Overhand right lands from Paulie after a left hook is blocked. Ngoudjo looks quicker than I expected, but he's slower than Paulie. Left hook lands from Malignaggi. Three jabs land for Ngoudjo. 1-2 from Ngoudjo, and they trade momentarily. Ngoudjo unloads, missing three shots, and Malignaggi ducks under Ngoudjo's arm. Ngoudjo shaken up a little on the ropes, but he slips away.

Good opening round, a lot more competitive than Albert and Bernstein are making it out to be.

Malignaggi 10-9

Jabs snap Ngoudjo's head back, and Paulie comes with the left and right cross, but the ending punch doesn't land clean. When Ngoudjo does manage to get inside, Paulie has tied him up every time and gotten a break to reacquire distance. It's smart, but I don't have to like it.

Paulie is really dictating this round completely, using the jab to great effectiveness, moving in and sticking, then dancing back out. Ngoudjo lands an overhand right, but the round ends much in Malignaggi's favor.

Malignaggi 10-9
Malignaggi 20-18

Ngoudjo catches Malignaggi flush with a right hand, perfectly timed. BIG right hand from Ngoudjo catches Paulie off-guard, and he might've been shaken up with that one. Paulie gets caught with another right. How about this from Herman Ngoudjo?

Another monster right cross misses this time, and the two start wrestling at center ring before the bell sounds. Good round from Ngoudjo.

Ngoudjo 10-9
Malignaggi 29-28

Ngoudjo is starting to really gain some momentum with the power punches, keeping Paulie in a defensive stance, neutralizing the nice offense that Malignaggi showed in round one. The jab isn't there like it was before, and he might get goaded into a brawl, which is the way he would lose this fight.

Ngoudjo has Malignaggi going back and losing confidence. Four jabs from Malignaggi, and that's what he needs to do. Ngoudjo briefly gets Paulie cornered, but doesn't capitalize on it.

A really good round from Ngoudjo, and he now has no fear at all. Paulie is cut near his left eye.

Ngoudjo 10-9
38-38

Paulie with a stiff jab, and he looks like he's going to go back to what was working. Good idea. He's keeping Ngoudjo at a distance and making him miss, so now Ngoudjo goes back to his jab.

There's a fine counter jab from Ngoudjo, and Paulie misses a left hook. Paulie gets away from the ropes with a quick little right hand.

Time is being called -- Malignaggi's right shoelace is undone.

Malignaggi back to the stick-and-move tactics, getting Ngoudjo tied up when he storms in, and he's winning this round. But there's a sneaky right hand that lands for Ngoudjo, something he's done a couple of times now.

Paulie with a couple of shots near the end of the round, and he takes a rough-and-tumble round.

Malignaggi 10-9
Malignaggi 48-47

Face-sticker left hook, this time from Ngoudjo. Paulie's stopped workingat his usual pace, the jab all but gone. There's a double jab, so hush my mouth.

Ngoudjo with a flurry at the ropes, but doesn't land anything significant. The pace has definitely slowed on both sides.

I'll tell you, the commentators are like one of those old Genesis sports talk video games. They're calling momentum shifts that have long since passed.

Ngoudjo is winning this round as we near the close, but it hasn't been the prettiest. More than Ngoudjo winning it, really, it was that Malignaggi didn't do anything to win it.

Somehow, Buddy McGirt finds that to have been "beautiful."

Ngoudjo 10-9
57-57

NGOUDJO WITH A LEFT HOOK AND A RIGHT, AND PAULIE IS HURT

Ngoudjo is going to town on Paulie Malignaggi! Paulie is barely hanging on, holding onto Ngoudjo to stay up. Well I'll be damned. The 6-to-1 underdog is bringin' it. This is the best I've seen Ngoudjo look.

Allen Huggins has been a little off refereeing this fight.

Malignaggi is looking to bring the fight now, as he might feel he has to.

Right-left from Ngoudjo as the distance closes. He is dominating this round, and Malignaggi looks in a bad way.

Malignaggi with some nice offense, but it's not the type of fight he wants. Ngoudjo with ANOTHER right that lands and shakes Paulie up. Paulie is holding a ton and not getting warned.

