Paulie Malignaggi vs Sam Eggington Preview March 4th
The WBC International Welterweight Title is on the line at the O2 Arena in London, England this Saturday, March 4th when holder Sam Eggington of England takes on veteran Paulie Malignaggi of Brooklyn, New York. The 12-round bout can be seen in the UK on pay-per-view on Sky Sports Box Office on the undercard of the David Haye vs Tony Bellew Heavyweight tilt. Malignaggi’s last outing was a 10-round unanimous decision win over Gabriel Bracero in July while Eggington beat Frankie Gavin by an eighth-round TKO to win the vacant title last October.
Malignaggi vs Eggington Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Paulie Malignaggi +205
- Sam Eggington -245
My Pick
The 36-year-old Malignaggi will climb into the ring with a record of 36-7 along with just 7 Kos. He’s 4-3 in his last seven outings with three straight wins over Grade B opposition. His three losses in that stretch came via a fourth-round stoppage by Shawn Porter in April of 2014 and a ninth-round stoppage by Danny Garcia in August of 2015. He also dropped a split decision to Adrien Broner in June of 2013 and beat Zab Judah by unanimous decision in December of 2013. Malignaggi is 5-feet-8-inches tall with a wingspan of 71 inches.
He turned pro back in 2001 and has 353 rounds of experience under his belt. He’s one of the sport’s lightest hitters with a current knockout ratio of just 16 per cent. However, he makes up for his lack of power with intelligence, speed and good boxing skills. Malignaggi is a good defensive boxer due to his fine mobility and even though he’s been stopped four times, he has a decent enough chin. He’s used to going the distance and that’s likely what he’ll have to do to beat Eggington.
Malignaggi has plenty of experience in big fights as he’s also taken on the likes of Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, Juan Diaz, Lovemore N’dou, Miguel Cotto and Edner Cherry. However, with losses to Hatton, Khan, Diaz and Cotto, we can see that Malignaggi usually falls short when he takes on elite opposition. However, he is a former world junior welterweight and welterweight champion who is 5-0 when he fights outside of the U.S. In addition, even though his opponent Eggington is the British and Commonwealth Champion, the Briton can’t be considered and elite opponent at this stage of his career.
The 23-year-old Eggington of Birmingham lost his British and Commonwealth titles to Bradley Skeete by 12-round unanimous decision in March of last year. He’s now 19-3 with 11 Kos to his name after beating Gavin and hopes to one day land a bout with WBC Welterweight champ Danny Garcia. In fact, he reportedly had a fight lined up with Garcia, but then lost to Skeete. He has a three-inch height advantage on Saturday as he’s 5-feet-11-inches tall, but his reach is unlisted.
Eggington has 120 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2012 and his knockout ratio currently stands at 50 per cent. As well as losing to Skeete, Eggington has also dropped a three-round unanimous decision to Johnny Coyle in 2014 and a unanimous three-round decision to Dale Evans the year before. His biggest wins have been an eight-round stoppage over Denton Vassell in 2014 and last year’s victory over Gavin.
Prediction…
Malignaggi may be in the twilight of his career at the moment, but he still possesses excellent boxing skills and mobility. However, his chin is susceptible. There’s a chance that Eggington stops the former world champ here, but if this contest goes the distance then look for Malignaggi to do enough to win a relatively close decision.
If Malignaggi’s chin holds up he should be able to take a decision.
Play: Malignaggi +205 @ 5dimes.eu
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Paulie Malignaggi betting • Sam Eggington betting