Well the odds for this bout came down from 8-1 to 7-1...I thought it was a bit too high only because I wanted to bet on Malignaggi. I think of Malignaggi as a poor man's Hector Camacho Sr. Granted, he fights orthodox but he has the same kind of New York swagger either makes you want to watch him or hate him.. Ngoudjo, a native of Cameroon, is a fighter I haven't been impressed with. He lost to a faded Jose Luis Castillo. Then won a razor thin decision to another faded veteran, Randall Bailey. I didn't have high hopes for this one.
Overall, this fight was better than I had anticipated. The normally astute Al Bernstein stated before the match that Ngoudjo might possibly be one of the best
infighters in the game today...Huh? Nontheless, Ngoudjo proved to be a stern test for the young Malignaggi despite my preconceived doubts about his ability.
Now on to the fight itself...The first two rounds were all Malignaggi. He easily controlled the pace with his jab. Ngoudjo was doing nothing but follow him around. Bernstein compared Malignaggi to Willie Pep in fighting style. Steve Albert then lowered the bar a little bit to cover for Bernstein's blasphemy, offering up less hallowed names like Joey Archer and Willie Pastrano. Malignaggi did dominate the first six minutes but...The next Willie Pep?
Ngoudjo, to his credit, soon made some smart adjustments and changed the direction of a fight that looked like another near shut out for Malignaggi. Ngoudjo nailed the cocky IBF champ with a good right hand in the third. He was coming full steam ahead and and the facial expression on Malignaggi's face turned from cocky to concerned.
Like I said, he was coming on strong but not as strong as the announcers would indicate. After suggesting Malignaggi was the second coming of Willie Pep, Bernstein began doing a hype job on the effectivess of Ngoudjo. Perhaps he was doing a sales job of trying to make the fight more exciting and competitive than it really was...
A cut opened over the left eye of Malignaggi in the fifth and the middle rounds were becoming increasingly more difficult to score. Buddy Mcgirt, Malignaggi's trainer, sagely advised his charge that he was making the fight "a lot harder that it needs to be." Malignaggi had abandoned his jab or perhaps he was getting tired of being countered. Bernstein aptly made this observation and stated when Malignaggi used his jab he controlled the bout.
Round seven was huge for Ngoudjo. He landed a crackling right hand to start the round and then wobbled the "Magic Man" a bit with another big right cross. His right hand counters, timed over Malignaggi's low left were finding a home. It seemed as if the momentum was changing in his favor.
In the eighth, Malignaggi regrouped. He coasted through the round and stole it. It was here that Ngoudjo should have pressed the advantage.
Malignaggi resumed control in the ninth with consistent flurries and a jab. Ngoudjo become content to try to land some wild rights and lefts. Ngoudjo stole the last two rounds on my card but it was too little too late. I scored it 116-112 for Malignaggi.
Bernstein had it 114-114 and scratched his head at some of the scores of the press row and judges. The problem wasn't with their scoring, the problem was with he and Steve Albert overstating Ngoudjo's effectiveness.
Not the best performance by Malignaggi but I thought he was a clear winner. I think he would make for an interesting match against the recently defeated Hatton or Gavin Rees if he wants to go overseas.
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