By Rick Reeno

One of the fastest rising prospects in the junior welterweight division is finally making his return from a serious hand injury suffered last December. Paulie Malignaggi, nicknamed the "Magic Man", is set to face Jeremy Yelten on Lou DiBella's August 25th event in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. Malignaggi, a slick boxer with an unblemished record (19-0, 5KOs), has been able to make up for his lack of knockouts with his abundance of charisma. The verbal skills of Malignaggi have made him a fighter that some fans love and others hate.

Most fans are not aware that Malignaggi has an impressive amateur background to go hand in hand with his pro career. He ended his amateur career with an impressive 40-9 record. Some of Malignaggi's amateur achievements include the 1998 Golden Gloves Championship, the 2001 Golden Gloves Championship, the 2001 United States Championship, the 2000 Empire State Championship, the 2000 Mayor’s Cup Championship and the bronze medal winner in the National P.A.L. Championship. 

BoxingScene sat down with Malignaggi to discuss his future opponents, the top junior welterweights and his overall plan for his career.

BoxingScene.com: The boxing public has not seen you in the ring in almost eight months, your last fight was against Sandro Casomonica last December.

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah, on the undercard of Jermain Taylor- William Joppy card. Last time I fought was on the Taylor-Joppy card and now Taylor is the middleweight champion of the world.

BoxingScene.com: You suffered an injury to your hand during that fight.

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah, I had surgey two weeks after that fight.

BoxingScene.com: You return to the ring on August 25th at the Hammersten Ballroom in New York against Jeremy Yelton. How long have you been training for the fight?

Paulie Malignaggi: I just found the opponent I found out I was fighting him about ten days ago. I've been training in the gym since I got my cast taken off in February. I’ve been in camp since June 12th. I’ve been training pretty hard the last couple of months.

BoxingScene.com: Is the fight going to take place at 140 pounds?

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah, he's listed as a junior middleweight, but the contract calls for 140 pounds.

BoxingScene.com: The guy has fought his last couple of fights at the junior middleweight level, but he never beat one fighter with a winning record.

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah exactly

BoxingScene.com: He has never fought any fighter in your league

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah exactly, but it's the type of fight that it is. I need to make sure my hand is ok and get back into the rhythm of things. He is that kind of an opponent.

BoxingScene.com: He may try and go for broke in the first round, he may look at you as a smaller fighter and try to get lucky.

Paulie Malignaggi: I hope he tries to win. When a guy doesn’t try to win it can make you look bad. People are looking forward to me coming back. I like a guy that comes and tries to win because I can showcase all of my talents. A guy that comes in and tries to survive just holds on.

BoxingScene.com: Dmitriy Salita, another top junior welterweight prospect is featured on the same card. You two guys have been friends since the amateurs.

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah, we went away together and actually roomed together for some of the tournaments.

BoxingScene.com: I'm sure you two have had talks about the subject. If things keep going the way they are going, you two may meet in the ring down the line.

Paulie Malignaggi: Yeah, that's probably the plan later on, but right now we are trying to solidify ourselves as top junior welterweight contenders. When the time is right and if the money is right. If the fight is what the public demands we can do it. We are friends, we have sparred before and when we are in the ring, competition is competition. We both have a similar goal and we both want to be the best. Eventually it will come down to that, but right now we are trying solidifying our status and our climb to the top.

BoxingScene.com: When the time comes to take a step up in competition, who would you like to face as a step up in class?

