In a crossroads battle between two former champions, Juan Diaz scored a somewhat controversial unanimous decision over Paulie Malignaggi. It was an action-packed battle between two fighters who put it all on the line in front of a raucous crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Although it appeard as though Malignaggi effectively handled the non-stop pressure of Diaz, in the end, the hometown judges felt that the Baby Bull had done enough to be awarded the victory. While there's no argument that the fight wasn't somewhat close, in my opinion, Malignaggi had done more than enough in his opponent's backyard to get the nod. The 118-110 scorecard of judge Gale Van Hoy was atrocious and hardly indicative of the action that took place. Check out the entire round-by-round to relive the action and judge for yourself.
DIAZ VS. MALIGNAGGI
PREFIGHT
Unofficial weights for tonight: Diaz comes in at 145 and Malignaggi weighs in at 149. Malignaggi enters first to a chorus of boos from the Houston crowd. He pays tribute to Arturo Gatti as he plays some audio clips from past interviews with Gatti and then makes his way to the ring to the sounds of AC/DC's Thunderstruck. Malignaggi looks confident and anxious to prove a point. Diaz enters next and the crowd erupts. He looks extremely focused and ready to go to war.
ROUND 1
Paulie comes out firing a quick jab and lands a right hand. He looks extremely quick. Nice left hand lands for Malignaggi upstairs. Diaz digs a left to the body. Quick 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. A right hand lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a slow jab. Right hand lands for Malignaggi. Stiff jab lands for Diaz. They trade jabs. Left to the body lands for diaz. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi again upstairs. Some more quick jabs land for Malignaggi. Diaz looks a little confused. They trade left hooks. Left hand lands for Malignaggi. Round to Malignaggi.
Diaz 9 Malignaggi 10
ROUND 2
Malignaggi is already cut over his eye from a Diaz right hand. Diaz turning up the pressure now as he focuses on the body. Malignaggi fires back with a quick combo. Nice left hand lands for Diaz. HARD left hook to the body and to the head lands for Diaz. Malignaggi clowns and sticks his tongue out. Uppercut lands for Malignaggi. Nice hooks to the body and the head land for Diaz. Malignaggi ties him up. Right and a HARD left from Diaz snaps the head back of Malignaggi. Another right lands for Diaz. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Double jab lands for Diaz. Nice right hand lands for Diaz. Left to the body lands for Diaz, but he eats a nice uppercut from Malignaggi. Now Diaz is cut over his left eye. Round to Diaz, but it's getting interesting.
Diaz 19 Malignaggi 19
ROUND 3
Right hand over the top lands for Malignaggi. Nice left hand upstairs lands for Diaz. Some roughhousing on the inside. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands another crisp left hand upstairs. Uppercut lands for Malignaggi and he dips away. Nice counter right lands for Diaz. They trade left hands. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Left hook to the body lands for Malignaggi, but he eats a left upstairs from Diaz. Malignaggi keeps Diaz turning. Crisp right hand lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a short left hook on the inside. Left hook from Malignaggi and he dances away. Diaz answers with his own left hook. They trade on the inside. Round to Malignaggi.
Diaz 28 Malignaggi 29
ROUND 4
Both men trade jabs to start the round. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. HARD left hook lands for Diaz that gets the crowd's attention. They trade right hands. Nice three-punch combo lands for Diaz. Malignaggi looks a little shaky. He holds on. Right hand lands upstairs for Diaz. They trade on the inside. Hard left hook upstairs lands again for Diaz. Jab lands for Diaz. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Diaz pawing at the blood flowing from his eye. Jab lands for Malignaggi. Malignaggi may have outlanded him that round, but Diaz landed the more telling shots. Round to Diaz.
Diaz 38 Malignaggi 38
ROUND 5
Malignaggi firing the jab and circling. HARD left hook to the body and another upstairs from Diaz. Nice uppercut lands for Malignaggi. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Right hand lands for Diaz. Malignaggi retreats. Some more roughhousing on the inside. Diaz lands a left hook and a right. Malignaggi lands a left. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Woooooo...crisp right hand down the middle snaps the head back of Diaz. Diaz lands a right to the body. Close round, but I give it to Diaz for landing the bigger shots again.
Diaz 48 Malignaggi 47
ROUND 6
Uppercut lands for Malignaggi. Quick jabs land for Malignaggi. Jab and another uppercut lands for Malignaggi. HARD left hook from Diaz snaps the head back of Malignaggi. Nice left hook to the body lands for Diaz. They trade to the body on the inside. Another HARD left hook lands for Diaz, but Malignaggi answers with a quick four-punch combo of his own. Jab lands for Diaz. Jab, jab, jab from Malignaggi as he continues to just circle to his left around the ring. Round to Malignaggi.
Diaz 57 Malignaggi 57
ROUND 7
Malignaggi on his toes and firing the jab. Left hook to the body lands for Diaz, but he eats a 1-2 in return. Left to the body from Diaz was a little low. Malignaggi on the retreat and landing his jab. Right hand lands upstairs for Diaz. Malignaggi digs a 1-2 to the body. Diaz lands some nice shots to the body. HARD right hand upstairs lands for Diaz. Malignaggi lands a right. Diaz lands a left to the body. Left upstairs lands for Diaz. They trade jabs. Round to Diaz.
