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By Thomas Gerbasi - Paulie Malignaggi may wear a Los Angeles Lakers jersey these days as he lives and trains in the City of Angels, but there’s no mistaking that he still carries Bensonhurst, Brooklyn with him everywhere he goes.
“I’m a New Yorker at heart,” he said. “I’m from Brooklyn, I still represent Brooklyn, and I even bought a Laker jersey, but it’s a Ron Artest jersey because he’s from New York, so I still keep the New York flavor rolling, even out west.”
Malignaggi laughs. It may be an odd pairing, the “Magic Man” and the west coast, but he’s not a stranger in a strange land. In fact, he sounds happy in his new digs, where he works with trainer Eric Brown at the renowned Wild Card Gym.
Strangely enough, the Wild Card could be the closest he can get to replicating the feel of his early years in Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, where any given visit would be filled with sparring sessions pitting champions against champions, prospects against prospects, and hosts of visiting dignitaries of the sweet science who made the trip to Front Street just to get world-class work.
Things change though, and they certainly did for Malignaggi. A former junior welterweight world champion, he hit a crossroads in 2010 after a May loss to Amir Khan. Some said he was done. At times, as thousands of thoughts raced through his head, Malignaggi agreed. [Click Here To Read More]
“I’m a New Yorker at heart,” he said. “I’m from Brooklyn, I still represent Brooklyn, and I even bought a Laker jersey, but it’s a Ron Artest jersey because he’s from New York, so I still keep the New York flavor rolling, even out west.”
Malignaggi laughs. It may be an odd pairing, the “Magic Man” and the west coast, but he’s not a stranger in a strange land. In fact, he sounds happy in his new digs, where he works with trainer Eric Brown at the renowned Wild Card Gym.
Strangely enough, the Wild Card could be the closest he can get to replicating the feel of his early years in Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, where any given visit would be filled with sparring sessions pitting champions against champions, prospects against prospects, and hosts of visiting dignitaries of the sweet science who made the trip to Front Street just to get world-class work.
Things change though, and they certainly did for Malignaggi. A former junior welterweight world champion, he hit a crossroads in 2010 after a May loss to Amir Khan. Some said he was done. At times, as thousands of thoughts raced through his head, Malignaggi agreed. [Click Here To Read More]
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