Boxing Insider - Malignaggi upset with Golden Boy and Diaz camp
by Corey E
Sometimes when you're betting on boxing, it pays to wait until the last minute to place your bet, even if the boxing lines may move. In the case of the Paulie Malignaggi vs. Juan Diaz bout, just a few days ago, it looked like an evenly-matched contest between two hungry and confident fighters.
While that still may be the case, there have been some revelations made regarding the officials in place that have clearly tweaked with Malignaggi's normally exuberant psyche.
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Malignaggi made several statements to the media on Wednesday regarding what he considers to be a "corrupt" operation handling the August 22 bout. "The Magic Man" is already a significant underdog, however, he feels that there may be some factors contributing to that.
First is the absurd 138.5 catch weight that Golden Boy Promotions reportedly would not budge on. Malignaggi has fought at 140 his entire career, and is forced to move down slightly in order to meet Diaz, who is already arguably a better power puncher. There is no question that the decision was made to benefit "The Baby Bull," and as the secondary promoter, Lou DiBella could do very little to change this.
What should be more concerning for the "Magic Man" and his camp is the seemingly stacked deck of officials.
"You have Gale Van Hoy, a judge from Texas who scored the Chris John-Rocky Juarez fight a draw. Then you have Raul Caiz, a Mexican judge from California who is anything but neutral," Malignaggi told BoxingScene.com. "The referee is Laurence Cole and all you have to do is look him up to see his past."
There's no question that Paulie has a point, but what does it tell those who bet on boxing about his confidence going into the fight? It would seem that he is making excuses before he even steps into the ring so that he has a fallback if he does not leave victorious. Regardless of the amount of complaining Malignaggi does, DiBella doesn't have the pull to have any of these decisions reversed.
Knowing that, when evaluating boxing lines, bettors have to strongly consider choosing Juan Diaz in this bout now. Whether it is unjust or not, Diaz is blessed with home-ring advantage, and a panel of judges from his home state, or adjacent to Texas.
Sometimes, the mental aspect of boxing betting is more important than physical skills, and this contest is glaring proof of just that.
