By Mike Coppinger
Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi feels re-energized by his move up to welterweight, his second bout at 147 a dominant 10-round victory over Jose Miguel Cotto in April. He returns on Bernard-Hopkins Chad Dawson undercard on October 15th at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The finalized opponent is Orlando Lora (28-1-1, 19KOs)
“I feel great. I still have to lose weight, I walk around at 165, 170. So, I still have to lose weight,” said the 30-year-old Malignaggi. “But just holding on to that extra seven pounds – even if it doesn’t translate into punching power, it translates into energy.”
“I feel more bounce in my legs, I feel more spunky in general.”
Malignaggi, who has two wins at welterweight since his one-sided defeat to Amir Khan last summer, feels he is primed for another significant fight.
“I think I’ve done enough now with these two wins to position myself for a pretty good fight next fight,” said Malignaggi, now promoted by Golden Boy. “I think outside of the Mayweathers and Pacquiaos in the welterweight division, I can match-up with anybody.
Malignaggi is also confident that his lack of power can be attributed to his brittle hands, which he reinjured in the Jose Cotto bout.
“I’m not going to tell you I punch like Tyson, or like Kirkland or any of these guys, but I will tell you one thing, having hurt hands forces me to be more economical with my combinations,” said Malignaggi. “By saving the hands, I throw less punches and I end up doing just enough to win the round instead of doing more and hurting guys and trying to put them out of their misery.”