Frenzied Porter-Malignaggi Bout Highlights DC Armory Card

WASHINGTON, DC–Peter Quillin-Lucas Kocekny, the first fight of a three-fighttelevised card, worked as somnambulant. Paulie Malignaggi-Shawn Porter playedas speed.

The high-energy slugfest may win consideration for fight of the year andcertainly wins hands-down as Paulie Malignaggi’s least Paulie Maignaggi-likefight. That may be why the slick defensive ace lost. But at least he went downswinging.

In the co-main event, Porter opened up a cut on the Magic Man who forced hisfists to fly in a frenzied first frame. The pace somehow quickened in thesecond round, which saw Porter land several massive overhand rights that leftthe Magic Man scrambling in his hat for a trick to keep him standing. Thecrowed rallied to Malignaggi with chants of “Paulie” in the third but theBrooklyn native couldn’t quite rally. Porter again sent Brooklyn boxer reeling intothe ropes with powerful overhand shots.

Porter finally dropped Malignaggi in the fourth. He let his hands go to thehead contrary to his corner’s advice that he go to the body. The champion sentMalignaggi down for good with an explosive barrage that left the challengernearly falling off the ring apron. Porter connected on 90 of 195 punches in the short and violent scrap to Malignaggi’s 38 of 145 punches connected. Significantly, Porter found his mark on more than half of his 125 power punches, tripling the power shots landed of his opponent by landing 63 of them.

The DC Armory crowd, on its feet for much of the fight, erupted for the fight’s finale like nothing else in a night that saw Bernard Hopkins become the oldest man to unify a title and Olympian Sadam Ali improve to 19-0 on a first-round knockout. Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin outclassed the Czech Republic’s Lucas Kocekny to earn a decision but nothing quite compared to the four rounds of fury unleashed by Porter and Malignaggi.

The exclamation point on the fight invites aquestion mark whether Shawn Porter should be Floyd Mayweather’s next opponent. Ifhe could hit Paulie Malignaggi at will, perhaps he could enjoy similar successagainst Money.  

“We got the job done tonight.” Porter reflected after the fight. “We knewthis right hand was going to come all night.” It did.

“Don’t make me have lost to an average fighter,” Malignaggi revealed that hetold Porter. “I told him to go be great.” Malignaggi, who has shared the ringwith everyone from Ricky Hatton to Zab Judah to Adrien Bronner, wondered if thenext time he steps into the ring it will be as commentator rather than boxer. “Ifthis is my last fight,” he said, “I lost to a great champion.” Queried byShowtime colleague Jim Grey if he were calling it quits, the Magic Manindicated he leaned towards retirement. “If I gave you an answer right now,” hesaid, “I’d tell you I’d stop fighting.”