Diaz 67 Malignaggi 66
ROUND 8
Left to the body lands for Diaz. Malignaggi lands a right and a left hook. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi again. Diaz digs a left to the body, but Malignaggi lands a right upstairs. Jab, jab, jab and turn for Malignaggi. A couple more jabs land for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a left hook. Malignaggi lands a nice combo. Right hook lands for Malignaggi. Left hook to the body and upstairs lands for Diaz. Jab lands for Diaz. Another. Malignaggi's shorts are literally falling off his ass right now. A couple more jabs land for Malignaggi. Round to Malignaggi.
Diaz 76 Malignaggi 76
ROUND 9
Double jab lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a stiff jab of his own. HARD left and a right lands for Diaz. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Another hard left and right lands for Diaz. Malignaggi lands a quick 1-2, but he eats a harder one in return. Malignaggi doing a lot more movement in this round. HARD right hand over the top lands for Diaz. Malignaggi lands a couple of jab. Diaz lands his jab. They trade jabs. Round to Diaz.
Diaz 86 Malignaggi 85
ROUND 10
Malignaggi lands a couple of jabs. Diaz having a hard time cutting off the ring. They trade jabs. Malignaggi lands a 1-2. Diaz lands some hard hooks to the body. Malignaggi lands a 1-2. They trade jabs. A few more jabs land for Malignaggi. Diaz lunging and missing a bit now. Nice uppercut lands for Malignaggi. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Diaz looking a little sloppy now and Malignaggi is trying to yell something to the commentators in the middle of the fight. Right hand lands for Malignaggi. Round to Malignaggi.
Diaz 95 Malignaggi 95
ROUND 11
"Keep boxing him. Keep him turning," were the instructions in Malignaggi's corner. Left hook upstairs lands for Malignaggi and he dances away. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Right hand lands for Malignaggi. Diaz jumps in with a left hook, but misses and Malignaggi lands a nice counter right. Jab lands for Malignaggi. HARD uppercut lands for Malignaggi. Diaz looking a little sloppy in there. Nice four-punch combo lands for Malignaggi. Right to the body lands for Diaz. Another. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Quick jab lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a left hook. Malignaggi dances away. Quick combo from Malignaggi and he dances away. Diaz looking really confused and missing a lot right now. Round to Malignaggi.
Diaz 104 Malignaggi 105
ROUND 12
Diaz coming out fast. Malignaggi firing his jab. Nice uppercut lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a left. Left to the body lands for Diaz, but Malignaggi lands a 1-2. Nice right hand lands for Diaz. Malignaggi answers back with a nice combo of his own. Left to the body and upstairs lands for Diaz. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Diaz land a left upstairs again. Malignaggi lands a couple of jabs. Another jab lands for Malignaggi as he dances around the ring. Right hand lands for Diaz. They trade. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Another quick combo lands for Malignaggi. Diaz lands a left hook upstairs. 1-2 lands for Malignaggi. Very close round, but I give it to Malignaggi for landing more shots.
Diaz 113 Malignaggi 115
Harold Lederman scores the bout 115-113 for Malignaggi
Official judges scorecards...
David Sutherland: 116-112
Gale Van Hoy: 118-110
Raul Caiz Sr.: 115-113
THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION...JUAN DIAZ
COMPUBOX
Diaz total punches: 178/663
Malignaggi total punches: 191/949
Diaz power punches: 123/434
Malignaggi power punches: 80/328
POSTFIGHT
Let me just say that the 118-110 score from Gale Van Hoy is DISGUSTING. "Paul Malignaggi is a great fighter," stated Juan Diaz. "This was a great opportunity against Malignaggi. I'm ready for whoever they bring...I would love a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez no matter the outcome against Mayweather," he continued. "At least some people got the score right...I don't know why Houston is booing me...it ain't nothing against you guys...I had to deal with a lot of politics...this state never gives a fair chance to anyone," a frustrated Malignaggi stated. "I thought I edged it out. I thought I outboxed him...but Juan showed his heart...I thought I outboxed the aggressor in the late rounds...you know I'm not getting the rematch...boxing is full of shit," added Malignaggi. "I'm just an opponent after losing the fight...this is the bullshit that I have to go through," he continued.
OTHER RESULTS FROM HOUSTON TEXAS
- Robert Guerrero def. Malcolm Klassen via Unanimous Decision (117-111, 116-113, 116-112)
- Daniel Jacobs def. Ishe Smith via Unanimous Decision (96-93, 96-93, 100-89)
- Hylon Williams def. Baudel Cardenas via Unanimous Decision (60-52, 60-52, 59-53)
- Danny Garcia def. Oscar Leon via KO at 2:59 of round 3
- Jermell Charlo def. Vardan Gasparyan via Unanimous Decision (58-56, 58-56, 58-56)
- Omar Figueroa def. Jeremy Marts via TKO at 1:54 of round 1
- Mickey Bey def. Rashad Ganaway via Split Decision (77-75, 77-75 Bey, 79-76 Ganaway)
- Adrien Broner def. Edgar Portillo via TKO at 1:37 of round 1
- Adam Richards def. Harvey Jolly via Split Decision (77-74, 76-75 Richards, 78-74 Jolly)
- Marcus Johnson def. Matt Gockel via TKO at 1:37 of round 1
- Mike Perez def. Jamie Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
- Darlington Agha def. Joseph Rabotte via TKO at 2:32 of round 1
[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]