Malignaggi vs. Porter: Malignaggi feels he is more talented and intelligent than Shawn Porter

Paulie Malignaggi never wastes any time telling us how he really feels, and his penchant for sharing his opinion was on full display recently as he stated he feels he is more talented and intelligent than his next foe, Shawn Porter. Porter, coming off an upset decision win Devon Alexander in December, is seven years younger than Paulie, but that's irrelevant to Mr. Malignaggi.

"At days end, we're both very hungry. But I feel that I'm the more talented fighter. Not that Shawn is not talented, but I feel that I'm the more talented fighter," said Malignaggi. "I feel that I'm the more intelligent fighter, not that Shawn is not intelligent. Again, I feel that what I have in my back pocket is more than what he has in his pockets. Come Saturday night, we'll see if I'm right, or if Shawn's confidence is right."

Paulie then took some time to go on a rant against the media.

"Over the course of the years, unfortunately, the viewpoint of media, toward me, has been more about 'How does this guy keep sticking around' as opposed to appreciating what I do, and the fact that I have out-lasted almost every single fighter that has been hyped more than me," said Malignaggi.

"I've been continuing to excel at the highest level of this sport, regardless of the naysaying that they do, consistently. And, again, instead of seeing the qualities in me as a fighter, they keep saying, 'How is this guy still around,' as if this should be a surprise."

"If you are surprised, if you take the blinders out of your damn eyes, you guys would see a quality fighter, and you would understand the qualities that I have as a fighter," said Malignaggi, crediting California-based trainer Eric Brown for the transformation.

"If you guys were such experts as you claim to be, you would see the little subtleties and the little improvements that I continue to make as the years have passed, year-to-year, and the changes in my style that I have made, year-to-year, especially since I've gotten with Eric Brown. But, of course, you guys are the experts, and you guys already see that."

Ahhhhhh, Paulie. He has had some great rants in his days. For the record, I would not quite say that he has excelled at the highest level of the sport, but has resided at the level just beneath that. I've never, even in his prime, viewed him as a truly elite guy. Nothing wrong with, I just think there has been enough evidence of him against his best opposition that he is a level beneath the top men in the sport. Hopefully he doesn't see this and cut a promo on me, you guys.

Do you agree that Malignaggi is a more talented and smarter fighter than Porter?