If Paulie Malignaggi ever fights again, it probably won’t be in the state of Florida.
The former two-division boxing champion made his long-awaited bare-knuckle boxing debut at BKFC 6 on Friday at Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall in Tampa, going five rounds with rival Artem Lobov en route to a unanimous decision loss. Both men had visible damage on their face after the fight, though Malignaggi insisted afterwards that Lobov rarely managed to catch him with anything clean.
Malignaggi maintained that stance at the evening’s post-fight press conference, telling reporters that he felt the judges got it wrong.