Diaz v. Malignaggi: Round by Round

Here comes the main event between Juan Diaz versus Paulie Malignaggi. There has been some controversy building up to this fight. Malignaggi has complained that "the deck is stacked" in favor of Diaz. Diaz is from Houston, TX and got 3 out of the 4 hometown officials for the fight. Harold Leaderman says that Malignaggi has every right to be upset because there is usually 1 hometown official for each fighter plus 2 other neutral officials. We'll see how the officiating plays out.

Malignaggi has dedicated his fight to Gatti and entered the ring to Thunderstruck by ACDC.

Malignaggi gets welcomed by some expected boo's. The crowd goes wild for Diaz.

Here we go.

Round 1

Diaz, as expected, comes right forward. The magic man looks lighting-fast. He clocks Diaz with some great jabs. He now lands a good flurry. Diaz continues to come forward and tries to get inside. Diaz throws 2 straight lefts. Malignaggi gets against the ropes but slips away. Malignaggi is fighting very well, sticking to the jab and keeping Diaz away. Malignaggi is using some great upper-body movement as well. Diaz is still trying to figure out how to handle Malignaggi's speed. Diaz lands a good counter left. Good round for Malignaggi.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 2

Diaz comes right forward again this time landing a good right hand. Now Diaz puts his punches together and lands his best combo of the night. Malignaggi sticks out his tongue to taunt him. Paulie lands a straight right hand. A cut has opened over the left eye of Malignaggi. Diaz lands a huge left eye and a hook to the body. This has been a great round for Diaz thus far. Diaz gets inside again and lands a double-left. Diaz lands a left to the body and Malignaggi comes back with a right hand. Now a cut has opened over the left eye of Diaz.

Spartan117: 10-9 Diaz

Round 3

The cut is right on the eyelid of Diaz which could cause some major problems. I didn't see any clash of heads and neither did the ref. The Magic Man catches Diaz coming forward with two great straights. Malignaggi uses his reach and keeps Diaz at a distance again. He knocks him off balance with a good right hand again. Paulie's jab is working overtime. Diaz barely misses with a good left hand. The two clinch and Diaz frantically tries to punch out of it. Malignaggi is the busier fighter but Diaz is getting him with some good power shots.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 4

Paulie keeps the footwork going and lands two great left hand. Diaz catches him with a left hook. Malignaggi lands two more lightning-fast jabs. Diaz rocks him with a right hand that looked to stun Malignaggi. This has been Diaz's best round so far. He landing some great power shots but Malignaggi is taking it well. Diaz is pawing at his cut. Diaz's cut is getting worse and the blood is pouring into that eye. Let's see what his cutman can do between the rounds.

Spartan117: 10-9 Diaz

Round 5

Malignaggi gets in trouble with the ref for pushing Diaz away. No warning yet. The two fight in close quarters now. Diaz continues to land more on the inside. Diaz lands a 3-punch combo. The crowd is going crazy for even blocked punches from Diaz. Diaz is really going to town with the left hook. Malignaggi gets a second warning for pushing with the elbow but I don't remember warning number 1. Malignaggi lands a great right hand and the blood pours again from Diaz's eye.

Spartan117: 10-9 Diaz

Round 6

There is a different cut over the same eye for Diaz that's causing even more problems for Diaz. The cut is said to be caused by an accidental headbutt. Malignaggi is fighting well again and is honing in on that cut. Diaz is fighting with some urgency now and knows that the fight could be stopped at any time because of that cut. Diaz tries to work the body now and Malignaggi gets a few right uppercuts in there. Diaz gets 2 left hands in that knocks Malignaggi back. Paulie sticks with the jab. Diaz lands a good left hand right before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 7

A doctor comes in to take a look at the cuts over the eye of Diaz. The doc says that he can keep fighting. Diaz tries to get inside again but misses with some wide punches. Malignaggi goes back from the jab. His trainer is telling him to stay away from fighting on the inside. He seems to be listening well and has a lot of success when he's keeping Diaz back with the jab. Diaz gets inside again and shows some great body work. Paulie keeps throwing the jab. Close round but I call it for Diaz.

Spartan117: 10-9 Diaz

Round 8

Paulie comes right out and throws the jabs. Diaz lands a left to the body. Malignaggi hasn't been throwing his right nearly enough and that's the punch that would be landing on the cut. Diaz gets Paulie against the ropes but the Magic Man slips away again. Malignaggi lands a good combo. Diaz gets inside again. Malignaggi's trunks are falling off. There's a lot going on on his trunks too: All kins of crazy tassels etc. Despite the trunks distraction he still fought well.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 9

Diaz is clearly landing the more damaging punches but Malignaggi is staying busy. The Magic Man is now letting his right hand go with occasional success. Some of Malignaggi's braids are coming loose now from punches. This has been a great round for Diaz. He's been getting inside and landing some great hooks to the body and the head. Malignaggi keeps the jab coming though.

Spartan117: 10-9 Diaz

Round 10

Diaz is chasing The Magic Man around the ring. Now the two square off in the center and trade shots. That was some of the best action in the fight. Malignaggi lands a jab followed by a great right uppercut. Paulie is yelling something over to the commentators. I'm not quite sure what he's saying but he should certainly focus on Diaz. Now Malignaggi is getting into a shouting match with someone in press row as he walks back to his corner.

Spartan117: 10-9 Diaz

Round 11

Diaz is trying to get on the inside but Malignaggi is staying with his quick jabs. Good straight right hand from Malignaggi. His speed has not diminished. Paulie is still having trouble with his trunks. This has been a better round for Malignaggi. It will be interesting to see how this pans out on the scorecards. A lot of these rounds have been extremely close. The ref stops the action to pull up Malignaggi's trunks, something I've never seen happen in all of my years watching boxing.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Round 12

Harold Leaderman has Malignaggi up by 3 rounds. I think he may be compensating, being from New York. The two fight with all of their heart for the last round. Diaz gets some good hooks in and Malignaggi comes right back and lands a great flurry. Blood is coming down the left side of Diaz's face. Malignaggi isn't stopping. He's moving extremely well and landing some crazy-fast punches. This will be a very difficult round to score now as Diaz lands a handful of hard hooks to the body and head. They trade punches to end the fight.

Spartan117: 10-9 Malignaggi

Spartan117: 114-114

The judges score the bout 116-112, 115-113, 118-110 all for the winner by unanimous decision Juan "The Baby Bull" Diaz

The HBO team comments on the 118-110 scorecard and say that that score is inexcusable and certainly bias. In the post-fight interview Diaz says that he answered all of his critics and showed that he can fight with a cut. He says he has a lot to learn and is looking forward to get back in the gym and work on some things. He says that he wants a rematch with Marquez no matter how his fight with Mayweather ends up.

Malignaggi is fired up in the post-fight interview. He yells at the crowd and at Max Kellerman and says that "he knew he would have to deal with this" and adds that "Texas has never given anyone a fair fight when someone comes to Houston". The Magic Man says that he knows he'll never get the rematch he deserves and adds that it's "not fair that Diaz gets to call out the winner of the Mayweather-Marquez fight but I have to be hoped that I get picked as someone's opponent". He yells that "boxing is bullshit" and that he "used to love this sport" but now "can't stand it".

Posted by spartan117