PAULIE MALIGNAGGI W12 JUAN DIAZ

Back to the form he showed in his first meeting with Lovemore Ndou two years ago, Paulie Malignaggi outboxed and outfought Juan Diaz for a unanimous and richly deserved decision win in their junior welterweight rematch on HBO’s Boxing After Dark on Saturday night.

I thought Diaz won the first meeting in Houston four months ago, but this time there was not a shadow of a doubt about Malignaggi’s superiority. The fight wasn’t even close. A so-called knockdown in the 10th round made the scores wider when Diaz skittered off-balance after being dragged out of position by a cuffing right hand and one glove apparently brushed the canvas, but this was Malignaggi’s fight in almost every round and the unanimous 116-111 cards of the three judges accurately reflected the fight we had seen.

Malignaggi’s after-the-fight outburst, when he railed against so-called haters who had written him off, wasn’t called for, but his comments were made in the heat of the moment.

Like it or not, Malignaggi did indeed look like a fighter at the end of the road when Ricky Hatton bullied him around in Las Vegas 13 months ago.

It says a lot for Malignaggi that he has come back so strongly and is again a factor in the junior welterweight division.

Observers are entitled to their opinions. There is, one hopes, nothing personal involved.

Years ago the critics were saying that Sugar Ray Robinson was washed up after he was trounced by Ralph “Tiger” Jones in a comeback bout — Sugar Ray went on to regain the middleweight title three times. Sugar Ray Leonard was considered well past his peak after being dropped in a struggling win over Kevin Howard, yet he came out of retirement to score his memorable victory over Marvelous Marvin Hagler. We all know how Evander Holyfield proved almost everyone wrong when, after looking like a used-up fighter against Bobby Czyz, and with concerns for his health being voiced, he pulled off one of the great heavyweight upsets by hammering Mike Tyson.

Maybe Malignaggi, doesn’t get it, but the fact that so many people doubted him makes Saturday night’s virtuoso display all the more magnificent. After all, to come back after being written off is probably the greatest triumph any fighter — or anyone in any walk of life, come to that — can hope to achieve. Perhaps, with time for reflection, Paulie will realise that his “hater” remarks were, shall we say, a touch intemperate.

Now I do know that there are some mean-spirited and rather sad individuals in this world whose greatest delight is to kick someone they perceive to be down but, trust me on this, Paulie, writers who thought you were finished after the Hatton fight — maybe I was one of them — were only making observations based on what they saw, or thought they saw, no malice intended.

As to Saturday’s fight, what one can say? Malignaggi displayed artistry and a fighting spirit. He beat Diaz in every department, and one can forgive Malignaggi for taunting his opponent because he was in control and having fun, and being naturally extrovert he couldn’t resist showing off.

I did get the impression, though, that Diaz had finally hit the wall, so to speak, after a blood-and-guts career. He had some good moments when he let the punches fly in combinations, he jabbed and hooked well at times and he occasionally landed a sweeping right hand. For the most part, though, he fought like a fighter whose flame has started to flicker. To win this fight he had to go right after Malignaggi, dig in and keep the punches flowing. He didn’t seem to have it in him to fight the sort of hard-driving, devil-take-the-hindmost type of fight that he was once able to wage. Maybe, at just 26, Diaz can never recapture the passion for victory that he once possessed.

Malignaggi looked bigger, stronger, tougher, the better puncher and simply much the superior fighter. There are some fights where you know, very early, who is going to win, where the first round tells all.

I didn’t pick the winner before the fight but I quickly knew who would win with the bout in progress, scribbling in my notebook after the first three minutes: “D. tentative — he loses!” I had not the slightest doubt about this.

Afterwards, Malignaggi told HBO viewers how he would love to get a rematch with Ricky Hatton because he knows he would win next time. Maybe he would, but of course the fight will never happen — but one thing I do know, the Malignaggi who lost lamentably in Las Vegas was just a shadow of the one who showed up in Chicago on Saturday night.