Former IBF and WBA boxing champion Pauli Malignaggi is set to come out of combat retirement, as he has signed a two-year deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship as reported by ESPN.
“BKFC is the new wave in combat sports. They’re doing great things, and I’m very excited to be a part of this organization. I’ve accomplished some big things in my boxing career, and I look forward to what this next phase brings,” said Paulie.
“After a long boxing career, it’s easy to miss the limelight and the rush that combat brings. I look forward to getting back in action and the new challenge of fighting for BKFC.”
And by the sounds of it, Paulie is ready to take on any and all comers:
.@PaulMalignaggi wants ALL the smoke pic.twitter.com/ZmYmE5Oek2
— Brooklyn To The World (@brooklyntoworld) March 7, 2019
According to Helen Yee, Paulie’s first fight could happen as early as June 20 against none other than Artem Lobov, who recently inked a deal with BKFC, as well. “The Russian Hammer” already has a fight lined up for April 6 against Jason Knight, which means he has to be successful in that matchup to set up the showdown against Paulie.
Of course, Malignaggi’s beef with Conor McGregor, so putting fists on Lobov — one of Conor’s best friends and training partners — is perhaps the closest thing Paulie will ever be able to do to as far as hurting “Notorious” in any manner.
Malignaggi — who serves as a commentator for Showtime Boxing — hasn’t competed in march of 2017 where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Sam Egginton, Prior to that, Malignaggi had won three in a row and amassed a 36-8 record a processional boxer in a career that spanned 16 years.