Paulie Malignaggi inks multi-fight deal with BKB to return to bare-knuckle fighting

Paulie Malignaggi is making his return to the ring, but he’s keeping the gloves off.

On Tuesday, the 44-year-old former boxing champion officially inked a three-fight deal to compete for BKB Bare Knuckle boxing with his debut expected on Sept. 6 in Bristol, England.

His first fight with BKB actually marks his second attempt at bare-knuckle fighting after he signed with BKFC and faced UFC veteran Artem Lobov in a losing effort back in 2019. That fight was actually one of the most talked about matchups of the year thanks to Malignaggi getting into a heated dispute with UFC superstar Conor McGregor over a sparring session they shared prior to McGregor’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

The bad blood between those two boiled over but with McGregor signed to the UFC, he couldn’t venture out to take a fight with a different promotion so Lobov stepped up to the plate. Lobov won the fight by unanimous decision, but then he had his own falling out with McGregor, and the now former friends are actually locked up in a lawsuit battle in Ireland.

As for Malignaggi, he’ll attempt to turn back the clock when he fights for the first time in nearly four years when he debuts for BKB in September.

“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,” Malignaggi said about joining BKB in a press release. “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.”

Prior to signing to BKB as a fighter, Malignaggi actually served as one of the lead commentators on broadcasts for the promotion. Now, he’ll fight there with hopes of getting his first professional win since 2016.