By
Bill Phanco: WBA World welterweight champion
Paulie Malignaggi is in need of an opponent after his desired rematch against big British star Ricky Hatton fell through due to Hatton getting blasted out by Vyacheslav Senchenko last Saturday night in the UK. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is now looking at picking out Malignaggi’s next opponent from one of these fighters: Danny Garcia, Amir Khan, Andre Berto, and Adrien Broner, according to RingTV.
Malignaggi, 32, wants a big name for his next title defense and this may be his last chance to get a big name before gets beaten. Malignaggi almost lost his title in his last fight against fringe contender Pablo Cesar Cano, who Malignaggi barely beat by a 12 round decision last October in a 12 round split decision win. That fight showed that Malignaggi is vulnerable even against fringe level opposition, and that puts more pressure on Schaefer to try and get the biggest name he can because Malignaggi is so vulnerable.
Khan: He’s already beaten Malignaggi and Khan has his own problems right now having lost twice in a row.
Berto: This is winnable fight for Malignaggi but not an easy one because of Berto’s superior power. This wouldn’t be big fight for Malignaggi.
Garcia: This would be a decent fight but it would be a really dangerous one for Malignaggi and he could get hurt in losing to Garcia. Malignaggi doesn’t have the power or the skills to win Garcia’s respect. This fight could end very badly for Malignaggi, and he might not get the big payday that he was hoping to get against Hatton.
Broner: By far this is the best option available for Malignaggi if he wants to attract fan interest and have a possible chance of winning. It’s doubtful that Malignaggi can hang with a fighter like Broner because of his immense talent, but with Broner moving up two entire divisions to make the fight happen, it would give Malignaggi a better chance than he would have against Garcia.
