Former boxing titleholder Paulie Malignaggi will be back in the ring again this year – just not a boxing ring.
The 44-year-old “Magic Man” will have his second bare-knuckle boxing match on September 6 for the first of a three-fight deal he signed last month with BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing. The fight will take place against Tyler Goodjohn at the Ice Arena in Bristol, England.
Malignaggi, whose boxing record is 36-8 (7 KOs), has fought once in bare-knuckle competition, losing a unanimous decision to MMA fighter Artem Lobov in 2019. He also has a relationship with BKB, having been its lead commentator since 2021.
Malignaggi says there was a simple reason why he chose to return to combat sports in bare-knuckle boxing instead of traditional boxing: the length of bouts.
“Why bare-knuckle? Bare-knuckle is five rounds, that’s the main reason,” said Malignaggi in .
“If the fight gets hot and heavy, and it starts getting to the late rounds, that’s when it starts to bother an older fighter. That’s where it started to bother me in the late part of my career. I was always good early in fights in the late stage of my career, with the exception of the Shawn Porter fight.”
Goodjohn, 34, of Ely, England, has a 5-3 record in bare-knuckle boxing, having beaten Joe Smith by unanimous decision in his most recent fight in April 2025. Prior to competing in bare-knuckle, Goodjohn fought in traditional boxing, compiling a pro record of 13-6 (4 KOs), though he did end a seven-year absence from pro boxing in 2024 with a second-round knockout loss to Weljon Mindoro on a ProBox TV card, for which Malignaggi coincidentally was on the commentary team.
“This guy carried this sport. This guy, for me, doesn’t get the respect,” said Malignaggi at a press conference in the United Kingdom on Friday. “When I told you guys I wanted a reputable name, a guy who's accomplished things, a guy who can promote things – this is exactly what I meant.
"So I say, you know what? Putting him in the Trigon with me, we can market this the right way. He can get the promotability he needs, I can get the promotability I need, and we can bring this thing to another level.”
Malignaggi is one of many notable pro boxers to cross over into BKB, with Dat Nguyen and Austin Trout also finding success in bare-knuckle boxing.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for jeetwin55.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at .
