Paulie Malignaggi got his revenge in Chicago.

After a controversial decision that many felt was influenced by bad judging and officiating in August the first time they met, Malignaggi clearly outpointed Juan Diaz tonight on neutral ground. He won the fight 116-111 on all three judges' scorecards, and 115-112 on Bad Left Hook's card.

Malignaggi used speed, movement and a better-than-usual right hand to win the bout. He even hurt Diaz at one point, which seemed to legitimately stun even Paulie, whose jaw dropped before he even attempted to capitalize on it.

Malignaggi later got a controversial knockdown scored in his favor, as the referee felt Diaz's glove touched the mat. It may or may not have -- if it did, it grazed. It appeared to be a bad call on the live airing.

There's no controversy here, though. Malignaggi won this fight, and something else needs to be credited for that result.

Malignaggi was sharp tonight for much of the bout, especially early. But he was helped by some horrendous corner advice from Diaz's trainer Ronnie Shields, who saw a fight none of us watching were seeing. Shields was inconsistent, asking Diaz to do things he can't do (like out-jab Paulie), and changing his advice constantly on whether or not Juan should be doing what Juan does, which is bull-rushing and making a volume fight of it.

It's a sweet end to the year for Malignaggi, who was (as he said post-fight) counted out by many after last November's lopsided loss to Ricky Hatton. He put in two good performance against Diaz this year, winning the first in many minds, and winning this one clearly.

And once again, it was also an entertaining fight. Though neither man has a lot of power, their styles just mesh. They complement one another greatly.

Congratulations to Paulie Malignaggi, and hats off to Juan Diaz, who did his best tonight. Both of these guys have upped their stock by fighting each other twice.

On the undercard, Victor Ortiz stopped Antonio Diaz on a cut. Reports are that Ortiz looked fairly tentative in his comeback.

At 10:15pm ET, HBO goes live with the highly-anticipated Boxing After Dark rematch between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi. On the undercard will be the hoping-to-rebound Victor Ortiz taking on Antonio Diaz. After the two live bouts, HBO airs taped coverage of Vitali Klitschko's WBC heavyweight title defense against Kevin Johnson.

Our live coverage of the Showtime card with Bradley-Peterson is here.

Join us as we (likely) close out the 2009 live fight coverage at Bad Left Hook!

JUAN DIAZ		PAULIE MALIGNAGGI
	Main Event

I never would have guessed that the August fight between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi would've created so much interest, and that's even before the controversy about hometown scoring in Texas kicked up.

Diaz-Malignaggi was a fight between two guys who, when last seen by most, had been beaten convincingly. Diaz lost a Fight of the Year-worthy war against Juan Manuel Marquez in February, and though Malignaggi had an off-TV win over a journeyman early this year, the majority last saw or heard about him when Ricky Hatton trounced him in November 2008.

The bout was also buried in August, typically boxing's slowest month of the year (the exact reason that yours truly got married in August). Diaz and Malignaggi aren't big punchers, aren't real big names, and their catchweight bout, in some ways, felt like a loser's bracket matchup going in. Not that it wasn't a good matchup; it was a great idea for both of them, in fact. But who would really care past the diehards?

For whatever reason, the fight did good ratings on Boxing After Dark. And then the controversy came. Most everyone had the fight 115-113 or at most 116-112 one way or the other. But after Malignaggi had warned that he was going to get screwed by Texas officials in Diaz's home state, Texas judge Gale Van Hoy's card was announced.

118-110 for Diaz. Malignaggi lost it in a post-fight rant, declaring boxing to be "bulls**t," and saying he now only does it for the paydays. While that was probably an overly emotional statement, Paulie's impassioned tirade set off a choir of fans and media joining his cause. Simply put, Van Hoy's scorecard was inexcusable, and everyone agreed, including Oscar de la Hoya (Diaz's promoter) and Diaz himself.

Four months later, here we are with the rematch. On neutral ground at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Diaz and Malignaggi meet once again.

Diaz-Malignaggi II

I always have to note this little bit before any rematch. Statistically speaking, the guy that won the first fight almost always wins the rematch. You might argue that Malignaggi won the first fight (I scored it for him, too), but let's not start painting it the way Team Paulie tried to, with this "everyone knows I beat him" stuff. Diaz had a very good argument to have won, but he sure as hell didn't win 118-110. That's why we have this rematch. Thanks, Gale Van Hoy.

Diaz (35-2, 17 KO) will almost surely look to do first what he always does: pressure, pressure, pressure and volume punching. Work the body, crash to the inside, and push Paulie around. Malignaggi, though, has the speed, the jab and the height and length to make Diaz miss and to keep him at bay, which he did in the first fight.

But my concern on Paulie's side is, can he really do any better than he did last time out? He's been inconsistent since the Cotto fight. Sometimes, he shuts out an opponent (Edner Cherry, Lovemore N'dou the first time), and other times, he looks a little rocky (N'dou the second time, Herman Ngoudjo). Hatton flat-out kicked his ass, but (forgive me, Baby Bull fans) Juan Diaz is not Ricky Hatton. He's just not that physically strong, and also, Hatton looked better in that fight than he had in years.

As for Malignaggi, I'd say his performance against Diaz in August was about as good as we can expect him to be anymore. Diaz, on the other hand, can be better than he was. Both of these guys are a slight bit shop-worn for their ages. Diaz, 26, has been through some wars, and has been fighting top competition for years now. Malignaggi, 29, has not only taken that severe beating from Miguel Cotto back in 2006, but he's had a ton of hand injuries that have sapped him of any bit of power he ever did have in the first place.

Malignaggi lives and dies on his speed and whether or not he "feels it" that particular night. Diaz, I believe, is more likely able to overcome a bit of an off night, as he's a bit more dynamic than Malignaggi. For me, this is a necessary-enough rematch of a pretty good fight that I don't think will be as good the second time around. But I also don't think we'll have any controversy this time. Juan Diaz by clear decision

Ortiz-Diaz

On the undercard, 140-pound prospect Victor Ortiz looks to rebound from an emotional, devastating loss to Marcos Maidana in June. No matter how he tries to spin his post-Maidana comments, I will question Ortiz's level of fortitude until he proves that he can hang in a tough fight. Not because I don't like him (although I'll admit his bubbly personality just rubs me the wrong way), but because that was a big red flag. "I don't deserve to be getting beat up like this" is a big, big, big red flag.

That said, let's admit something else. Maidana can fight. And Maidana can punch like a mule kicks. Suffering a setback to Maidana itself isn't the big deal, it's how Ortiz immediately responded. But at his age, he'll have plenty of chances to prove people wrong.

Tomorrow, step one is veteran Antonio Diaz, who has been in the ring with the likes of Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito. They both stopped him, Mosley in six and Margarito in ten, and that was back when Diaz was a younger man. He's also fought and beaten Micky Ward, Ivan Robinson, Cory Spinks (he took Spinks' "0" back in 1998), Emanuel Augustus and more. Another of his five losses came early in his career against Juan Lazcano.

In short, Diaz has been around, and he's fought some terrific fighters. At 33 and having taken three years off between 2005 and 2008, Diaz is not the fighter he used to be, but he can still give Ortiz some rounds probably. Best bet is that Ortiz overwhelms Diaz with speed and power, the same as he's done to the other mid-level guys he's fought. But if Ortiz has any lingering mental issues and Diaz manages to tag him early, this could turn into a real fight. I like the kid to bounce back, though. Victor Ortiz TKO-8

Weights are in across the board for tomorrow's fights on Showtime and HBO, and everyone is on target.

Photo by Chris Farina - Top Rank

In Rancho Mirage, Calif., Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson made weight for their 140-pound title clash on Showtime. Bradley was ripped as always, coming in at 138 pounds, with Peterson at 139.

On the undercard, both Vic Darchinyan and Tomas Rojas were under the limit for their 115-pound title fight. Darchinyan, the titlist, was at 114 1/2, with Rojas at 113 1/2. Our own Brickhaus thinks Rojas is a very live dog, and is picking him to upset Darchinyan. Meanwhile, I'm taking Peterson to "upset" Bradley.

via www.goldenboypromotions.com

The HBO main event had a catchweight of 139 pounds, and both Paulie Malignaggi and Juan Diaz were just under. Malignaggi weighed 138.6, with Diaz at 138.4. The last time they fought, the limit was 138.5, which was among the more ridiculous bargaining chips of the year.

There's also a catchweight for the Victor Ortiz-Antonio Diaz scrap. Diaz, normally a welterweight, and Ortiz, normally a junior welterweight, agreed to meet in the middle at 144 pounds. Both fighters tipped the scales at 144 on the button.

Golden Boy Promotions sent out a press release with some notable quotes from the final Diaz-Malignaggi II presser in Chicago. Here are some of the highlights.

Juan Diaz

"I'm excited, I'm happy and I'm ready.  I feel like Santa Claus came early this year because come Saturday night, its going to be easy money."

"Not just Houston and Chicago, but this time the whole world is going to feel my anger.  They are going to see a "Baby Bull" they have never seen before. 

"Saturday night I'm going to claim what's mine.  I did it once and I'm going to do it again."

Paulie Malignaggi

"I'm excited about Saturday.  We have worked really hard for this fight.  I'm ready and Juan says he is ready.  It's going to be a great fight."

"I'm sharper and feel better than ever going into this fight."

"They can tell me anything they want about Juan Diaz.  They can tell me he moved mountains or that he jumped from Houston to Chicago in a single bound.  I don't care.  When the bell rings I know one thing, I'm ready."

Lou DiBella, Diaz's promoter

"I want to thank Juan Diaz for taking this rematch.  He didn't have to; he could have been a punk like a lot of people are in this sport, but he took the fight and has shown once again that he is a bright spot in the world of boxing."

Bernard Hopkins, Golden Boy Promotions

"The first fight between Diaz and Malignaggi was a very close fight; it really could have gone either way.  Some people say Malignaggi won, others think Diaz won, and that is what is great about the sport of boxing, it brings controversy which leads to great fights."

[Does Hopkins ever think before he says something? Controversial decisions are what make boxing great? OK, then never complain about another one.]

Victor Ortiz

"What's done in my past is done and I'm ready to move on."

Antonio Diaz

"Victor Ortiz is a good fighter; he's tough and he can hit.  Everyone has a bad night sometimes, I've had bad nights, and that is what Victor had when he fought Maidana.  I'm not even looking at that fight.  I'm looking at all his fights before that because I know that will be the Victor who will show up Saturday night."

Top Rank announced its full PPV card from Mexico and Ohio today. The card takes place on December 19, and there's nothing surprising.

In Youngstown, Kelly Pavlik defends against Miguel Espino, and Vanes Martirosyan looks to pick up a regional trinket against Willie Lee (17-5, 10 KO). Lee is a New Orleans-based fighter. This fights are pretty comparably competitive on paper. In Mexico, Humberto Soto faces a badly faded Jesus Chavez, and Nehomar Cermeno meets Alejandro Valdez. Cermeno-Valdez is probably the best fight on the show.

The Diaz-Malignaggi rematch card in Chicago is loading up the names, according to Dan Rafael. We already knew that Victor Ortiz will face Antonio Diaz on the TV undercard. But also featured will be Erislandy Lara taking on Luciano Perez in his first 10-rounder and Golden Boy prospects Hylon Williams and Jermell Charlo. Lou DiBella is getting his name fighters a Christmas bonus, featuring Yusaf Mack, Randall Bailey (moving up to welterweight), Dominick Guinn and Deandre Latimore. Mack, as of now, will face Ross Thompson.

I'll tell you, if you're in or near Chicago, hit that show. That's some strong stuff.

Ryan Burton of BoxingScene.com had a chance to interview junior welterweight contender Paulie Malignaggi. Mostly they discussed Malignaggi's December 12 rematch with Juan Diaz in Chicago, but most notable, perhaps, were Malignaggi's thoughts on Manny Pacquiao.

BoxingScene.com:  What did you think of Pacquiao's win over Cotto?

Paulie Malignaggi: I think there is something up with Manny Pacquiao. I am not going to get into it. I think people will understand what I am saying. Full blown welterweights don't take those type of punches from Miguel Cotto the way he took them with total disregard for his power nor do they hurt him with every punch they hit him with. These are full blown welterweights I am talking about. This guy is coming up in weight and doing all these things.  There is something up with this guy but that's as far as I am going to go into it. Floyd Mayweather (Senior) has gotten into it a little bit. There have been other fighters who have mentioned it. I am not going to get into no controversy. I am going to leave it at that. There is something that seriously makes me feel weird about Manny Pacquiao. I am going to leave it at that.

As Malignaggi says, he's not the only one that feels this way. He's not the first to say it. And he avoids making any huge statements or accusations.

Truthfully, given the era of sports we live in, it's natural to suspect the rise of a dominant force, and Pacquiao has become as dominant a force as we've seen in boxing in a long time. Not that there haven't been dominant guys; Roy Jones dominated, Floyd Mayweather dominated, but they didn't do it the way Manny has. The last time there was a fighter really manhandling foes with this much fanfare, it was probably Mike Tyson.

Discussion of the topic is OK, but please avoid slanderous statements if you're going to talk about it. There's no proof of anything, Pacquiao is tested after every fight, and to date there's never been a problem. I honestly don't suspect Pacquiao of any wrongdoing. Freddie Roach says Pacquiao "doesn't even know what a steroid is," and really, I don't think Floyd Mayweather Sr. really knows what one is, either. So many people seem to think steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are like Popeye's spinach, but it doesn't work that way.

Make sure to read the rest of Ryan Burton's interview, as Paulie puts a pretty scorching verbal lashing on Juan Diaz.

For those in the Chicago area (or just ready to travel to the Windy City near the holidays, which I do recommend) interested in the December 12 rematch between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi at the UIC Pavilion, tickets are on sale today. They can be purchased from 8 Count Productions, Ticketmaster, and UICPavilion.com.

You know, on a fight-related note, I think one of the things so interesting about this rematch and so intriguing about the first fight is that I felt both guys were on their game. Usually when I preview a fight or start trying to make a pick, I'll think about the advantages each guy has, if any, and then try to figure out who has the best shot at executing his gameplan. Pretty simple stuff, really. Boxing itself is an art, but talking about it really isn't.

I remember I thought to myself, "If Paulie can box from the outside, he's got a shot." And then I thought, "If Diaz can get his pressure up, he should really win." Generally one guy gets it all going and the other guy does not. I picked Diaz by decision and was quite confident in that. I wound up scoring it for Paulie, who boxed really well from the outside, and Diaz to his credit put pressure on really well. It made for a really compelling style matchup. It was the best Malignaggi had looked since the first win over Lovemore N'dou. He got himself back in the game, even with the official loss.

Paulie's had some Jekyll and Hyde-style performance issues in recent years. After the Cotto loss in 2006, he was sensational against Edner Cherry and N'dou, then struggled mightily with Herman Ngoudjo and the N'dou rematch. He was routed by Ricky Hatton, then came out and gave Juan Diaz a hell of a fight. I'm not sure how I see the rematch with Diaz going just yet, but if it's like the first fight, it should be good.

The other thing I wanted to say: For those hoping that Paulie knocks Diaz out, well, keep hoping. I know not everyone follows that close, but Paulie hasn't stopped anybody since 2003.

As had been all but officially reported by HBO or the promoters, the proposed December 12 rematch between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi is now 100% on. HBO made an official announcement on their Facebook page earlier today. As we discussed just a couple of days ago, the fight will be held at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Ticket information has yet to be released.

December 12 will be a busy day for boxing. Along with the Diaz-Malignaggi rematch on HBO (paired with Victor Ortiz-Antonio Diaz), Showtime will be presenting a show featuring Timothy Bradley-Lamont Peterson and Vic Darchinyan-Tomas Rojas. One also figures that someone will pick up Vitali Klitschko-Kevin Johnson for American TV. There have been rumblings that with Kelly Pavlik pulling out on his December 5 date, HBO may have the money necessary to grab Klitschko-Johnson and put it on tape delay with the Diaz-Malignaggi show. Klitschko's September fight with Cristobal Arreola did HBO's best ratings of 2009.

As for Diaz-Malignaggi, I'm glad it all got worked out and both sides were able to be placated enough for it to happen. Chicago is a neutral site so that won't play into anything this time. The August fight generated far more interest than anyone expected, and that was even before the controversy on the scorecards. The fight did what was reported as a surprisingly high TV rating, and that was before it became the talk of boxing for a couple weeks.

I also don't really know who to favor in the rematch. Without meaning to insult either of them, both are limited fighters, and their styles make for a tough fight to call. I scored the first bout for Malignaggi, but could I have seen it scored for Diaz? Sure, plenty of very smart folks felt Juan won (though nobody agreed with the 118-110 card). It was a competitive, entertaining fight, and a rematch is deserved.

For Paulie, he can attempt to right what he sees as a wrong, and get his career fully back on track. A clear loss in August would have really hurt him. For Juan, it's a chance to prove that there's no controversy, to clear the air with a win and shut Paulie's mouth. Pretty basic storylines, but effective, too.

The December 12 rematch between Paulie Malignaggi and Juan Diaz has found a home in Chicago. BoxingScene.com reports that the two will meet at the UIC Pavilion, which holds 7-10,000 for boxing.

The venue has been a pretty frequent home for fights and is located near Chicago's Little Italy, which may give them a chance to draw with Malignaggi. Dominic Pesoli's 8 Count Productions runs there frequently, and the recent David Diaz-Jesus Chavez fight was held at the building as well. WEC has also run there.

It's a good location, much better than the last major card held in Chicago, the Juan Diaz-Julio Diaz fight that was in Hoffman Estates, which is fairly out of the way. It's also worth noting that Don King promoted that fight horribly, and that Golden Boy and DiBella Entertainment will almost surely do better than King did. Chicago could be an amazing fight city if given proper treatment and marketing; there's as much diversity there as anywhere in America and it's a great sports town.

Victor Ortiz will meet Antonio Diaz on the televised undercard.