By Mark Vester
On the undercard to Ricky Hatton-Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5KOs) retained his title with a split-decision over a game Lovemore Ndou (46-10, 31KOs).
The rematch was much closer than their first meeting last June. Malignaggi said that he broke his right hand in the sixth-round. Malignaggi started slow and the biggest problem in the fight was his hair. He was sporting long hair extensions and the braids were getting loose during most of the action and blinding his vision when the braids would swing around and cover his entire face.
Around the ninth-round, trainer Buddy McGirt had seen enough and cut Malignaggi's hair braids off in the corner. The scores were 115-114 Ndou, 116-112 and 116-113 for Malignaggi. He moves forward to a potential fight with Ricky Hatton in the fall. Malignaggi won't know how long his hand injury will keep him on the shelf until he sees a doctor back in America.
Full event review coming up later.
