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Undefeated super middleweight boxer lacks best vs best fighter duel hours according to Paulie Malignaggi / Photo:
The undefeated super middleweight boxer lacks hours of best vs best fighter duels according to Paulie Malignaggi. According to Paulie Malignaggi, the fact that there are so many undefeated stars at super middleweight highlights a fundamental problem in boxing, namely that the best do not fight the best often enough.
In his career, Paulie Malignaggi has fought against Shawn Porter, Zab Judah, Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner, Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Juan Diaz, and other top stars, and he has called for boxers weighing 76 .2 kg to face each other.
Diego Pacheco is 20-0, Jaime Munguia 43-0, Edgar Berlanga 21-0, David Morrell 10-0, Christian Mbilli 26-0, Jermall Charlo 33-0 and David Benavidez 28-0. The division is also deeper than that, but many are in a holding pattern in hopes of landing the most lucrative fight in boxing, against Canelo Alvarez.
“Speaking of the super middleweight division, this class is a microcosm of a lot of problems,” explained Malignaggi. “The biggest problem is this, all the money is on Saul Canelo Alvarez, but the best fight is probably Benavidez versus Morrell,” he explained.
“Who are the real top two guys in this class? Probably Benavidez and Morrell. I think they both beat Canelo.”
“It's funny because all the money is around Canelo, so everything revolves around Canelo and this is why the sport is going backwards. If you think about it, the NBA doesn't put the Knicks against the Lakers every year in the finals just because those are the two biggest markets.”
“Sometimes you'll face the Raptors in the finals, sometimes you'll face the Dallas Mavericks in the finals, sometimes you'll face the Detroit Pistons in the finals… you know. But boxing always wants to make the Lakers and the Knicks, and if it can't make “The Lakers and the Knicks, they're just going to make one of the playoff contenders face a team that has no chance of making the playoffs.”
“This is the draft lottery and this is the fight they're having, while all the time trying to put the Lakers and Knicks in the finals against each other. That's not how sports work.”