By Joseph Herron – On Saturday, October 20th, “The Magic Man” Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs) defeated Pablo Cesar Cano (25-2-1, 19 KOs) by way of controversial split decision as part of a quadruple header, which was broadcast on Showtime Championship Boxing.
Although many have cited folly with the official fight verdict, the reigning WBA Welterweight Champion visited “The Pugilist KOrner” to share his insight into the twelve round contest and answer the fight critics who believe his opponent deserved the hard fought victory.
“First of all, Cano came to fight. I think Pablo Cano is a very good fighter and he has a bright future ahead of him,” stated Paulie Malignaggi. “I definitely think I won the fight, but I had to work hard for it.”
“Just by watching some of his fights before I stepped in the ring with him, I knew Cano wasn’t going to lay down for me. He has heavy hands and good technique, and he’s advanced for a 23 year old fighter.”
“But no matter how much he came at me, I always kept the fight in the middle of the ring. Trust me, that wasn’t his doing. If Pablo had his way, he would have fought me with my back against the ropes. Ringside judges score for effective aggression, not just aggression. But sometimes in boxing, in America especially, boxers don’t get as much credit as punchers in the eyes of the judges.”
“Sometimes I felt like Cano was just following me around in circles and wasn’t effective in cutting off the ring or shortening the distance, which is why my back was never touching the ropes. Cano landed the occasional right hand and he is very heavy handed, but a lot of his punches didn’t land cleanly. I rolled away from a lot of his shots and they hit me in the neck or on the shoulder.”
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