Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi Finally Meet, Bare-Knuckle Style at BKB 62
Former world champions Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi will headline BKB 62 in a bare-knuckle super welterweight fight December 5 in LA.
Two former world champions who never fought each other with gloves will finally settle it without them. Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi will headline BKB 62 in a five-round bare-knuckle super welterweight bout on December 5 at The Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
The matchup between Ortiz and Malignaggi was discussed for years during their conventional boxing careers but never materialized. Now both men are deep into the second acts of their fighting lives, and bare-knuckle boxing is where the paths finally cross.
Ortiz (33-7-3 in conventional boxing, 1-0 in BKB) won his bare-knuckle debut by unanimous decision over Dominic Salcido at BKB 56 in Los Angeles in July, scoring a knockdown but leaving with a swollen left eye. The former WBC welterweight champion won his title by beating Andre Berto in 2011 and shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Malignaggi (36-8, 1-2 in BKB) is coming off a second-round stoppage loss to Rolando Dy in a BKB super welterweight title challenge in Manchester in May. The former IBF junior welterweight and WBA welterweight champion fought Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton, Adrien Broner and Shawn Porter among others over a decorated career.
"Myself and Victor was a fight that was constantly talked about," Malignaggi said, per LowKick MMA. "Be ready, Vic. December 5th, I'm coming to your hometown, and I'm taking you out."
The fight takes place inside BKB's signature three-sided Trigon ring.
This is the kind of fight that makes you shake your head and buy a ticket at the same time. Two guys who were world champions a decade ago, settling a rivalry that nobody got around to making when it actually mattered, and they're doing it bare-knuckle in a three-sided ring. Combat sports in 2026.
Ortiz has power and looked decent in his debut. Malignaggi has always been about volume and skill, but his hands have historically been an issue even with wraps and gloves. Going bare-knuckle when your best weapon is your boxing IQ and your worst enemy is brittle hands is a bold move.
I'm picking Ortiz by stoppage. He hits harder, he's in his hometown, and Malignaggi just got stopped in his last outing. But honestly, the result matters less than the spectacle. This is two guys from the same era finally running it back in the wildest possible format.
KEEP TALKING FIGHTS.
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