By Francisco Salazar

So what did we learn from Saturday’s bout between Paul Malignaggi and Adrien Broner?

Can we take away the fact that Broner did not follow through on his promise of a knockout over Malignaggi?

Can we take away that Malignaggi proved a lot of people wrong, remaining on his legs and not on his back through 12 rounds?

Or that the fight was surprisingly close than people expected?

Whatever it is, Malignaggi proved that he is still a relevant fighter in the welterweight division. At least for one more fight.

Despite the split-decision loss he suffered before 11,461 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY to Broner, Malignaggi was still fuming to anyone who would listen to him.

“I outworked him throughout the fight,” said Malignaggi, who lost his WBA welterweight title belt. “It came down to work ethic and the pace that I carried throughout the fight.”

“I’m the defending world champion and I don’t think he did enough to take the title from me, especially since I’m fighting in my hometown. I was the defending champion.”

Fair enough. Although the consensus around press row was that Broner won a close fight. krikya360.com scored the bout 116-112 for Broner, although there were a few close rounds.

Those rounds featured Malignaggi outlanding Broner. However, Broner landed the more-telling blows, starting in the fourth round, especially with the right hand.

One has to note that while Broner won the fight, absent was the punching power that ended his last six fights in a row prior to the Malignaggi fight.

While Malignaggi’s camp rumbled about a rematch, Broner felt that the Malignaggi boat has sailed and is looking at potential fights in the future.

“He couldn’t hit me,” said Broner, who first won a world title belt at 130 pounds. “He kept running from me and I had to cut the ring off. All he was doing was shadow-boxing. I came into his hometown and took his title and his girl.”

“(Because) I do this for the fans, I will let the fans choose my next opponent. Whoever my fans put in front of me with the highest percentage is who I will fight.”

One opponent Broner and Golden Boy Promotions mentioned as a possible opponent was Marcos Maidana, who earlier this month stopped Josesito Lopez in Carson, CA. While Broner may have speen to his advantage, Maidana could take a punch and hits hard.

It would be a good match-up, along with other welterweights in the division. Broner also has options should he drop down to 140 pounds.

Regardless of the outcome on Saturday night, both fighters did not live up to their pre-fight hype. However, the boxing world and fans still enjoyed a meaningful fight.