By Jody Kohn
As the stench that filled the air for the entire circus that was Adrien Broner vs. Paulie Malignaggi dissipates, it will be interesting to see what the ramifications will be for Paulie Malignaggi.
While Adrien Broner was already considered a “bad guy” going into the promotion for their title fight, Paulie Malignaggi, for the most part, was considered harmless despite having quite a big mouth himself. Although trash talking is certainly part of his game, it had almost always been more light hearted, and certainly never sank to the depths that it did during this fight.
Outside of the ring, he has received almost universal praise for his work in the commentary booth. His ability to be impartial, even when calling bouts involving rivals was greatly appreciated, and his future seemed to be incredibly bright.
And while it remains to be seen if his behavior before, during, and after the fight with Broner will force Showtime to take action, even if they don’t, it is likely he will still see some push back from the fans. Traditional fans certainly had to be dismayed with his conduct. The newer generation, arguably those who are more important, also were unlikely to see it in a positive light.
Though it has long been acceptable for fighters to rip on each other, and even encouraged, Paulie Malignaggi went beyond Broner, insulting fans, the media, and women as well. Showing absolutely no class, it was his words towards women that may cost him the most.
During the build up to the fight, an old acquaintance of Malignaggi’s, named Jessica, was often brought up. Adrien Broner bragged how she was now sleeping with him, and Malignaggi countered that she was nothing more than someone he slept with. While it may seem like the insults were geared towards just the one female in question, any ladies that enjoy boxing had to be dismayed at the lack of respect he showed towards women in general.
Comments like “Pro athletes tend to sleep with a lot of women, it’s what we do,” and after the fight when he said Broner shouldn’t brag for sleeping with his “sidepiece” are unlikely to play well with women in general, especially those who consider themselves more than just someone for men to use and discard.
If that doesn’t get him, his comments insinuating that the fight was fixed, may. During his post fight interview, he indicated that the fix was in after one judge scored the fight 117-111 for Broner. Suggesting that Broner being an Al Haymon fighter earned him special consideration from the judges is certainly no small accusation.
While the fight appeared much closer than that, and the fact that most believe that corruption is rampant in boxing, having a fighter who is also a broadcaster actually say that is something else altogether. How is he supposed to convince the viewers to buy into a product that he says is corrupt? And how can he in one sentence claim that the fight was fixed for Broner, and then say in the next that the hometown fighter and champion should get special treatment from the judges?
Now he expects Showtime to just let him climb back in the booth and pretend none of this ever happened? Although there is a certain level of separation between his fighting and commentating career, one can’t expect all of the transgressions made on one side not to have any impact at all on the other. He may have painted his employer into a corner, giving them no choice but to take action, particularly if any groups decide to protest his continued employment.
Showtime made a huge investment in boxing when they signed Floyd Mayweather to a deal. If they expect to capitalize on that, it is hard to believe they can go forward with Paulie Malignaggi calling the action. If that happens, it will be sad because it appears Malignaggi let Adrien Broner pull him down to his level, jeopardizing everything he has built up.
As for his fighting, despite putting up a performance that exceeded expectations of most, it was pretty clear that he is not a top level fighter at this point. When you have that little power, you can’t expect to beat other elite fighters who don’t have to respect what you are doing. Broner, for some reason, never seemed to really go for the kill, but it was obvious that the reason wasn’t that he was worried about what Malignaggi was doing. Paulie seems somehow incapable of throwing punches with any sort of mean intentions.
We will probably find out in the next few days what, if any, fallout will come from his behavior. Hopefully, for his sake, he will keep his job as an announcer because his days as a relevant boxer are clearly over. However, it is unlikely he will get out of this unscathed. And either way he has tarnished his image forever for taking part in one of the uglier fight promotions in memory.
