by David P. Greisman
Welterweight titleholder Paulie Malignaggi didn’t take too kindly to undefeated prospect Keith Thurman calling him out after Thurman’s win over Orlando Lora on this past Saturday’s “Boxing After Dark” on HBO.
Thurman, who scored a sixth-round technical knockout over Lora to raise his record to 18-0 with 17 knockouts and 1 no decision, named Malignaggi, Timothy Bradley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as foes he wanted to fight.
Malignaggi responded on Twitter shortly afterward:
“I heard this fool call me out! I got one thing to say about that!!” he wrote. “Keith Thurman make my name taste like ass when you speak it!!!! Don’t ever call me out when you haven’t paid your dues!”
Malignaggi, a former titleholder at 140, picked up the World Boxing Association’s belt at 147 this past April with a ninth-round stoppage of Vyacheslav Senchenko. The victory brought him to 31-4 with 7 knockouts.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
