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Saturday, June 2, 2012

Malignaggi Wants Salita

As reported by Mitch Abramson of BoxingScene.com, welterweight beltholder Paulie Malignaggi hopes to fight fellow Brooklynite Dmitriy Salita in his first defense on October 20 at the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York. He told reporters, "I think me and Dmitriy would be a huge event in Brooklyn."

Salita (33-1-1, 17 KOs) has won his last three fights. But they have come against journeymen and he hasn't been in the ring since April, 2011.

Salita's attorney, Kurt Emhoff, told Abramson about the negotiations thus far, "It's a fight both fighters want. Now, it's up to Golden Boy [Promotions, Malignaggi's promoter] if they want the fight."

That could be an issue for a few reasons. Some fans take a dim view of Salita's ability, dating back to his lackluster 2009 title challenge against Amir Khan. In these fans' minds, that loss confirmed their belief that he has built up his impressive record on soft competition. Salita's prolonged absence from the ring also hurts his stake as a credible opponent.

Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KOs) noted of Salita, "Hopefully, this summer he gets himself back into contention." Salita said himself that he hopes to fight this summer in order to shake off the rust before a potential bout with Malignaggi. The opponent will likely have to be a legitimate welterweight contender to convince Golden Boy to accept the fight with Malignaggi.

On The Colbert Report last week, Author Jack Hitt philosophized, "[F. Scott] Fitzgerald said that there are no second acts in America, but I would argue that there's nothing but second acts." With a win this summer, Dmitriy Salita certainly deserves one against Paulie Malignaggi in front of the hometown fans.

2 comments:

  1. In these fans' minds, that loss confirmed their belief that he has built up his impressive record on soft competition. Salita's prolonged absence from the ring also hurts his stake as a credible opponent.UFC streaming

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  2. I'm hoping the fight comes off...I have also been critical of Salita,but lb. for lb. he may not be #1 in this category...Beibut Shumenov WBA lightheavyweight champ has a record of...13-1.Floyd Mayweather has also been selective-even before his current nonsensical demands regarding Manny Pacquiao.On youtube,there's a video of him getting the worst of a sparring session with undefeated Paul Spadafora..Salita-Malignaggi would be good for boxing-and it will be fought in Brooklyn,not in front of a bunch of Jewhater's in England(Salita-Khan).

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