Paulie Malignaggi: We have been talking about that, throwing around some names. Guys like Ben Tackie, Lovemore N'Dou, DeMarcus Corley, all kinds of names like that. I should be going right into that mix in two fights or so. I just came back, once I have a few fights I would like to fight any of those guys. We were even talking about Gianluca Branco but he's fighting Miguel Cotto in September. Any of those guys could be a lead into a title fight. 140 is stacked with talent, but not all of those champions are untouchable. Mayweather is the best one. I don’t think much of Miguel Cotto, I don’t care what anyone tells me. I did a few interviews and I think Miguel Cotto will be the best matchup for me as far as a title fight. We can do it in New York, all the Puerto Ricans will show up and I can draw in New York. We do it in Madison Square Garden. It can be a big promotion. A lot of people have been calling me about what I’ve been saying about Cotto. Yeah I said stuff about Cotto, yeah I said I can beat Miguel Cotto. When we get in the ring I'm going to beat Cotto.

I don’t care what anyone is saying or what anyone thinks, I’m going to beat Cotto. Right now the time is not right for Cotto, in a year it will be. 

BoxingScene.com: Cotto is getting a lot slack from getting rocked in his fight with Corley.

Paulie Malignaggi: Exactly, that is the exact point I’m trying to make here. Corley was the first boxer/slick mover that Cotto faced in his entire career. Top Rank knows that they have to keep him in the ring with guys that are flat-footed and stand in front of him. That's why right after that fight they got Mohammad Abdullaev, now they got Branco. These guys are not movers, they are not boxers. They tried to experiment by throwing him in with Corley, they thought he was shot enough to fight and they almost got their experiment knocked out. In his whole career Corley was the first boxer/mover that he faced and he almost paid the price. When me and Cotto fight, it will be much different then the Corley fight. I'm bringing everything, I’m bringing the youth, the speed, the movement and the talent. 

BoxingScene.com: People are going to say that your knockout ratio is low, a guy like Cotto must be backed up with power or else you wont be able to keep him off of you.

Paulie Malignaggi: I expect that kind of criticism. Like I said before, a lot of these herbs aka writers, who are they to criticize fighters. I’ve fought with a hurt hand for almost my entire career, I have not been able to load up my right hand. I've had to go to plan B, C and D to win fights by boxing, coasting and cruising. People said they haven’t seen the power of Paulie Malignaggi yet, I haven’t seen the power of Paulie Malignaggi yet. I don’t even know how strong I am right now. When I come back and test my right, people can then judge what kind of power Paulie Malignaggi has. The knockouts I have, people have gone to sleep. It has happened more then once, people have gone down cold. Miguel Cotto has no chin. He can walk into a punch and be hurt. I’m a fighter that sets you up and goes behind the speed. He can’t fight boxers, he cant fight boxers and Paulie Malgnaggi will beat Miguel Cotto if he is still around in a year. I promise you that, I will be there in a year. 

BoxingScene.com: He puts on a lot of weight between the time he is weighed and the fight. What if he comes into the fight weighing as much as a middleweight as the case in the Corley fight?

Paulie Malignaggi: I really don't care, it won’t matter. I put on 10-12 pounds myself. He will outweigh me by maybe 5-10 pounds, let him get the extra pounds. He will still be slow. My hand speed compared to his hand speed gives new meaning to the word slow. In about a year my hand will be 100%. With the screws I have in my hand it can’t be broken again, my doctor told me that. There will be some power mixed in with the speed and it will make fighters think "I need to figure something out, because I'm in some sh*t now."

BoxingScene.com: It's a lot harder to win the rounds then it is to take a guy out in one round.

Paulie Malignaggi: Of course, I don’t train to knock guys out. I train to go the distance and win the fight. Of course it’s a much easier night when you knock a guy out early. This is boxing and I'm come prepared to win by any means. If I cant get the knockout then I will get away with an easy night of boxing. A lot of guys have gotten of the hook because I wasn’t able to step up my power and put them away. I should have at least double the amount of knockouts on my record. I remember a few times when I had back off and win the fight with my boxing skill and my jab instead of finishing the guys off. It's a lot easier said then done.

