Paulie Malignaggi says Deontay Wilder tried to get him ousted from his commentating gig at Showtime after the first fight with Tyson Fury…
Paulie Malignaggi is widely regarded as one of the sharpest and most perceptive commentators in boxing. Those qualities almost got him into trouble one time, he says.
The former two-division titleholder recently appeared on the SiriusXM boxing show to talk about Deontay Wilder’s excuses after his surprising stoppage loss to Tyson Fury in their rematch Feb. 22 in Las Vegas. Malignaggi explained how Wilder’s excuse-making has been an ongoing pattern stretching back to the first fight with Fury in 2019, which ended up as a disputed draw. Many observers felt Fury outboxed Wilder, who nevertheless managed to score two knockdowns.
“Here’s the problem I have, and this is I think where Deontay’s had a problem in the last couple years,” Malignaggi said. “Nobody around him is honest anymore, in my opinion. OK? Because when you say certain things publicly, you’ve already said them in your circle. … So, starting from the first Fury fight, somebody [should have] been like, ‘Yo, player, you didn’t win that fight. We got away with it.’ Just run with it and say, ‘Yo, I’m gonna make this even better the next time. I got the knockdowns.’ Say you even feel like the result wasn’t a robbery. But don’t go saying like people were out of their minds to think you lost the first fight, when you got out-classed in the first fight.”
Malignaggi and unofficial judge Steve Farhood worked the first Fury-Wilder fight for Showtime. Both of them believed Fury outclassed Wilder, with Malignaggi going so far as to call the draw a “robbery” against Fury. Farhood scored it 115-111 in favor of Fury. Those opinions, according to Malignaggi, weren’t well received by Wilder, who he claims attempted to get both on-air talents booted from the network.
“That was my issue with the whole thing,” Malignaggi said. “(Wilder) tried to get me fired from Showtime and all this other stuff. You know? He was trying to have me and Farhood removed and all this other stuff.”
Malignaggi believes Wilder misunderstood the point of the criticism. He was merely suggesting the fighter shore up some of the more glaring weaknesses in his game.
“So I have sort of an issue with that, because I don’t have an issue with you being competitive and you even not liking the criticism,” Malignaggi continued. “I don’t have an issue with that, because you are not supposed to accept that that easily. But when it’s constructive … when you calm down, you have to be able to understand the difference between constructive criticism and hating criticism. You know? And so, you have to be able to take the constructive criticism and build yourself and get better.”
Malignaggi feels Wilder failed to make the requisite adjustments for the rematch, in which he was unable to cope with Fury’s aggressive tactics. Fury scored two knockdowns before referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout in the seventh round.
Among Wilder’s excuses afterward was a doozy: He claimed that the 40-pound costume he wore during his ring walk had weakened his legs, which drew a great deal of ridicule. Too many sycophants, Malignaggi said, in Wilder’s corner.
“If everybody’s just agreeing with you, a bunch of yes men, you start to lose track of reality,” Malignaggi said. “And I feel like Deontay putting out that excuse is just another sign, another clue, to say there’s too many yes men around this guy. Because somebody in his team should’ve been like, ‘Yo, you are gonna look like an idiot if you put that out there. Don’t say that.’ Just say, ‘Yo, we got the rematch clause. I’m gonna run it back, and I’ll make this right.’
“Don’t say it was the outfit, though. Don’t go with the outfit.”
Fury and Wilder are expected to meet for a third time on July 18 in Las Vegas.
