Malignaggi Returns To Fighting; Signs Deal With BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing

Paulie Malignaggi has returned to fighting at 44, raising a strong reaction from fans, as he signed a three-fight deal with BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing.

Malignaggi made his name in boxing, having won titles in junior welterweight and welterweight. He picked up the IBF belt at 140 while securing the WBA belt at 147.  Malignaggi ended his career with a 36-8-0 record. Since then, he has made a successful transition into combat sports media. He has worked with Showtime, while he is currently with ProBox TV.

However, he did enter into BKFC after his boxing career. He faced off against Artem Lobov in 2019. The fight came about after Malignaggi’s feud with Conor McGregor. Lobov and McGregor were friends, as  Malignaggi was brought into Conor’s camp to prepare him for Floyd Mayweather.  Malignaggi was eventually thrown out of camp after conflicting accounts emerged over what happened during sparring. A video from McGregor’s camp showed him beating Malignaggi, who demanded that the full sparring be released, which never happened. 

"He was looking for an exit. The spars were not good for him. He took a lot of head trauma. Straight after, we were worried. The sparring partners were actually telling us when he was struck by the left hand, he was actually stumbling around going to his car out in the parking lot. He was knocked down. He was flattened against the ropes. Multiple times, the ropes kept him on his feet. We were worried about him and thought the worst was about to happen to him. He was certainly badly concussed," McGregor stated 

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Lobov would beat  Malignaggi, but the latter now has the chance to secure a win in BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing.

"I could easily use my position to jump right back into a title fight. But you know what? That’s not what I’m going to do. I respect the fighters too much. Here at BKB, there’s really good contenders in the super welterweight division. I know that I when this announcement gets around to the contenders, they’re all going to want a piece of me. I want to fight one of those top contenders and earn my spot. I don’t want to jump the line. I still got what got the goods and I’m chasing that title," Malignaggi said 

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