I know talk is cheap. I talk a lot and people are getting mad that I talk too much, but they are right, talk is cheap. I will show the people my actions. Actions speak louder then words and the actions are coming. I’ve been injured a lot, I’ve had two surgeries in the last three years. I think I would be a top player in the division and making the big money if I wasn’t injured. But the injuries might have been a blessing in disguise, I got to work on a few things in the gym, I learned new things in the times I had off. I’m now back better then ever.

BoxingScene.com: I know you train a lot in the world famous Gleason’s Gym located in Brooklyn, New York. Who are some of the big names that you sparred with in the gym that most of public may not know about.

Paulie Malignaggi: Over the years, I’ve been in Gleason’s since I was 16. I sparred with Kevin Kelly, Arturo Gatti, and Junior Jones. I don’t want people to think I was boxing featherweights, I was a lot smaller back then. I was 16-17 years old, I was a feather weight myself. Obviously Vivian Harris, Ive sparred more rounds with him then anybody else. Frankie Toledo, I sparred with him once when he was in there. There are so many I can’t remember from over the years, but I boxed a lot of champions and quality contenders in the game. It's a good experience. People think I haven’t been in there with anyone, my opponents come to win, and you just have to watch the fights. You have to watch fights and see the fighters coming to win by their facial reactions. In the gym Ive sparred with many world class fighters so I know I can handle myself. I know I can throw down. It's just about showing it to the general public. I haven’t been able to stay busy because of my injuries, all they hear is my mouth and don’t get to see me fight. 

Paulie Malignaggi: I know people are getting annoyed, but the actions are coming. Ive had injuries and Ive had to take care of them. Ive boxed with the best, Ive been in with the best in the gym. I do my thing boxing wise, conditioning wise. When I come back I will show everyone.

BoxingScene.com: How many more times do you expect or want to fight this year?

Paulie Malignaggi: We have already have a date set up in November with Al Gonzalez. Don't get me wrong the guy is a bum, but it’s gotten so deep on a personal level that this punk has to be taken care of. I can be going on to bigger names, but I have to make a pitstop and slap Al Gonzalez around.

BoxingScene.com: I would assume that next year would be your target year to step up the class of competition?

Paulie Malignaggi: Yes 06 is the year, from the begging to the end. By the end of 06 I will be a world champion. 

BoxingScene.com: Are you looking to get on television more in order to get the proper exposure to draw interest for the big fights?

Paulie Malignaggi: The November fight will be on ShoBox and we are trying to work an HBO date for my first fight of next year. HBO wants me, I’m not your usual prospect. HBO is dying for a fighter like me, they want somebody that can draw attention whether it is negative or positive. I got the looks, I got the smile, I got the skills, HBO is dying for someone like me. People who think they are writers and these people who think they know everything, HBO is dying for someone like me. When I take care of Al Gonzalez, we are going to take on a caliber of opponent that HBO will want. I got the connections with Lou DiBella as my promoter and we will make the right steps to do that. There will be a lot of interest drawn. 

BoxingScene.com: In the time you have been out, every major title in your division has changed hands in a span of a few months.

Paulie Malignaggi: You know you right, I didn’t even think of that. 

BoxingScene.com: The whole landscape has changed, who do you think is the best fighter out of the crop of champions?

Paulie Malignaggi: Mayweather is the best fighter in the world pound for pound, the weak link and I’m sure everyone will agree is Carlos Maussa. The problem with Maussa is that he probably wont be champion for very long. He won’t last long enough for me to fight. When I fight for a title I don’t Maussa will be there. Ricky Hatton is a good fighter but I’m not overly impressed with Ricky Hatton. He fights the way he does and he fights well, but I would rather not go to Manchester to fight for a world title. The Cotto fight makes sense, you have a quite humble guy in Cotto and a mouth in me. The promotion will be huge and HBO will love it. There would be interest now, but wait in year. I’m going to explode on the scene. Once I explode on the scene and keep winning fights, people won’t be able to stop talking about me. I keep breaking up a pattern by getting injured and going on the shelf, but now that I’m not going to get hurt and keep winning fights on a regular schedule of fighting, people will not be able to stop talking about me.

