In the ultimate battle for Brooklyn, New York's own Zab Judah (42-8, 29 KOs) and Paulie Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KOs) will square off in front of a raucous crowd at the Barclays Center to determine who is the boxing king of the city.
Both fighters are coming off tough decision losses in their previous bouts. Despite being long-time friends, the two men will battle for the chance to earn a spot in a championship picture in the near future.
Judah and Malignaggi are each just one win away from another title shot.
With the stakes as high as possible in the main event fight, here is a full preview of how fans can watch the pay-per-view live and my official prediction.
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
When: Saturday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET
Watch: Showtime pay-per-view
Live Stream Replay: Sho.com
Main Event Preview and Prediction
These two men are veteran fighters that have been around the sport for a long time. Judah and Malignaggi have known each other for years, and each must put aside his personal feelings in this marquee bout.
There will be no friends in the center of the ring Saturday night.
Judah is coming off a loss to then-junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia, but the defeat doesn’t tell the whole story. After getting knocked down early in the fight, Judah came back in the latter rounds and had Garcia on the ropes. To beat Malignaggi, he will have to use his defensive prowess to avoid the big haymakers while still maintaining his aggressiveness.
The key to a victory for Judah will be his unique combination of power and speed. While he has struggled to get all of his strengths working together at the same moment, when the veteran is accurately landing heavy shots, there are few in the welterweight division that can stand up to Judah.
Malignaggi is one of the fighters that will be a matchup nightmare for Judah.
Many experts thought the former welterweight champion was robbed in his split-decision loss to Adrien Broner. Instead of complaining, he will have a chance at redemption against Judah. If the 33-year-old Malignaggi wants to fight for another world title, he must get close to Judah and use his explosive power to accumulate damage on his opponent.
Once Judah is moving backwards, the aggressive nature of Malignaggi and his long-distance power will have the challenger reeling. With the speed and willingness to stand and trade shots with anyone, Malignaggi will be too much for Judah to handle.
Boxing fans should expect a hard-fought battle between New York residents, but this victory will be the start of another career renaissance for Malignaggi.
Predicted Winner: Paulie Malignaggi via 10th-round TKO
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