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PAULIE "THE MAGIC MAN" MALIGNAGGI CROWNED KING
OF BROOKLYN AFTER DEFEATING ZAB "SUPER" JUDAH IN UNANIMOUS DECISION
VICTORY
Shawn
Porter Dominates Devon Alexander to Capture IBF Welterweight World Championship;
Erislandy Lara Defeats Austin Trout in Unanimous Decision;
Sakio
Bika vs. Anthony Dirrell Ends in Split Draw
Saturday's
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Telecast Will Replay Sunday Morning
and Tuesday, December 10 at 10
p.m. ET/PT on
SHOWTIME
EXTREME®
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (December 8, 2013) -
Two weeks after his 33rd birthday, Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi
(33-5, 7
KO's) picks up his 33rd win in a unanimous decision victory over
Zab "Super" Judah
(42-9, 29
KO's) in front of his hometown crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The fight,
promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, headlined a four-fight
SHOWTIME
CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event.
Despite being knocked down in
the second round, Malignaggi was able to regain his stride en route to a strong
116-111, 117-110, 117-110 victory which earned him Brooklyn bragging rights and
a potentially bright future in the stacked welterweight division. In addition,
he was awarded a special Brooklyn's World Championship belt designed by
SARTONK.
"This is an emotional win for
me," said Malignaggi. "It definitely allows me to continue boxing. If I had
lost, I don't know that I would have wanted to continue. But this big win puts
me in the right spot to fight in this division for lots of
money...lots.
"Walking to the ring was pretty
surreal. As a teenager I watched Zab fight and to walk into the ring and
fighting against him was very surreal. Not that I never expected myself not to
be successful, but it was still something very surreal," continued Malignaggi.
"I felt like this showed that this sport can unify everyone. I looked up to this
guy when I was coming up in the sport and he's one of the greats."
Judah said, "I came to fight and
so did Paulie. It just wasn't there. This was a great opportunity and a great
event. I wanted to be the King of Brooklyn. He wasn't tougher than me. He stayed
on the outside and didn't engage."
In the co-main event,
Shawn "Showtime" Porter (23-0-1, 14 KO's) was crowned
the new IBF Welterweight World Champion after defeating Devon Alexander "The Great" (25-2, 14 KO's) by unanimous
decision 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. Porter dominated Alexander from the first
punch until the closing bell in a hard-fought battle that left both fighters
battered and bruised. Porter, a decorated amateur, was able to execute his game
plan by being, "aggressive, backing him [Alexander] up, and making him
fight."
After the fight, Porter said,
"This is a blessing. We wanted to come out here and establish that I was the
better fighter and we made it happen. I think I was able to control the fight
because of my experience and I'm the bigger guy. We did what we had to do. I
paid my dues. The opportunity was here and I stepped up to the
plate."
Alexander said, "I'm
disappointed. I didn't do what I was supposed to do. I didn't follow the game
plan. He was rushing in and I didn't capitalize on that. And that's what we had
planned on."
Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO's) soundly
defeated Austin Trout (26-2, 14 KO's) by unanimous
decision in a technical bout. The scores were 115-109 and 117-110 twice. Trout
never seemed comfortable in the ring. Lara sent Trout down in the 11th
round for only the second time in Trout's career.
"I did what Canelo couldn't do.
I dominated Trout and I dropped him. Now we have to make a fight that everyone
wants to see which is me against Canelo," said Lara.
"I'm coming right back," said Trout. "Who can say
that they fought such high caliber fighters as Cotto, Canelo and Lara
back-to-back-to-back? His style was tricky, but I don't sign up for easy fights.
He was the better man tonight."
The opening bout of the evening,
a thrilling slugfest, had the excitable Barclays Center crowd on its feet at
times. Sakio Bika (32-5-3, 21 KO's) and
Anthony Dirrell (26-0-1, 22 KO's) went
toe-to-toe from the first bell and battled to a split draw. Dirrell floored Bika
early in the fight, and Bika later lost a point for a low-blow. In the end, the
final tally was a split draw: 114-112 (Bika), 116-110 (Dirrell), 113-113. After
the scores were announced, Dirrell immediately left the ring without commenting
on his performance. Ringside reporter Jim Gray was able to catch up with
Dirrell in his locker room shortly after.
"I want to apologize to the fans
for leaving the ring like that but I was just disappointed," said a frustrated
Dirrell. "He hit low and head butted. I definitely want a rematch."
Bika felt differently. "I feel like I was fighting
the referee as well. The body shot was a legitimate body shot. Not below the
belt line. I got him on the belt line, Dirrell just wanted to milk it. I was the
busier fighter and now I just want to fight the best ahead of me."
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, will
replay Sunday at 9 a.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME and Tuesday, December 10 at 10 p.m.
ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME. It will be availabe on SHOWTIME On Demand and
SHOWTIME Anytime.
Results and
quotes from tonight's non-televised preliminary bouts:
JULIAN
WILLIAMS
(14-0-1, 7 KO's), def. Orlando Lora (29-5-2, 19 KO's) via unanimous decision in
an eight-round super welterweight bout
"I was going to take my time. I kept touching the
body more and more and using my jab.
"He was easy to hit and I'm difficult to hit. His
feet were slower and mine are faster.
"I always rep Philly. I love Philadelphia. I want to
keep the tradition of great boxers from Philly.
"We have a lot of great talent coming out of the city
right now and I want to keep this thing going."
SADAM ALI
(18-0,
11 KO's), def. Jesus Selig (12-2-1, 6 KO's) via TKO7 in a 10-round welterweight
bout
"[On the stoppage] I think the referee saw what was
going to happen eventually. Everything was landing.
"I like to entertain the crowd so I really wish they
wouldn't have stopped it that fast.
"The crowd wanted to see action, but you have to
respect the ref.
"I felt less rusty than my last fight. My opponent
[tonight] had a better record.
"I still felt a little rusty, but I know that as I
go, I am going to just keep getting better and better."
MARCUS
BROWNE (8-0, 7 KO's), def. Kevin
Engel (20-9, 16 KO's) via TKO1 in an eight-round light heavyweight
bout
"Going the distance [in my last fight] showed me how
to be patient. I know that if I don't catch him in the first round, I will catch
him in the second. If I don't catch him in the second, I will catch him in the
third.
"[I feel so good] I could fight again tomorrow if I
wanted to."
JUAN
DOMINGUEZ (16-0, 11 KO's), def.
Camilo Perez (9-2, 4 KO's) via unanimous decision in an eight-round
featherweight bout
"It is great fighting in Barclays Center. This is a
special night. A whole night of world title fights that no one will
forget.
"It felt great to go eight rounds. This is my second
time going the distance.
"I need to learn to box more because I'm going to
have to fight against tougher guys from here on out."
ABOUT
"JUDAH VS. MALIGNAGGI":
Judah vs.
Malignaggi was a 12-round fight
for the NABF Welterweight title taking place on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013 at
Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The event was promoted by Golden Boy
Promotions in association with Super Judah Promotions and sponsored by Corona,
AT&T, Grudge Match and Casamigos Tequila.
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