Fibroso
06-16-2015, 12:55 PM
Danny Garcia to fight as welterweight vs. Paulie Malignaggi on Aug. 1
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer
Junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, forced to relinquish one of his world title belts on Thursday, made one of boxing's worst-kept secrets official on Monday -- he will fight as a full-fledged 147-pound welterweight when he meets Paulie Malignaggi on Aug. 1 at Barclays Center in New York.
The scheduled 12-round bout, which will take place in former junior welterweight and welterweight titleholder Malignaggi's home borough of Brooklyn, will headline the second Premier Boxing Champions card on ESPN (9 p.m. ET).
Promoter Lou DiBella, who is putting on the card on behalf of PBC founder Al Haymon, called it "a must-win situation for both fighters."
Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs), 27, of Philadelphia, who has been troubled by making the 140-pound junior welterweight limit, had not defended his belts since March 2014, instead fighting his last two fights as nontitle bouts over 140 pounds, including a hard-fought majority decision against titleholder Lamont Peterson at contract weight of 143 pounds on April 11, also at Barclays Center.Garcia was obligated to next fight a mandatory defense against Ukraine's unbeaten Viktor Postol. Garcia, however, elected instead to face Malignaggi at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds and was forced to give up his WBC belt or he would have been stripped. He still holds another alphabet junior welterweight belt and is also the lineal champion of the division, but he is unlikely to fight in the weight class again so it's only a matter of time until both also become vacant.
Garcia is focused on Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs), 34, who has not boxed since being knocked out in the fourth round challenging then-welterweight titleholder Shawn Porter in a one-sided loss in April 2014.
"It's going to be a great fight against Paulie on Aug. 1," Garcia said. "I'm looking forward to getting in the ring again in my fifth appearance at Barclays Center, and putting on a great show for the East Coast fans in attendance and the fans watching all over the world.
"By the end of the night, I will still be the undefeated Danny 'Swift' Garcia. To all of the fans that love me, I love you too. This is for you."
Malignaggi was supposed to make his return from the long layoff against Danny O'Connor on May 29 at the Barclays Center on the Amir Khan-Chris Algieri undercard, but Malignaggi suffered a cut the week before the bout and his fight was canceled.
Malignaggi defended his welterweight belt against Pablo Cesar Cano via split decision on the undercard of Garcia's title defense in his rematch with Erik Morales in October 2012 -- the first card in Barclays Center history. In his next fight, Malignaggi lost the belt by split decision to Adrien Broner in June 2013.
Malignaggi and Garcia have known each other for several years and have been friendly and respectful to each other.
"Although I have a ton of respect for Danny and his father [and trainer] Angel, both for what they've accomplished in the ring as well as the bond they share as father/son, I, like them, am a competitor through and through, and in this sport it's all about testing yourself against the elite," Malignaggi said. "So I look forward to matching my skills against Danny's on Aug 1."
The co-feature of the card has not been finalized but the fight is likely to be Daniel Jacobs (29-1, 26 KOs), 28, who is also from Brooklyn, making a defense of his secondary middleweight title against former junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Mora (28-3-2, 9 KOs), 34, of Los Angeles, who has won five fights in a row.
Jacobs won a vacant belt by fifth-round knockout of Australia's Jarrod Fletcher in August 2014 at Barclays Center and made his first defense on April 24, knocking out Caleb Truax in the 12th round in Chicago.
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer
Junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, forced to relinquish one of his world title belts on Thursday, made one of boxing's worst-kept secrets official on Monday -- he will fight as a full-fledged 147-pound welterweight when he meets Paulie Malignaggi on Aug. 1 at Barclays Center in New York.
The scheduled 12-round bout, which will take place in former junior welterweight and welterweight titleholder Malignaggi's home borough of Brooklyn, will headline the second Premier Boxing Champions card on ESPN (9 p.m. ET).
Promoter Lou DiBella, who is putting on the card on behalf of PBC founder Al Haymon, called it "a must-win situation for both fighters."
Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs), 27, of Philadelphia, who has been troubled by making the 140-pound junior welterweight limit, had not defended his belts since March 2014, instead fighting his last two fights as nontitle bouts over 140 pounds, including a hard-fought majority decision against titleholder Lamont Peterson at contract weight of 143 pounds on April 11, also at Barclays Center.Garcia was obligated to next fight a mandatory defense against Ukraine's unbeaten Viktor Postol. Garcia, however, elected instead to face Malignaggi at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds and was forced to give up his WBC belt or he would have been stripped. He still holds another alphabet junior welterweight belt and is also the lineal champion of the division, but he is unlikely to fight in the weight class again so it's only a matter of time until both also become vacant.
Garcia is focused on Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs), 34, who has not boxed since being knocked out in the fourth round challenging then-welterweight titleholder Shawn Porter in a one-sided loss in April 2014.
"It's going to be a great fight against Paulie on Aug. 1," Garcia said. "I'm looking forward to getting in the ring again in my fifth appearance at Barclays Center, and putting on a great show for the East Coast fans in attendance and the fans watching all over the world.
"By the end of the night, I will still be the undefeated Danny 'Swift' Garcia. To all of the fans that love me, I love you too. This is for you."
Malignaggi was supposed to make his return from the long layoff against Danny O'Connor on May 29 at the Barclays Center on the Amir Khan-Chris Algieri undercard, but Malignaggi suffered a cut the week before the bout and his fight was canceled.
Malignaggi defended his welterweight belt against Pablo Cesar Cano via split decision on the undercard of Garcia's title defense in his rematch with Erik Morales in October 2012 -- the first card in Barclays Center history. In his next fight, Malignaggi lost the belt by split decision to Adrien Broner in June 2013.
Malignaggi and Garcia have known each other for several years and have been friendly and respectful to each other.
"Although I have a ton of respect for Danny and his father [and trainer] Angel, both for what they've accomplished in the ring as well as the bond they share as father/son, I, like them, am a competitor through and through, and in this sport it's all about testing yourself against the elite," Malignaggi said. "So I look forward to matching my skills against Danny's on Aug 1."
The co-feature of the card has not been finalized but the fight is likely to be Daniel Jacobs (29-1, 26 KOs), 28, who is also from Brooklyn, making a defense of his secondary middleweight title against former junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Mora (28-3-2, 9 KOs), 34, of Los Angeles, who has won five fights in a row.
Jacobs won a vacant belt by fifth-round knockout of Australia's Jarrod Fletcher in August 2014 at Barclays Center and made his first defense on April 24, knocking out Caleb Truax in the 12th round in Chicago.