||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center

External links

• The Official Website of Paul "The Magic Man" Malignaggi
• Paul Malignaggi Official Fan Store
• Biography of Professional Boxer Paulie Malignaggi
• Official Sponsors of "The Magic Man" Malignaggi
• Interview
• Man Film Review
• Becoming a People's Champ