I don’t care if it’s bad or good, this isn’t a popularity contest. I don’t care if people like Paulie Malignaggi. They aren’t paying my bills, they aren’t hanging out with me, I can get more girls then any of them. I’m not talking about you Rick, all of these critics out here. I’m still here and I’m going to stay here. 

BoxingScene.com: Does it bother you that your name is not mentioned with the top prospects like Salita because of all the time out due to injuries. 

Paulie Malignaggi: You know what Rick, it doesn’t bother me. When I was fighting, I was the main prospect people were talking about. The same thing will happen again once I start fighting. When I was fighting, a guy like Mighty Mike Arnaoutis was way below me, nobody cared about him. If I would have stayed busy, nobody would have cared about him. He is a boring, ugly fighter. The same for these other guys, nobody can compare to the class that I got. I’m drawing attention the sport, but I have the drawing power. It may not always be positive drawing power, but I have the power in my hands. Once I start fighting again, the attention will be back on me.

BoxingScene.com: What do you think about some of the bouts being thrown around in the division among the top guys like Hatton and Mayweather? Between the promoters, the contracts and the countries, nobody can agree to the terms to make these fights.

Paulie Malignaggi: Because of those situations, a lot of these big fights will not be made. Hatton and Mayweather will not happen. Hatton will be one of those champions to stay around for a while because he will fight second rate opponents in his own country ala Joe Calzaghe and he can get away with that over there and still maintain the popularity that he has. Mayweather and Cotto should not even be mentioned in the same sentence. Mayweather down played Cotto and said that he will let him live because he is young. Mayweather would ruin Cotto if they fought. If Cotto couldn’t handle Corley as a boxer, Mayweather would destroy him. You can’t even talk about a fight like that, especially in the near future. A lot of politics will keep the big fights from happening.

BoxingScene.com: Are you worried that you may get signed to one of the networks and the network contract will dictate who you can and can’t fight?

Paulie Malignaggi: I plan on making sure that I’m not blocked by any of that. I’m not under contract with anyone right now. DiBella was with HBO and I don’t think that will be a problem once we start fighting HBO caliber of opponents. I’m not the type of fighter to get lost in the mix. In the end, TV will look for me more then I will look for TV. I look for TV, don’t get me wrong, but in the end TV is dying for someone like me. 

BoxingScene.com: If you can’t get a big fight for whatever reason, would you move up?

Paulie Malignaggi: No, some fight will come. I will win a world title at 140 and then move up to welterweight. There are a lot of top contenders in the division that can change the division, there are guys like Junior Witter, N'Dou is always in the mix. The only guy that is untouchable right now is Mayweather, everyone else can be beat. The whole scene may change by the time its my turn to fight for a world title. Hatton can get away with fighting second rate opponents, but the rest of these guys cant do that. 

BoxingScene.com: Do you see yourself moving up to light heavyweight to challenge Antonio Tarver for the "Magic Man" nickname?

Paulie Malignaggi: (laughing) No, I don't think that will happen, maybe Roy Jones will take care of him in September.

BoxingScene.com: What can the public expect from you in the future?

Paulie Malignaggi: Expect big things from Paulie Malignaggi. I know a lot of people want to see me get my face splattered and trust me, you will get plenty of opportunities because I'm here to stay. You will get plenty of opportunities as you sit on your couch with your girl and your box of popcorn. Your girl is telling you how hot I am and you hate me even more. Your going to go to sleep that night and say to yourself, "damn this kid won again". I have not even hit my full potential yet, I haven’t hit the tip of the iceberg. Two healthy hands now and the talent that I have is going to open up new doors that people have not seen yet. I'm up in camp right now and I’m putting away sparring partners left and right. They have to ship in sparring partners because I cleaned out the entire state of Massachusetts. We started with this camp and it will continue in the ring. Hate me or love me, you are always going to remember me.