Artem Lobov has revealed he has been offered the chance to rematch bitter rival Paulie Malignaggi and make his professional boxing debut.
The 33-year-old previously beat former boxing champion Malignaggi in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in June 2019. After five hard rounds, Lobov picked up a unanimous decision win on the judge’s scorecards.
Speaking to BJPenn.com, ‘The Russian Hammer’ said he had been offered the chance to face Malignaggi for a second time by a boxing promoter and he’s apparently very interested in the idea.
“Certainly [I’d rematch Paulie Malignaggi]. I have had some inquiries about that as I had a boxing promoter reach out to me and ask if I’d be interested in a pro boxing match against Paulie. With the coronavirus, all of that was put on hold but certainly I’d do it. Pro boxing has been something I’ve thought about for a long time. I think it would be a good first opponent for it.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting any ideas of a pro boxing career on hold, Lobov has begun thinking about what’s next in BKFC. Last time out he was stopped by Jason Knight in the fifth round of their highly anticipated rematch. According to Lobov BKFC bantamweight champion, Johnny Bedford is his most likely opponent although he insists he has many other opitons.
“That is probably one of the fights. They spoke to me about Johnny Bedford as well. He is the champion at 135 and is 5-0 in BKFC at the moment,” Lobov explained. “He has some noise behind him, but he needs some more exposure. He’s a solid fighter. So, I think it would make sense as he needs some push and a fight with me would do that for him. There are many fights for me.”
Would you like to see Artem Lobov face Paulie Malignaggi in professional boxing?