Malignaggi holds court at Gleason’s

Loquacious Bensonhurst Boxer Still Champion of Ring Gab

May 14, 2015 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Paulie Malignaggi speaks to reporters during his Wednesday workout at Downtown’s historic Gleason’s Gym. Photo courtesy of Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment

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Brooklyn born-and-bred boxer Paulie Malignaggi has suffered six defeats in 39 career fights during his 14-year professional career.

But when it comes to being at a loss for words regarding the sweet science, the 34-year-old Bensonhurst native remains undefeated and unchallenged.

Malignaggi, finishing up training for his May 29 Barclays Center “comeback” bout against Danny O’Connor, discussed a myriad of topics Wednesday afternoon during an open workout at Downtown’s historic Gleason’s Gym, where the former two-division world champion learned his craft.

The always loquacious Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs) discussed what he expects from O’Connor (25-2, 9 KOs) in the ring two weeks from now when he tries to bounce back from what some assumed was a career-ending TKO loss to Shawn Porter in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 2014.

He also tackled what it was like to climb between the hallowed ropes at Gleason’s for the first time, his status as a potential Hall of Fame fighter and, of course, his opinion on Manny Pacquiao’s revelations regarding an injured shoulder following a loss to Floyd Mayweather earlier this month.

“Gleason’s Gym is the first place I ever learned to box,” noted Malignaggi, who made his pro debut at Coney Island’s MCU Park on July 7, 2001 after a long and productive amateur career.

“I learned to throw a jab in here. I learned to throw a right hand in here. All of my fundamentals came from here. I didn’t have a clue about boxing before I came to Gleason’s. I owe a lot to this gym.”

Malignaggi spoke of his bout with O’Connor at length, sounding more like the ringside analyst he doubles as for various networks, including SHOWTIME, rather than the tough Brooklyn street kid with a chip on his shoulder we’ve come to know over the years.

“I know Danny O’Connor pretty well,” Malignaggi intimated. “He’s a good boxer who had a good amateur career. He can be pretty slick and he’s a real intelligent guy. He’s not going to just hand it to you so you have to use your mind against him.

“O’Connor is going to come hungry,” he added. “With the situation he’s in, he’s really been looking for this opportunity in his career. I expect the hungriest and best possible Danny O’Connor.”

Malignaggi questioned his own hunger for the fight game following his sudden stoppage against Porter last year.

In fact, it took him a considerable amount of time before he seriously considered re-entering the ring.

“There was a good six months where I didn’t really care about coming back,” he admitted. “I was satisfied. But then I just started to miss being a competitor. I was keeping busy but the competition was missing in my life. Once I got back in the gym and started hitting the bag and I felt good I knew I wanted to get back out there.”

Being back in the ring, rather than at his ringside announcing perch, is something Malignaggi just couldn’t say no to when thinking about his love for the sport, and his place in boxing lore.

“It’s been tough balancing the schedule out with my announcing,” said Malignaggi, who worked as an analyst on the so-called “Fight of the Century” between Mayweather and Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas two weeks ago. “It’s a mental challenge to make sure you’re still training despite all the other responsibilities. To me that proves that I still have the passion to fight. I still wanted to train no matter how busy I got.”

And despite speculation that this may be a farewell fight for Malignaggi, he appears focused on what could come next.

“I’d still like to fight for a world title and take on big names,” he said. “If I could win another title I feel like I can put myself into the position to go into the Hall of Fame as a fighter. I’ve been fighting at a high level since 2006, a good percentage of them have been world-class opponents.”

No one will mistake O’Connor as a “world-class opponent” for a fighter as decorated as Malignaggi. But that doesn’t mean the ring veteran will take his opponent lightly, especially with a third victory in four career Barclays Center bouts on the line.

“I’m going to go out in the first round see what I’m looking for,” he revealed. “I’m not going to go out and expect something from him, but we’ll make adjustments. If I see some of his patterns that I’ve seen on video, then I’ll know what to do. I’m going to look to take apart what’s in front of me.”

Malignaggi picked apart Pacquiao on Wednesday as well, citing the boxing legend’s “exaggerated” claims of a shoulder injury following his well-chronicled unanimous decision defeat to the still-unbeaten Mayweather.

“Every pro athlete that has been a pro athlete for a certain amount of time has some wear and tear on his shoulder,” Malignaggi told the New York Post.

“I guarantee if you MRI my right shoulder I’ll have a little bit of wear and tear because I feel it when I lay down at night. It’s not going to make or break me. It’s just small things that happen during the course of an athletic career. Clearly, Pacquiao’s wasn’t severe. You can tell by the way he was fighting. If it was that severe, that would have been the first thing to come out of his mouth. Instead he thought he won the fight.”

Even if Malignaggi fails to dazzle us yet again in two weeks, he’ll always have our ear when discussing the sport that has made him one of the most recognizable voices in modern boxing.

“I’m thankful to be able to be a part of something really big like this,” he added. “Sometimes you take a bad loss in your career and you can take a big step back but I’m thankful to have an opportunity to be on a highly elevated show like this, it’s really cool.”

So is listening to Malignaggi talk boxing.

Fortunately, whether he decides to keep fighting after May 29 or not, Paulie will still have plenty to tell us.

The Ring is the Thing: O’Connor, training in South Boston, had this to say Wednesday regarding his upcoming bout with Malignaggi: “I think the show is big but, for me, it’s just another fight with Paul. I’m excited about the challenge in front of me, matching my skills against somebody like Paul with his resume. I’m extremely focused. All the work is done here (in gym).” … Also working out at Gleason’s on Wednesday were undefeated bantamweight contender Heather “The Heat” Hardy (12-0, 2 KOs) and unbeaten Brooklyn heavyweight Adam Kownacki (9-0, 9 KOs), both of whom will be on the undercard May 29. “I was born and grew up in Brooklyn so it’s a real treat to fight at Barclays Center,” Kownacki said. “I can’t wait to perform there. It’s going to be an amazing night.” … The main event will feature Amir “King” Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) against Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs). Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Star Boxing, are priced at $250, $150, $75 and $45, not including applicable service charges and taxes, and are on sale now. Tickets are available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com and at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.