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By Thomas Gerbasi - The family and friends of Paulie Malignaggi never had a chance. They had a brief window to exhale when the former two-division world champion let them know that he was likely going to walk away from the sport after a fourth-round TKO loss to Shawn Porter in April of 2014, but they had to know that a fighter never stops fighting that easily.
“I never made an official announcement, but I told my friends and family I think I’m done,” said Malignaggi. “When you first start, you realize that this is your dream, and then as you face more and more tough fights, you wear down as you go up the ladder, and you start to realize that this is not a game. It can really wear down your body and stuff like that, so I think my family was relieved when I said I was done.”
Malignaggi’s post-fight issues from the Porter bout were well documented, mostly by the straight-shooting Brooklynite himself.
“The reminders were there every single day for a while,” he said. “I had bad headaches, bad nausea every single day, but there was absolutely no need to think about it once that passed and I got over it.”
And even when he was back to one hundred percent physically, the itch to resume a career that had seen him compile a 33-6 pro record wasn’t there. At least until it was again.
“As time went on, that changed too,” Malignaggi said, and soon enough he was back in the gym, helping longtime friends Luis Collazo and Sadam Ali prepare for their upcoming bouts. By April of this year, the 34-year-old had his own fight scheduled for May 29 against Danny O’Connor. [Click Here To Read More]
“I never made an official announcement, but I told my friends and family I think I’m done,” said Malignaggi. “When you first start, you realize that this is your dream, and then as you face more and more tough fights, you wear down as you go up the ladder, and you start to realize that this is not a game. It can really wear down your body and stuff like that, so I think my family was relieved when I said I was done.”
Malignaggi’s post-fight issues from the Porter bout were well documented, mostly by the straight-shooting Brooklynite himself.
“The reminders were there every single day for a while,” he said. “I had bad headaches, bad nausea every single day, but there was absolutely no need to think about it once that passed and I got over it.”
And even when he was back to one hundred percent physically, the itch to resume a career that had seen him compile a 33-6 pro record wasn’t there. At least until it was again.
“As time went on, that changed too,” Malignaggi said, and soon enough he was back in the gym, helping longtime friends Luis Collazo and Sadam Ali prepare for their upcoming bouts. By April of this year, the 34-year-old had his own fight scheduled for May 29 against Danny O’Connor. [Click Here To Read More]
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