Malignaggi would give Cotto trouble for the first few opening rounds with his movement, but Cotto would be steadily coming in and getting in a few good bodyshots here and there. By the mid rounds, Malignaggi's movement will have slowed considerably and Cotto is landing lots of good shots. Malignaggi speed and quickness will vanish under the constant pressure of Cotto, and we'll be left with a guy who is forced to stand toe to toe with Cotto, and has no power to do so with. Cotto breaks him down to stop him around 8.
Malignaggi would give Cotto trouble for the first few opening rounds with his movement, but Cotto would be steadily coming in and getting in a few good bodyshots here and there. By the mid rounds, Malignaggi's movement will have slowed considerably and Cotto is landing lots of good shots. Malignaggi speed and quickness will vanish under the constant pressure of Cotto, and we'll be left with a guy who is forced to stand toe to toe with Cotto, and has no power to do so with. Cotto breaks him down to stop him around 8.
This is a complete mismatch, and Cotto would annihilate him. Paulie's got 21 wins against soft competition, with only 5 knockouts. He's a decent fighter, but Cotto's on a different level. I would be surprised if Malignaggi made it into the second half of the fight. Cotto is a much better fighter with way more quality wins. While this would be a nice payday for Paulie, this would expose him as an average fighter with below average power, and would kill any chance of ever getting another big fight. He has Super Featherweight power as a Jr. Welterweight, and he's not half as "slick" as he thinks. He has a unique personality, and that's basically the only thing that makes him stand out in the sport.
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