Paulie does get underrated but Floyd outclasses him and beats him without too much trouble. Paulie around that time though was extremely tough.... only have to look at the heart he showed vs Cotto.
Talking 140 Floyd I’d say ref stoppage around the 9th with Paulie offering his bloody cry/why expression
Amir Khan's best showcase win was over Paulie.............let's put that in perspective. A much faster guy without much skill completely shut down and dominated Paulie. Floyd also would hold a speed advantage and then on top of that a higher skillset. There is nothing Paulie would be able to do. He doesn't have the right style to even bother Floyd. There are some speedsters that would, he ain't one of em. Floyd UD Paulie
Paulie had a good jab, moved pretty well and showed a ton of heart vs cotto That said he loses wide on points. Maybe he would be game early but I dont see anything more than that Typically when a guy is very orthodox and gets by on skills and speed their poison is a guy better in their strengths. Floyd is faster and a better boxer. Paulie isn't unorthodox enough to surprise floyd with a shot at a funny angle like say a maidana or a hard enough hitter like say a Mosley where even though the opportunities are so few it only takes one or two to do real damage Khan pretty much shut paulie out. I think floyd would too. Especially the floyd that fought gatti
after rewatching I thought paulie squeaked the 3rd, and won the 5th 8th and 9th. I thought his defense was good and he implemented his gameplan well in those rounds - he moved well, worked at mid range and then tied cotto up on the inside. That plan backfired though because cotto just started punching him everywhere on the inside and wore him down beating on his body and arms, especially in the 10th 11th and 12th. Problem was even the rounds malignaggi may have won, his style never looked effective because the impact of his punches looks like an amateur just trying to score points. Even the rounds he did well in you could tell they took a toll on him because cotto was like a bull. Rewatching this I forgot how devastating cotto was at 140 - his body punching and jab just looked horrible to absorb and really busted guys up.
Look, I'll admit it straight up. I wanted Floyd to lose as much as anyone, and Paulie is maybe my favorite fight analyst in the business. But Jesus Christ what kind of cuckoo universe are we living in that someone thinks PAULIE MALIGNAGGI would even be competitive?!
I think this thread definitively proves we've reached the point where we need some actual boxing to watch. When the mind is taken to a place where it appears reasonable to pose the question: 'Who would win between Mayweather and Malignaggi?' it is suffering a desperate need for new stimulus and information to process. Dangerous times...