ANOTHER big right hand from Ngoudjo. Ngoudjo is getting warned now? That is blatant favoritism.

Ngoudjo just schooled Paulie that round.

Ngoudjo 10-9
Ngoudjo 67-66

Malignaggi slips in with a quick left hook, then gets away. If he goes back to boxing his game, he'll win this fight. But who knows how the goddamned judges have it, anyway? Al thinks Paulie is probably down a point, same as I have it.

Ngoudjo comes in with a loopy combination, but Paulie shoves him off and lands some sloppy shots of his own. Not much to see this round, and with 20 seconds left, it can go either way.

There's a 1-2 from Ngoudjo that might have been enough to give him the round. He lands another lunging left hook, partially blocked, to end the round. I gotta give it to Herman for a strong finish, as it was even for the first 2:40.

Good fight.

Ngoudjo 10-9
Ngoudjo 77-75

Paulie opens the round with more jabs, but he's done that a few times and then lost his way. A rough tie-up in the middle. Press row has it all for Malignaggi -- 78-74, 77-75, 77-75. Al has the same card I do. I like Paulie, but he is losing this fight.

That said, he's doing better this round, staying consistent with the jab and outboxing Ngoudjo, who isn't getting a lot done either inside or outside. This is the fight Paulie wins in routine fashion.

Malignaggi doubles up on the jab with a minute left, and Malignaggi hugs again. He is doing a ton of that tonight, and it's getting a little annoying that Huggins hasn't said anything to him. It's very obvious.

Good round for Malignaggi, the jab and his excellent defense got him back into it. I thought this might be slipping away, but he's right there again.

Malignaggi 10-9
Ngoudjo 86-85

Promo for Vazquez-Marquez III -- I cannot wait.

Bernstein just noted that McGirt has done a great job calling an audible having Paulie stop moving to his left as he was getting caught by the right so much, but I think there's more than that. Buddy has done an excellent job keeping Paulie's head on straight and not letting him get all cowboy as he did against Cotto. But that's been the key to the McGirt-Malignaggi pairing. Buddy keeps Paulie in check.

Paulie with a nice uppercut about halfway into the round, a round he's again winning by doing what he does best -- boxing and moving, and keeping the opponent unable to get the gun cocked.

He's back in firm control, and it's back to even on my card.

Malignaggi 10-9
95-95

And again, Paulie's shoe comes untied.

Malignaggi misses an uppercut, but Ngoudjo can't land anything to counter. It's another tight round, and I'm a little anxious about the scorecards. Ngoudjo with some good punches as he catches Paulie getting a little bit winded, not moving around. Body work from Ngoudjo, the left hook lands.

You know what? Ngoudjo's taking this round with 30 seconds left. Paulie started well, but Ngoudjo took over solidly in the last two minutes. Uppercut and a straight right from Malignaggi just before the bell.

Ngoudjo 10-9
Ngoudjo 105-104

Paulie is throwing wild uppercuts, and I have no idea why Herman isn't looking to really drill him there. They aren't landing or even close to doing so.

Left hand from Ngoudjo, and he just opens up the can on Malignaggi again, as he did in the seventh round that he totally owned. Malignaggi's jab is gone again, and that's been the story of the fight. When pressured, Paulie loses the jab, completely.

Big jab from Ngoudjo snaps Malignaggi's head back. He is taking this fight home on my card, and doing so impressively. Paulie looks tired and beaten up, and Ngoudjo looks very strong.

Malignaggi uses what's left in the tank to get away from another attempted flurry from the challenger, and Ngoudjo chases him again. Bernstein is as sick of Allen Huggins as I am. He has been awful. When you notice the referee, it's usually not a good thing.

I'll tell you what: This was a damn good fight, and Ngoudjo won. I don't think we're going to hear that announced, though.

Ngoudjo 10-9
Ngoudjo 115-113

115-113
116-113
116-111

All for Paulie Malignaggi

It was a good fight. I firmly believe Ngoudjo won. But this was no robbery, as it was back and forth and many rounds could have gone either way. Very competitive, pretty compelling, and Ngoudjo showed me more in the loss than he has since he got his name on the map last year.