NEW YORK -- When all the crazy and often vulgar trash talk was finally over, when there was no more discussion of the woman they both dated and argued over, and when it was just mano a mano inside the ring, Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi put on a quality prizefight.
But in the end, it was Broner who backed up his ample talk, which continued after the fight.
Skipping over the junior welterweight division, lightweight titleholder Broner moved up to welterweight and won another world title, outboxing Malignaggi and landing far heavier blows -- after a bit of a slow start -- to take a surprising split decision before 11,461 on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Malignaggi's hometown of Brooklyn.
Broner, at just 23, is now a three-time titleholder, having won belts at junior lightweight, lightweight and now welterweight in only a 19-month span. He became just the fourth fighter to win titles at 130, 135 and 147 pounds, joining his idol Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya.
Malignaggi, 32, was busy and on his game early, but Broner appeared to take over in the second half of the fight, despite the way the scorecards read: 117-111 and 115-113 for Broner and 115-113 for Malignaggi. ESPN.com also had it 117-111 for Broner, who taunted Malignaggi throughout the fight, saying to him, "You can't hit me."
When the fight was over, Broner and Malignaggi didn't embrace or have any interest in being pals.
Broner started off showing respect for Malignaggi in his postfight interview, saying, "He's a world-class fighter, and I respect him. To come to somebody's hometown and beat them on a split decision, that's saying something. This was a tremendous win for me. I mean, who's doing it like me? Nobody."
Then Broner (27-0, 22 KOs) left Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KOs) with a parting shot.
"I came into town, and I got his belt and his girl," Broner said.
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Al Bello/Getty ImagesPaulie Malignaggi was active and executed his game plan, but in the end, Adrien Broner's far superior power swayed the judges Saturday.
Malignaggi made a big stink about the scores, claiming corruption, saying Broner's powerful adviser Al Haymon had judge Tom Schreck (117-111) "in his pocket" and threatening to quit boxing if he didn't get a rematch, which is very unlikely to happen.
"I thought I out-threw him and outworked him," Malignaggi said. "He was sharp in spots, but he wasn't busy. He didn't land. They looked pretty. When he did work, he was good, but I had the better pace. This is a close fight. I don't even mind having him close or me close. But it could have gone either way.
"In my hometown, as the defending champion, I felt like I should have got it. Tom Schreck is a New York judge and in Al Haymon's pocket. That's all there is to it."
Then Malignaggi ratcheted up his rhetoric:
"I thought it was an entertaining fight and the fans got their money's worth, but it's a lot of bulls---. There's politics, and you get bulls--- like this. It's part of the game, and somebody should do something about it. I don't have to fight again. I made good money in boxing and I work with you guys at Showtime [as an announcer]. I'm not saying it was fixed, but it's always the more connected fighter who gets the decision."
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