By Matthew Hurley

If Paulie Malignaggi can really box as well as he says he can then WBO junior welterweight champion Miguel Cotto doesn’t stand a chance in their up coming pay per view fight at Madison Square Garden. 

Of course Malignaggi is a braggart whose knockout ratio doesn’t really lend credence to his attitude.  Five knockouts in twenty-one fights isn’t really much of a ledger to bring into the ring against the hard hitting Cotto who is being groomed as one of boxing’s next big stars.  But Malignaggi, a significant underdog who possesses tremendous speed, is nothing if not confident.

“I know most people think I’m some sort of clown and they want to see me get my mouth shut,” he says, a constant grin on his face.  “But if it puts people in the seats, fine.  But I’m telling you, all those people are going to be in for a huge disappointment when I beat Cotto and beat him easily.”

Malignaggi is right.  There are a lot of fans, fans in any sport for that matter, who can’t stand a loud mouth and would like nothing more than to see them be humbled by a more conventional character.  Despite his lack of punching power Malignaggi, just twenty-six years old, has already mastered the art of the flippant lip.  He counts Hector Camacho Sr. as one of his heroes and he understands that flamboyance oftentimes results in dollar signs.

“It goes all the way back to Muhammad Ali when he came on the scene.  People forget sometimes how disliked he was.  I’m a slick fighter and Cotto is so one dimensional.  When I beat him I don’t want people saying he underestimated me.  I’m such a good counter puncher that I’ll set him up to fail.  I’m going to box his ears off.”

Without taking so much as a breath, the verbiage continues.  “There’s more to boxing than being able to punch.  I would rather be the guy I am than a puncher.  A puncher can always run into a granite chin.  When a puncher can’t get off, they get frustrated.  That’s what I’m going to do to Cotto. 

I’ll put the rounds in the bag and before he even knows what happened the fight will be over and I will be champion.  I’ve been thinking about this fight for years.  When you lose to me I humiliate you.  Believe me Cotto is not such a good fighter.  He’s a good puncher.  He’s got a lot of flaws.  It won’t even be close.”

Malignaggi’s promoter Lou Dibella has a great deal of respect for Miguel Cotto but insists that his charge will be victorious.  “Paulie’s wanted this fight since he turned professional.  He sees something in Miguel that has convinced him that he will win easy.  It’s my job to get my fighter the fights he wants, and he wants this one.”

Cotto, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of his vocal opponent.  Always calm and reserved he has seemed either slightly bemused or slightly annoyed with Malignaggi during the build up for the fight. 

But not once has he appeared indifferent.  Cotto regards himself as a true professional, a Puerto Rican fighter who desperately wants to create a legacy for himself that will distinguish him from past great Puerto Rican fighters.  And he understands that any fighter that steps in the ring with him has the potential to upend the apple cart.

“I can’t say I’ve ever fought a guy like him before,” Cotto remarks quietly.  “I know that in order to win I have to put a lot of pressure on him.  That’s the key.  He will use his speed, but I will break him down and then catch him.”

The often pensive Cotto gives off the impression of a young man beyond his years in terms of maturity.  He has survived some tough bouts already, in particular against veteran Demarcus Corley and his most difficult test against Ricardo Torres when he stormed back from being staggered and then knocked down to win by technical knockout.

“Boxing is a learning process,” he says.  “Every opponent is different and every fight teaches you something about yourself.  This fight will as well.  I’ve always been up for the challenge and the sacrifice.  I’ll be totally prepared for him.”

Promoter Bob Arum, always trumpeting a new prospect and recently coming off the Jose Luis Castillo weigh in fiasco, is banking on his rising young star.  “He’s a real fighter and a real man.  He has the same type of appeal that Felix Trinidad did.  Outside the ring he’s quiet but inside the ring he’s a warrior and he’s becoming a real fan favorite.”

Come fight night we’ll see if the young upstart with the big mouth can back up his claims of potential greatness or if the more seasoned pro will shove his words back down his throat.  Either way it’s a fight with fresh new talent, and both are ironically going up against a rival pay per view event – the Antonio Tarver vs. Bernard Hopkins fight.  Which one paying customers choose depends on where you stand in regards to the future of boxing. 

If you remain attached to the past and feel that Hopkins and Tarver can create one last great show throw your hard earned money to the old men.  But if you’re looking to the future then spend those dollars on Miguel Cotto and Paulie Malignaggi.  One of these two young boxers just might turn out to be the next big thing.