Paul Malignaggi To Retire From Boxing?

GL: Can you give us some thoughts on your performance with Ricky Hatton and tell us what went wrong? "I'm not a guy who likes to make a lot of excuses and I want to give Ricky a lot of credit. He did a good job on Saturday night and he won the fight. A lot of me thinks I just couldn't get off. People want to say it's because Ricky gave me new looks. At the end of the day it wasn't a different Ricky Hatton, I think after the last surgery I haven't gotten over it physchologically and that's why I wasn't throwing my hands. I think it's something that I'm going to have to get over if I plan to continue fighting." GL: Does this mean there was no problem with your right hand, which for whatever the reason you weren't throwing at all? Paul Malignaggi: "There was no problem with the right hand, but I fought like there was. Obviously this is a bad physchological problem here and it surfaced during the biggest fight of my career. A lot of it could have to do with the fact that I broke it back in May and this was my first fight since that particular fight, but the point is, I had a great camp. With big gloves on, I have no problem throwing my right hand. With the little gloves on, the doubts start to surface in my head and I don't expect anybody to understand it. I don't want anybody to feel bad for me, I ain't asking nobody to feel bad for me, I just know how I feel after having four surgeries on the same limb like I have. I didn't think this would happen, but it did." GL: Your initial reaction to the stoppage was obvious after watching the fight on television. Has your position changed at all? PM: "Not at all. The fight was obviously wasn't going my way. I wasn't getting off and I understand that I was not going to win the fight. But at the end of the day I'm better than getting stopped. You don't stop a Paulie Malignaggi fight unless it's being stopped by the referee or the doctor or if I'm knocked out cold. There's just no need to stop the fight, I'm better than getting stopped. I understand this was the worst performance of my career, and I believe a lot of it has to do with the physchological issues of me not throwing my hand, but still, you don't stop the fight." GL: Are you and Buddy on the same page again? PM: "Buddy's whole thing was he wanted me to fight another day, but there was really no difference from round 7 to round 11. If they were going to stop the fight they might as well have stopped it in the fifth round, because it was the same thing going on every round. In round eleven you might as well let me finish the fight. Ricky is not a big puncher and he wasn't punching as hard later in the fight as he was earlier and he's not a big puncher to begin with. I was never in any danger. I've had fights where I've won and had headaches, this one I had no headache, my face is almost all cleared up already and I didn't take a lot of damage. There was not a lot of action in the fight and I fougt a terrible fight. I didn't fight the fight I wanted to fight, but there was no need to stop the fight." GL: Why were you holding so much? PM: "I just couldn't get off man, I couldn't get off. I figured, if I can't get off I might as well have stayed on the inside. I held more than Ricky did and it's ****ing shameful for me to even say that. One thing I did find out in the fight is that I'm physically stronger than Ricky, which would have really been a pleasant surprise had I been able to be sharp on the outside like I wanted to be." GL: So comparing Hatton and Cotto, Cotto was a diferent animal in terms of strength? PM: "Yeah. But I don't want to knock Hatton because he did his job and he's a great guy with a bunch of great people of him. He did a fantastic job on Saturday night, but Miguel Cotto was the better fighter. I left the ring with Miguel Cotto thinking, damn even if I was at my best it would be a tough fight to beat this guy. With Ricky Hatton I didn't feel that way, I feel like I cheated myself out of performing my best and it's probably something I'm going to be kicking myself in the ass over for the rest of my life." GL: Does Paulie Malignaggi ever see another fight of this magnitude with these physchological issues? PM: "There's no reason for me to hold the right hand back, but how many fighters do you really know who got this far after four surgeries? I have to sit back and after the Holiday's figure out what I want to do. Not only might not I see a fight of this magnitude, I might never step into a boxing ring again. If I don't feel like I can get over this hump, there's no need for me to fight anymore." GL: Does it bother you that the commentators made you look as more of a manufactured product than a champion worthy of million dollar payday? PM: "Yeah. I haven't watched the broadcast yet, but I've been hearing all about it. What do you expect though? Larry Merchant has never been punched in his face though, so I don't expect somebody like Larry Merchant to understand the issues a fighter can have after four surgeries on the same hand, I really don't. The guy is basically a geek, so there's no way for him to understand." GL: Do you feel like you have more to give the sport? PM: "I don't know. Like I said, that's something that I'm going to have to take the Holiday's to decide. At this point in time my legacy is I lost the two biggest fights of my career and I'm not sure I'll be able to get to another fight like that, so we'll wait and see what happens. I'm not busy anymore, I doubt myself before I throw combinations and these issues have gotten worse with each surgery." GL: Did Hatton hurt you in the second round? PM: "The second round was the only time he hurt me. I recovered quickly, but I was hurt. I won't deny it." GL: Closing thoughts? PM: "I want to thank ********** for the interview. I'm not sure what's going to happen with the rest of my career, if there is a rest of my career." Source Boxing talk