Former ONE FC and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren doesn’t think Paulie Malignaggi did the boxing community any favors in his bare knuckle debut against Artem Lobov at BKFC 6.
Malignaggi, a former two-division boxing world champion, lost to Lobov (13-15 MMA) in a dull, lackluster main event and subsequently announced his retirement at the BKFC 6 post-fight press conference on Saturday.
Askren wasn’t particularly impressed by ‘Magic Man’ and questioned boxing’s esteemed reputation as an elite combat sport.
“I get that Paulie retired, but he was a world champion,” Askren said during a recent Periscope session (h/t BJPenn.