Paul Malignaggi v Adrien Broner

The biggest fight of the coming weekend sees WBA Welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7) taking on the fast rising Adrien Broner (26-0, 22) a man dubbed by many as the future star of American boxing. This will be Broner's first fight above 135lbs and the big question is whether or not the weight will be a problem, for the man known as "The Problem"?

Broner, a man who has claimed world titles at both Super Featherweight and Lightweight is viewed as the most exciting young American in boxing. To date however he hasn't really been tested in the way many would like to have seen him tested. His toughest bout to date came against the visibly under-sized Daniel Ponce De Leon and other than that bout he has done as he's wished with opponents.

Aside from the Ponce De Leon bout Broner has beaten a veritable list of B level opponents like Jason Litzau, Eloy Perez, Vicente Escobedo, Antonio DeMarco and Gavin Rees. For a perceived "pound-for-pound" top 10 fighters (as Ring Magazine herald him) his record is weak.

In terms of talent, as opposed to his opponents, Broner does often look very good. He's got fast hands, a seemingly solid chin and explosive power. Every shot he throws seems to be crisp, hurtful and has an effect on an opponent. Despite his strengths he does seem to be technically limited, his jab can be lacking, he can be caught and often looks like Floyd Mayweather's more offensively minded but much less skilled little brother.

One thing we've all seen is that if you let Broner fight his fight and go to him, he will beat you with his power. Gavin Rees showed that he can be tagged, Ponce De Leon showed he can be out boxed but to date he has remained unbeaten as the hype machine has really gone crazy about him.

In Malignaggi we have a champion who will also be the under-dog. This is despite the fact Malignaggi is more proven, the champion and the man who has been fighting at 147lbs in recent bouts.

Like Broner, Malignaggi made his name outside of the Welterweight division having been a multi-time champion at Light Welterweight (a weight that Broner has notably skipped). In the Light Welterweight division Malignaggi fought a genuine who's who in the form of Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan and Juan Diaz. Whilst he lost most of those fights (going 1-1 with Diaz, though should have been 2-0) Malignaggi proved he belong on the world stage with brave performances.

As a Welterweight Malignaggi has gone on to be undefeated (claiming a controversial victory over Pablo Cesar Cano last time out, when Cano failed to make weight) and looked like a rejuvenated fighter against Vyacheslav Senchenko. It was the Senchenko fight that Malignaggi was last viewed as the under-dog and last written off before he put on arguably the best performance of his career showing off a beautiful jab, wonderful movement and blistering combinations. If that Malignaggi shows up again here he could very easily embarrass Broner.

Sadly for Malignaggi it's rare that we actually see him at his very best. He's a fighter who has always lacked power and instead has always had to rely on pure boxing and speed. At 32 that speed could start going very fast, especially against a younger, fresher fighter like Broner. If it does, he could be a sitting duck for the challenger who whilst not great with his own footwork is very deliberate.

In the build up to the fight both men have been talking the talk, there is bad blood here and whilst Malignaggi has seemed to get the better of the verbal sparring he may just have have annoyed Broner to the point where the younger guy really wants to make a point and actually does use his feet to cut the ring off and break down Malignaggi. The natural size difference isn't as big as it would "seem" on paper and I'd expect Broner to be the bigger man in the ring, meaning this could be very painful for Malignaggi.

The champion is tough but with out the fire power to keep Broner away I can't see anything but a Broner stoppage in the middle rounds.

Prediction-Broner TKO8