Paulie Malignaggi has his next bare-knuckle fight, and it’s a name he couldn’t land when both of them were boxing. Malignaggi will face Victor Ortiz on December 5 in Los Angeles in a BKB bout billed as “King of the Game.” The fight was made official during BKB 60, which is a little awkward if you’re Paulie, because he was sitting in the commentary booth that night watching Rolando Dy, the guy who beat him, defend his title again in the main event.
That Dy fight is the backdrop for this whole booking. In May, Malignaggi was chasing a BKB world title and got stopped by Dy, who spent the night smothering the former champ’s boxing and turning it into a wrestling match with no gloves. Malignaggi came out of it loudly frustrated with the clinch, and he told Bloody Elbow he thinks the best bare-knuckle fights happen when both guys come from boxing. BKB just handed him exactly that.
Ortiz is 1-0 in the promotion. He made his BKB debut in July and won a unanimous decision over Dominic Salcido.
Malignaggi talked to Bloody Elbow before the announcement, back when the matchup was still heavily rumored, and he was already selling it.
“Me and Victor is a fun fight,” he said. “It’s a big fight, two big names. I think when you have two big names, you want to take advantage of that in a promotion like this where you’re trying to keep the momentum and gain momentum.”
He also leaned into the history, or the lack of it. “Me and Victor Ortiz are world champions in boxing around the same generation. The fight never happened so I think you have the fight now, it’s going to generate a lot of attention.”
When Bloody Elbow asked whether he’d only take fights against opponents who share his style, Malignaggi said no. He still has problems with how some bare-knuckle fights play out, but he said he’s motivated to face whoever the top names are for him.
“I’d like to keep trying to do my best,” he said. “Right now, Victor is the opponent in front of me and like you said, it’s kind of no surprise that once they signed Victor, this fight was eventually going to happen in one shape or form.”
My take: this is a smart piece of matchmaking. It’s the bare-knuckle equivalent of a band you loved in high school finally playing the double bill you always wanted, and I’m buying a ticket to that. Two former world champions from the same era, two guys who know how to talk, a fight with a built-in “what if” attached to it. Everybody wins. Except now Paulie has nowhere to hide. He got exactly the opponent he said he wanted, a boxer who should stand in front of him and trade instead of draping himself over his shoulders for 10 minutes. If Malignaggi wins clean, he’s right back in the Dy conversation with a real argument. If he loses to a guy who boxes him straight up, the clinch complaints go in the drawer for good. Ortiz has already shown he can grind out a win in this format, so Paulie had better show up December 5 in Los Angeles ready to prove his theory with his hands.
