Showboating Malignaggi decisions Diaz in rematch

CHICAGO – Minus the theatrics, Paul “The Magic Man" Malignaggi dominated Juan “Baby Bull" Diaz during their 12-round title rematch on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Pavilion. The one-time junior welterweight world champion Malignaggi won by unanimous decision over the three-time lightweight world title holder Diaz to claim the North American Boxing Organization (NABO) junior welterweight crown. Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) failed to attend the post-fight press conference and according to Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez the Mexican-American boxer needs to be rushed at the hospital in order to close a deep cut under his left eye. Malignaggi, who was showboating during most of fight, got even with Diaz after losing a contentious decision during their first meeting held at the latter’s hometown in Houston, Texas last August. Malignaggi said his victory merely validated his claim that he won the first fight. “Why else would his camp change his aggressive style to non-aggressive this time? I know I was leading in the early rounds." All the three judges saw the fight in favor of Malignaggi at 116-11. The Italian-American motormouth treated the fans to some sixth-round theatrics even dropping his arms as if inviting Diaz to come and hit him. In another round, he turned his right arm like a wheel as if to deliver a big swing. He even placed both his arms in his back, taunting Diaz to take a swing. Diaz, who has been an aggressive fighter throughout his career, never got inside and landed a mere 35 body blows over 12 rounds. It was Malignaggi’s constant jabs that spelled trouble for the 26-year-old Diaz, whose lack of rhythm made him look older than the 29-year-old Malignaggi. The attention-grabbing Malignaggi told HBO’s Max Kellerman after the fight: “I gotta say I told you so. To my critics, who said I was done, I’m back." He also challenged Juan Manuel Marquez and asked for a rematch with Ricky Hatton, who scored an 11th-round TKO against the Italian-American in November last year. Malignaggi got the ire of several boxing commentators after calling seven-time world division champion Manny Pacquiao a “midget" and accusing the reigning pound-for-pound king of using performance-enhancing drugs. – Joseph G. Lariosa, JVP/JMA, GMANews.TV