Malignaggi-Moscatiello in Play, Branco is Out
Dec 7, 2015 • 2:45 AM ET
By Per Ake Persson
It appears that Gianluca Branco´s defense of the EBU welterweight title on December 12 versus Paulie Malignaggi is off. No official reason was given, but Branco informed the EBU that he was bypassing the fight.
According to the EBU, the champion will next face mandatory challenger Leonard Bundu and the sanctioning body will open purse bids on December 29 at noon.
The 45-year-old Branco has not fought since winning the title in November of last year.
Malignaggi (34-7, 7KOs) has confirmed to BoxingScene.com that he will still see action on the show, which takes place at the O2 Arena in London. The card is topped by a heavyweight explosion between unbeaten contenders Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
Malignaggi's new opponent is slated to be welterweight Antonio Moscatiello (20-2-1, 14KOs) of Italy. Moscatiello has not lost since 2012 and picked up a win as recently as a month ago. He challenged Bundu for the EBU title in 2012, which the champion won by knockout in the fifth.
