Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton Takes On Paulie ‘Magic Man’ Malignaggi

Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton of (44-1, 31 KO's) comes across the ‘Big Pond’ once again to take on Paul "The Magic Man" Malignaggi of (25-1, 5 KO's) for the Junior Welterweight World Championship in a scheduled 12-round battle on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

This matchup will be a clash between two of the best 140-pound fighters in the world and should one of the best fights of 2008, a classic battle between a brawler, (Hatton) and a boxer (Malignaggi).

Hatton, from Manchester, England is back in the U.S. after facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December of last year, absorbing his only career loss in the process, a 10th-round knockout.

Now back at his more accustomed weight class, Hatton us looking to do some damage to Malignaggi, a slicker boxer who certainly doesn’t possess Hatton’s punching power.

Malignaggi, from Brooklyn, New York, won his title at 140 pounds, in May, scoring a decision over Lovemore N'dou, breaking his right hand in the process, but is out to prove that he is the best 140-pound fighter in the world.

"This is definitely the biggest fight of my life," Malignaggi said. "I live for these kinds of opportunities. The bigger the moment the better I perform."

Hatton, the IBO 140-pound champion, recorded a unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano the same night that Malignaggi beat N’dou.

The fight’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, said he is interested t see which boxer prevails with their two distinct styles.

"As a fan, I am excited to see if Hatton can lure Malignaggi into a brawl, or if Malignaggi can dictate the tempo and make the fight his," said Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, who plans to end his own career in the same MGM Grand Garden ring on Dec. 6.

Malignaggi said he is not scared to mix it up with Hatton who likes to fight inside.

"You want to fight inside? Fine. Inside fighting is inside fighting," Malignaggi said. "But when you're holding and hitting, that's not boxing. I expect the commission here (in Nevada) to understand that."

Here is my brief tale of the tape, along with some analysis on each boxer as well as the outcome of the fight.

Size: Hatton is a slightly more compact, 5’6” and 140 pounds while Malignaggi goes 5’7” and also 140 pounds.

Power: This category isn’t even close as Hatton possesses the punching power of a much bigger man and Malignaggi possess almost no punching power at all with just five career Kos.

Speed: This category is also a mismatch as Malignaggi is much quicker with his hands than Hatton. Still, Malignaggi won’t be able to hurt Hatton at all.

Age: Hatton is 30-years-old and Malignaggi will turn 28 one day after their bout on Nov. 22.

Brains: Some may think that Malignaggi is the smarter of the two because he has to ‘out-box’ his opponents, but I fully believe that Hatton is just as smart, usually setting his opponents up perfectly – before summarily knocking them out!

Boxing Odds

Ricky Hatton -300

Paul Malignaggi +200