Former multi-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi was biting off a little more than he could chew according to some before tonight, in that at 36 years of age and continuing to fight dangerous fighters like Sam Eggington, he could be playing with fire.
Paulie Malignaggi showed his heart and boxing skills tonight on the undercard of Haye vs Bellew but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
Coming into the fight the New Yorker was clear in his belief he had plenty left in the gas tank and would not be intimidated.
The tw0-weight world champion was on the end of the Eggington jab for much of the opening round, although it was a tentative three minutes for the most part.
Eggington looked the bigger, stronger fighter in the second round, really establishing his jab and also landing some tidy right hands on Paulie.
The third saw more of the same for Eggington as he tried to walk his American counterpart down a bit.
However Paulie Malignaggi came on a bit in the fourth, landing more off the back foot and using some of his stellar skills that saw his win the previous three fights he was in before tonight.
His tricky in and out movement looked like it was frustrating his English opponent a tad.
Round 5 was a competitive affair, with Eggington starting to look more confident about his work and had a bounce in his step.
The sixth continued in similar fashion, right up to near the end of the round that is. Paulie Malignaggi came alive towards the end of the round.
He looked like he had the 23 year old Eggington hurt as he launched a near 20 punch combination with many right hooks.
A very entertaining period of punching indeed. The 7th round was close, but I gave it to Malignaggi on accuracy.
However a big left hand to the body went in by Eggington in the 8th that sent Malignaggi crashing to the canvas and unable to beat the ten count.
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