By Jake Donovan

Former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi spent all week talking of how the deck was stacked against him heading into Saturday’s fight with Juan Diaz at the Toyota Center in Diaz’ hometown of Houston, Texas.

His worst fears were confirmed by night’s end, when a nip-and-tuck affair in the eyes of many somehow turned into a lopsided decision for Diaz in the HBO-televised main event.

Scores were 115-113, 116-112 and an absurd 118-110 in a bout that was fought at a contracted catchweight limit of 138 ½ lb.

Both fighters fought according to the script in the opening round, with Diaz looking for a war while Malignaggi used speed and movement to neutralize the attack. The plan worked greatly in the Brooklynite’s favor, throwing more than 100 punches in the round and tripling Diaz’ number of connects.

It wasn’t without its setbacks, however; an errant right hand by Diaz after the bell (which predictably went undetected by referee Laurence Cole) opened a cut over Malignaggi’s left eye. The blood motivated the hometown fighter, who came out roaring in the second, much to the delight of the crowd.

Chants of “Let’s Go Diaz” and simply “Diaz” filled the arena early and often, with no love whatsoever shown to the road team. Diaz was able to turn a boxing match into a phone booth’s distance, landing right hands and also raking Malignaggi to the body.  That’s not to say Diaz was the only one landing; Malignaggi got in his licks, returning the favor from the earlier round in opening a cut directly over Diaz’ left eyelid.

Malignaggi landed a combination to start the third, but you wouldn’t know it by the crowd’s deafening silence. The reaction was just the opposite whenever Diaz landed, which he did moments later with an overhand right. Malignaggi remained the busier fighter, but with well-placed punches, including left hooks to the body.

The difference in power between the two fighters surfaced for the first time in the fourth round. Malignaggi began the round jabbing, but it was a left hook from Diaz that drew a round of “ooh’s” from the crowd. A follow-up left hook drew another roar and also momentarily wobbled Malignaggi, who eventually regained his legs and his senses well before rounds end.

Diaz suffered a second cut in the fifth, though confusion over what exactly caused it. The initial ruling was an elbow, which would’ve been the result of a forearm shove from Malignaggi, who drew a warning from referee Laurence Cole. But at the start of the sixth, the ruling was an accidental headbutt, though never confirmed when it landed.

In between was some decent two way action. Malignaggi returned to lateral movement to avoid the incoming while darting in and out behind jabs and body shots. Diaz struggled to cut off the ring, but made Malignaggi pay whenever he was able to corner him.

A similar pattern played out in the sixth, though a round that ended with a visit from the ringside physician into the Diaz corner.

Meanwhile in the opposite corner, Malignaggi’s corner was adamant in their fighter avoiding an inside fight. The former junior welterweight titlist followed the instructions in its most literal form, circling around the outside for the first half of the round. Diaz put an end to that by cutting off the ring and landing first to the body then bringing it upstairs.

Wardrobe malfunctions threatened to become an issue for Malignaggi for the second time in his past four fights. Sixteen months after dealing with an untangled weave, Malignaggi had to fight much of the eighth with his trunks threatening to fall to his knees.

The shorts were back around his waist in the ninth, but now had to contend with Diaz’ hooks wrapping around his noggin. Malignaggi tried to keep it on the outside, but wasn’t landing with enough conviction to consistently keep Diaz at bay.

Neither fighter showed signs of fatigue as the rounds reached double-digits, despite a fast pace applied by both combatants throughout. Malignaggi rediscovered his range, popping jabs from the outside while circling to his left and avoiding nearly all of the incoming.

Trainer Ronnie Shields advised Diaz to relax as the fight went into the eleventh, while Malignaggi’s corner encouraged their charge to continue with the jab and target Diaz’ sliced-up eyelid. Malignaggi did just that, though with a variety of punches while relying on footwork and head movement to avoid Diaz’ pressure.

With the fight seemingly slipping away, Diaz looked more and more clueless as to how to close the gap, or the show. He tried to make up for lost time in the final round, flying off of his stool and going on the attack. Malignaggi was undeterred, riding out the brief storm before returning to the jab and superior footwork, while Diaz was aggressive but largely ineffective as the round and the fight came to a close.

A round of boos echoed throughout the arena as Malignaggi’s corner hoisted him in the air, while the mounting of Diaz on his handler’s shoulders was met with a raucous cheer.

Cheers came about when the scores were announced, though a more unbiased observer would’ve turned nauseous over a disgustingly one-sided verdict turned in by the three judges.

Who won the fight should’ve been open to debate, but none in the eyes of two of the three judges. Raul Caiz Sr had it 115-113 for Diaz, the exact opposite score of HBO’s unofficial judge, Harold Lederman (as well as Boxingscene.com’s view from the tube scorecard).

David Sutherland, who completely missed the boat in the opening bout between Daniel Jacobs and Ishe Smith, had it one round further at 116-112. Gale Van Hoye, one of the officials over whom Malignaggi singled out as a traditionally homer judge, validated the conspiracy theory with a misguided 118-110 in favor of Diaz, who improves to 35-2 (17KO).

The win is Diaz’ first since his brutal knockout loss against Juan Manuel Marquez in the year’s leading Fight of the Year contender this past February. Diaz requested a rematch with Marquez moments after the win here.

