FightFranchise | A Score To Settle For Diaz And Malignaggi

Boxing returns to Chicago on Saturday night, when Paulie Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KO’s) of Brooklyn, New York takes on Juan Diaz (35-2, 17 KO’s) of Houston, Texas in their much anticipated rematch. The first fight which took place in Diaz’s hometown of Houston ended in a controversial decision.

The scorecards read 115-113, 116-112, and even more shockingly 118-110. It was a very close fight with most ringside observers feeling that Malignaggi won the fight. In his post fight interview, Malignaggi slammed the judges, Golden Boy Promotions, and the sport of boxing, claiming that the fight was a set up from the beginning. The referee, was from Texas, one of the judges was from Texas, and one judge (Raul Caiz) has been accused of being pro-Mexican (Diaz is Mexican-American).

This time the playing field looks to be more even. First off, the fight will be fought at a catch weight of 139 pounds as opposed to the 138.5 pounds it took place at in the first fight. The contest will be taking place in Chicago, Illinois which is a hometown of neither fighter. The referee will be Genaro Rodriguez, a native of Illinois and the three judges scoring the bout will be Illinois’ Mauro Difore, Ohio’s Tom Miller, and Florida’s Michael Pernick.

The first fight was an exciting battle and the second fight is sure to offer much of the same. Diaz probably feels like he needs to win this fight decisively to silence any doubts about whether he can really beat Malignaggi. Malignaggi has to win to prove that he really is better than Diaz and that all the fuss he made about the first fight was for good reason.

The fight is scheduled for twelve rounds and will be televised by HBO under their HBO: Boxing After Dark program.

In an exciting co-feature, Victor Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KO’s) of Oxnard, California takes on Antonio Diaz (46-5-1, 29 KO’s) of Coachella, California in a scheduled ten rounder at welterweight. The 22 year old Ortiz is coming off a sixth round stoppage loss against Marcos Maidana.

It was a brutal war with Ortiz dropping Maidana three times, but he himself was dropped twice. The fight was stopped on a cut over Ortiz’s eye, but in truth the fight was stopped because Ortiz refused to continue. After the fight, Ortiz suggested that he might consider retirement. He is back however and claims that the post-fight interview was clouded by his depression over his defeat. He hopes to redeem himself by defeating Diaz.

Diaz for his part has been in the fight game for quite some time. A professional since 1995, Diaz has fought some of the best including Antonio Margarito, Mickey Ward, and Shane Mosley. After taking an extended hiatus in 2005, Diaz returned in 2008 and has won four straight including most recently, a decision win over then 19-1 Javier Castro. A win over Ortiz will propel Diaz back onto the world stage and perhaps put him in line for a title eliminator.

Many questions are still left about Ortiz’s heart, but we will be sure to find out on Saturday. The co-feature will also be televised by HBO.

Writer’s Predictions:

-Malignaggi over Diaz by decision.

-Ortiz over Diaz by TKO in 8 rounds