Malignaggi:I'll be pulling for Hatton but honestly feel that Pac will beat him up &KO

The Old Malignaggi is Back - Paulie Malignaggi Interview Posted: 2009-04-30-23:00 By: Albert Alvarez - Paulie Malignaggi is out spoken, he is witty, and he is the kind of person that will bite his tongue for no one. Paulie Malignaggi may be a lot of things, you either love him or hate him there is no in between with Paulie. As boxing fans we only know them for being what they are in the ring. Outside of the ring, away from the sport most of us have absolutely no clue who or what these fighters really are. Most of us that follow the sport know about Paulie's multiple hand surgeries, Paulie the fighter could have kept it away from us, however Paulie the man outside the ring decided to let us inside for just a sneak peek of the pain and tough hard road a fighter goes through for himself and for us. Today, Paulie along with new trainer Sherif Younan will now face a different kind of road, the road back to the top, we as fans have front row seats and you know what? Paulie wouldn't have it any other way. 1. First of all Paulie thank you for taking the time in chatting with us today, how have you been? PM- I've been doing pretty good, just trying to stay sharp, I just had a fight last week against Chris Fernandez. I really just wanted to get some rounds. I'm looking to get back to what I know that I am capable of being. 2. So from what I have observed from you, you seem to be your very own harshest critic, so how would you rate your performance in your recent fight? PM -It was like a sparring session, I felt that I did what I had to do, around the 5th or 6th round I kind of slacked off and I'm not even goning to lie to you Albert, He buzzed me for a slight second there. Overall though I felt like I did well. 3. So word has it that your fight with Fernandez was a fight to get your engine going again in hopes of facing young undefeated prospect, Mike Alvarado. Any truth to this? PM- Yes, that's who I'm looking at. You know Albert, it's funny that you refer to Alvarado as a young prospect. Truth is, Alvarado is actually a couple months older than I am. Alvarado seems like a solid fighter, so far I'm hearing June 27th as the date that we are looking at, Alvarado first has to get past his fight this weekend on the Pacquiao/Hatton card. 4. Now not to take away anything from Pacquiao's victory against Oscar, but most observers feel that Pacquiao beat a weakly drained Oscar. Almost as if he beat someone that looked like Oscar. In Hatton's last fight he beat you, but the more and more I look at that fight, I for one feel that it wasn't the real Paulie in there with Hatton, you seemed flat, your footwork wasn't flashy, you fought lower than usual, it all starts with your stance, it seemed to me that both yourself and Oscar took your own advantages away from yourselves, would you agree? Or was Hatton's new style just that much more improved in forcing you to fight him in that way? PM- Albert, great question and even better observation. Earlier you mentioned to get my engine going again, well the thing is this, and please don't think that I am a crybaby or any of that. Buddy McGirt is a great guy, I really love the guy, Buddy is a good trainer, only thing is that his training style and my fighting style don't mesh very well. Anybody who saw the Oscar fight with Manny knows that wasn't the real Oscar, Oscar was dead at the weigh in, in my case it felt like I was a Ferrari with a Kia engine in it! Once again nothing against Buddy, I mean he still has to make a living, we all have to make a living for ourselves, but come on, I was being taught a style that wasn't Paulie Malignaggi. I felt like I was going through a gradual decline, like I was depleting. I mean how could this be? Was I really slipping? That style was just never for me. I am now with a new trainer, Sherif Younan, and you can now expect to see the real Paulie once again. 5. I guess the Hatton loss is still a cut that hasn't fully healed? PM- You are so right Albert, it really hasn't. I still get really pissed to think back on that disaster. I'm sure Oscar feels the same way as I do. It kills me inside still that they stopped that fight, I was in a small ring with that monster that is Cotto, it really felt like I was in there with a devil in hell at the Garden when I fought Cotto, they didn't stop the Cotto fight, so now why would you stop this fight? It eats me up inside real bad because years and years from now after both you and I are gone Albert, people will see and read about that shit in boxing books or what not, it will always say that Pacquiao destroyed Oscar and that Hatton stopped Malignaggi. 6. So the rebuilding of Paulie Malignaggi begins now, let's play match maker here, if the Hatton Express has indeed left the station, what big name at 140 does Paulie Malignaggi need to reintroduce himself? PM-The politics of the game and what I want are two very different things. I would love to get Timothy Bradley or the winner of Kotelnik and Khan, under Sherif I will be back no doubt about it. Albert, you saying that the Hatton Express has left the station is so true, that is what kills me the most that I most likely will never get the chance to avenge my loss to Hatton. 7. So who does Paulie like in the big fight? Hatton or Pacquiao? PM- I will be pulling for Hatton, I really think that he is a great guy, I like the guy, he has a great family. Truth is though that I am a realist, I honestly feel that Pacquiao will beat him up and knock him out by like the 8th or 9th round. I hate to say it because it makes me sound bitter but Hatton is not this monster that they are making him out to be, Hatton really hasn't changed all that much with Mayweather Sr. either. Like I said, I will be pulling for Ricky because he is a real cool guy, but Pacquiao will stop him.8. Well Paulie it's been great rapping with you, Diamondboxing and myself would love to thank you for your time, any final words for all your fans out there? PM- Thank you all for the support, and all the love that you have all displayed. The real Paulie Malignaggi that you have all grown to love will be back stronger than ever before. Thank you Albert. Take care.