Malignaggi’s request had nothing to do with a next opponent, or if there will even be a next fight in his career. The Brooklynite spent the entire post-fight interview understandably pissed off, calling out the sport in general, but the Texas commission in particular, one whom deserves to come under fire after reneging on its promise to give Malignaggi a fair shake.

The end result is two losses in his last three fights, as Malignaggi dips to 26-3 (5KO). He was upset his with his last loss, an 11th round stoppage against Ricky Hatton in a fight where then-trainer Buddy McGirt jumped on the ring apron to stop the fight. Malignaggi, who split with the trainer soon thereafter (though not over that isolated incident), mentioned after the fight that he felt he was better than getting stopped in that fashion.

All week long, he shouted to the mountain tops that he deserved better treatment than was offered heading into this fight – giving into the weight, location, purse offer, ring size and eventually the referee and judges for the fight.

In the end, Golden Boy Promotions and the Texas Boxing Commission clearly felt otherwise.

WELL-TRAVELED TITLE LANDS AROUND GUERRERO’S WAIST

The most oft-traveled alphabet title in boxing once again changes hands, as Robert Guerrero earned his third career championship with a unanimous decision over Malcolm Klassen in the televised co-feature.

Scores were 117-111, 116-113 and 116-112.

Guerrero, 128, Gilroy, CA boxed superbly in the opening four rounds, proving to be a difficult target for the defending titlist to cleanly catch.

Klassen, 129, South Africa, picked up the pace in the middle rounds, enjoying a strong fifth round when Guerrero offered less movement. The two fighters appeared to trade rounds from that point until the championship rounds, when Guerrero ramped it up to finish strong.

The thought process in the Klassen camp heading into the fight was that he needed a knockout in order to win against a Golden Boy fighter on a Golden Boy show in his first ever fight outside of his native South Africa.

However, his slow start and unwillingness to let his hands go down the stretch proved to be the difference between leaving with his title intact and his new status as an ex-champion. It also helped that Guerrero more than doubled his opponent’s punch output, throwing 1,200 punches over the course of the 12-round bout, though only landing 16% of his punches.

Still, it was enough in the end to earn his third tour as a major title after separate reigns at featherweight. Guerrero moved up in weight earlier this year after signing with Golden Boy Promotions following a near-year long layoff while waiting out a litigation hearing in ultimately successful efforts to break free from former promoter Goossen Tutor Promotions.

The bout was his fourth of 2009, though most notable among the lot prior to this one was his two-round No-Decision with Daud Cino Yordan. Guerrero was slammed by the media for bowing out of the fight after suffering a cut over his eye due to a clash of heads in the second round of a homecoming fight in the Bay Area.

A touch of redemption was offered tonight with a well-balanced performance, though also once again faced with adversity when a clash of heads left him with a cut outside of his left eye in the seventh round.

Guerrero improves to 25-1-1 with the win.

Klassen falls to 24-5-2 (15KO), snapping a five-fight win streak. The bout was the lone defense of the title he won just four months ago, with his two separate reigns totaling just 9 ½ months, neither of which resulted in a single successful title defense.

The belt in which he entered the ring has made its way around the waist of more than a few junior lightweights in the past decade. Ever since Diego Corrales gave up the crown in 2000, no fighter has managed more than one successful defense of the belt, having changed hands 12 times in that span. The belt remained stuck in South Africa for the past three years, albeit in the hands of five separate claimants.

JACOBS OUTLASTS SMITH FOR DECISION WIN

Middleweight prospect Daniel Jacobs remained unbeaten after his unanimous decision win over Ishe Smith in the televised opener.

Scores of 96-93 (2x) by Raul Caiz Sr and Gale Van Hoye were indicative of the ten-round fight that took place. The scorecard of 100-89 should serve as a red flag that David Sutherland needs to stick to his day job.

There seemed to be little threat of Jacobs losing the fight, but quite a bit of the new penny shine was removed in an uneven performance against a naturally smaller fighter.

Jacobs, 159 ¾, Brooklyn NY, was the much busier fighter, throwing 888 punches, but only connecting on 29% overall. He was credited with landing more power punches than Smith, but few were thrown with mean intentions.

The opposite turned out to be true for Smith, 159, Las Vegas, Nevada. His punches were thrown with much greater conviction, including a sequence where he momentarily had Jacobs on rubber legs late in the fifth round. But as has been the case in previous career losses, Smith’s greatest Achilles heel was allowing himself to be outworked, to where his heavier punches alone weren’t enough to make a difference.

While entertaining in spots, the fight was also ugly at times and occasionally outside of the rules. Referee Laurence Cole struggled to keep order in the ring, with several exchanges taking place after the bell. Smith was docked a point for such infraction after the ninth round, in which he began a combination at the bell but with the right hand landing late.

The point proved to be moot, particularly on the embarrassing scorecard turned in by David Sutherland. Nevertheless, the right guy won in the end, as Jacobs advances to 18-0 (15KO). The win is his fifth of 2009, with this fight marking the first time in his young career that the 22-year old was extended ten rounds.

Smith falls to 21-4 (9KO), though giving a respectable account of himself in defeat.

The show was presented by Golden Boy Promotions.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .