Never one to hide his feelings, Paulie Malignaggi is suspicious of Manny Pacquiao's success. (Photo by John Gichigi / Getty Images)

View full size photo »

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.

Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi will meet for a second time on December 12. Tickets for the Chicago event go on sale today.

View full size photo »

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.

Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi's December 12 rematch is official. Diaz won a controversial decision in August. (Photo by Will Hart, via www.hbo.com)

View full size photo »

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.

Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi will rematch on December 12 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. HBO will televise. (Photo via upload.wikimedia.org)

View full size photo »

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.

Victor Ortiz will return to the ring on December 12 in Chicago. A rematch between Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi will headline the show. (Photo via www.boxnews.com.ua)

View full size photo »

Dan Rafael's Notebook is up, and while the big stories are slow, he does have some good news.

The Juan Diaz-Paulie Malignaggi rematch for December 12 looks like a go, as Rafael says it's close to being finalized. Golden Boy is already putting together an undercard, and featured on HBO will be Victor Ortiz's return to the ring after his June stoppage loss to Marcos Maidana. Ortiz took a lot of criticism for quitting in that fight, and has since tried to say his words were "misunderstood," but they weren't. He might not have meant what he said, but he wasn't misunderstood. He doesn't get to pawn the blame onto other people for not "getting" what he meant by, "I don't deserve to be getting hit like that."

Anyway, Ortiz will face Antonio Diaz, a guy Zab Judah turned down for the Mayweather-Marquez card, with a 144-pound weight limit. Ortiz has fought at 140 and Diaz is a welter by trade, so they'll meet in the middle. Diaz is basically a gatekeeper at this point, but Ortiz took such a shellacking from Maidana in their tremendous war that he'll have to prove he's still got the same promise he used to possess. Diaz is legit enough if not top-flight.

As for Maidana, he returns on November 21 in Santa Fe, Argentina, against Panamanian William Gonzalez, who has lost three of his last five. Just goes to show that in boxing, it's certainly far more about who you know, who you're connected to, and who promotes you than it is just about anything else. Maidana made for a very exciting fight and a talk-of-boxing upset in June, and he's fighting on a show in South America again with the interim WBA title belt at stake, while Diaz jumps right back on the HBO gravy train thanks to his association with Golden Boy. It may not be fair, but I'm also not making a big stink about it. Just sayin', that's all. And to be fair, HBO did look into getting Maidana on their November 28 card, it just didn't happen.

Lou DiBella told Dan Rafael that two fights involving two of his biggest fighters and Golden Boy Promotions are close to done.

First up, the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto welterweight title fight on January 30, 2010. Confirmation is all that's waiting, and while it looks like it'll be a go, DiBella is being cautious:

"There are still some issues that have to be resolved between the Berto side and HBO," he said. "The issues are not between our side and Golden Boy. I'm optimistic that a deal can get done, but it's not done yet."

Mosley-Berto will stand as a great test for both sides in January, I think. Berto has never faced anyone this good, or frankly even close to it. Luis Collazo has been his toughest opponent, and Shane carved Collazo up a few years ago. At the same time, Mosley will have not fought in 53 weeks, and he's not getting any younger. Plus, Berto is quite fast, much faster than Shane's recent opponents, Antonio Margarito and Ricardo Mayorga, two plodding brawlers. It's a really interesting fight and it even feels like an overdue step up for Berto, which might not be fair, but when you get all the hype he has, eventually it becomes underwhelming when you're fighting the competition he has.

And then there's the ongoing saga of Diaz-Malignaggi II, which looks like it's going to happen on December 12:

"There are no remaining issues on our side and I believe this fight will happen. It's the right fight at the right time," he said. "I think Golden Boy feels the same way. It's very close, but they need to finish some of their business with Diaz and [manager Willie] Savannah." The fight could take place in Chicago or Las Vegas, DiBella said. Because Malignaggi is a New Yorker, Savannah refuses to come to the East Coast, even though DiBella had a $250,000 site guarantee from a venue in Atlantic City, N.J.

Diaz has been strange and sort of whiny during the negotiations, and Paulie has probably been overly animated and aggressive. Diaz recently claimed that Malignaggi has no other big fight options, which is probably true, but he talks as if he has any himself. Calling out Ricky Hatton doesn't mean you're fighting Ricky Hatton, and Ricky Hatton isn't saying much these days. All Juan Manuel Marquez has said is he'd like to take some well-deserved time off and then perhaps fight Hatton himself. Who do you think Ricky would choose in the event that he picked between those two? Diaz's options are every bit as limited as Malignaggi's, and it's a strange situation because it should be celebrated that they'll fight again. Good fight, close fight, and both of them obviously still have a little bit to prove. Fans are demanding it -- when's the last time fans demanded anything out of Diaz and Malignaggi? People are interested. Like DiBella says, it's the right fight at the right time. Strike while the iron's hot.

Later in the day, Dan Rafael spoke with Richard Schaefer, and reported in his weekly ESPN.com chat that the contracts for both fights had been sent out. So we'll know soon, it appears.