Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi face each other this weekend in a rematch of a hotly contested decision earlier this year. Paulie Malignaggi seemed to have done enough to win the fight the first time around but Juan Diaz was given the decision, just as Malignaggi predicted would happen. The first fight was in Diaz’ hometown of Houston, TX but the rematch will occur in Chicago this Saturday. The fight can be seen on HBO with coverage starting at 10:15 pm ET. The televised undercard includes Victor Ortiz vs. Antonio Diaz as well as the tape-delayed broadcast of Vitali Klitschko vs. Kevin Johnson.
Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi
Money Line: Diaz -140; Malignaggi +110
Juan Diaz, 35-2 (17 KOs), underwhelmed in the first fight with Paulie Malignaggi. He was seen as the aggressor going into the fight. Many thought he would be able to push the pace and keep moving forward against the slick-boxing yet soft-handed Malignaggi. Diaz came into the first fight a loser in two of his last three fights even though he looked good in losses to both Juan Manuel Marquez and Nate Campbell. Juan Diaz is still only 26 years old with a pedigree that seems to extend well beyond his years. He will need to use that experience to have a better performance against Malignaggi, even though Diaz was awarded the decision in the first fight. As Malignaggi predicted before the fight and also pointed out after the fight, it looked like a hometown decision and Paulie was nothing more than an opponent and never had a real chance to win.
Paulie Malignaggi, 26-3 (5 KOs), impressed a lot of people in his loss to Juan Diaz the first time around. He was able to outbox Diaz and used his jab well while circling Diaz. He needs to watch for Diaz cutting off the ring this time around but Malignaggi must be entering this fight with a lot of confidence. The fight was moved from Houston and Laurence Cole, maybe the worst referee of this generation, won’t be involved. The catch for Malignaggi this time around is that he will have no excuses for a loss. Paulie’s fightplan won’t differ much from the first time around. He’s a limited fighter that fights to his strengths well, but struggles when put into unfamiliar territory.
Staff Predictions
Trent: This is a tough fight to call. On one side, despite the bad decision, Paulie Malignaggi showed how to beat Juan Diaz. Diaz now has that information. He sees the blueprint and now has the time to prepare for Malignaggi’s gameplan. I really don’t see Malignaggi doing much different this time around. Malignaggi has the speed and boxing acumen to do it again. I expect this fight to be much closer on the scorecards, and yes, it will go to the scorecards. I expect Diaz to be more focused and better prepared this time around as he earns the decision. 116-112. Malignaggi will prove to be a hard target to hit but Diaz will catch up to him and win the fight based on clean, effective punching.
Corey: I was in the minority – though it wasn’t a huge disparity – that thought Juan Diaz deserved the decision win he got against Paulie Malignaggi in August. Yes, one card was off the mark, but I saw Diaz winning a close fight not because he did more damage necessarily but because he landed the flashier punches to carry enough close rounds in his margin. While Malignaggi fought one of the best fights of his career last time out, Diaz looked discouraged at several junctures and still managed to pull out the decision. I don’t know that Malignaggi can be much better than he was in the first fight, and, for that reason, I’m going with Diaz to do it again with a close but comfortable enough decision, 116-112.
