MMA veteran Artem Lobov revealed that he was recently contacted by a boxing promoter who approached him with a proposal to stage a rematch with former two division champion Paulie Malignaggi.
Back in June 2019, Lobov won an upset five round decision over Malignaggi in the main event of a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship card.
The proposal, according to Lobov, was to face Malignaggi under traditional boxing rules.
Their discussions had no time to play out, says Lobov, because the focus of the entire planet shifted to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic - and sporting events are shelved for the time being.
But Lobov is interested in the idea.
“Certainly [I’d rematch Paulie Malignaggi]. I have had some inquiries about that as I had a boxing promoter reach out to me and ask if I’d be interested in a pro boxing match against Paulie. With the coronavirus, all of that was put on hold but certainly I’d do it. Pro boxing has been something I’ve thought about for a long time. I think it would be a good first opponent for it," Lobov told bjpenn.com.
Lobov has continued to compete in BKFC, but has no idea what could be next for him - although he feels BKFC bantamweight champion Johnny Bedford could be a possibility.
“That is probably one of the fights. They spoke to me about Johnny Bedford as well. He is the champion at 135 and is 5-0 in BKFC at the moment,” Lobov said.
“He has some noise behind him, but he needs some more exposure. He’s a solid fighter. So, I think it would make sense as he needs some push and a fight with me would do that for him. There are many fights for me.”