Natten till söndag äger den mest högprofilerade matchen i Bare Knuckle FCs (BKFC) historia rum. Den tidigare UFC-fightern Artem Lobov kommer ta sig an boxaren Paulie Malignaggi. BKFC är ett nytt kampsportsformat där två atleter möter varandra ståendes i en mindre ring. Inga handskar används under matchen.
Matchen denna vecka kommer att bli höjdpunkten på en flera år lång fejd mellan Malignaggi och Artem Lobov/ Conor McGregor (Lobovs nära vän och träningspartner) där parterna häcklat varandra i sociala medier. Detta år har även Malignaggi örfilat och spottat på Lobov i samband med Bare Knuckle FC:s mediaevent och många anser att matchen endast bokats på grudn av detta och fansens intresse.
I en intervju med MMA Fighting berättade Malignaggi om sina känslor och tankar inför matchen. Boxaren förundras över hur ”korkade MMA-fansen är som gjort matchen möjlig.
I don’t think of it in a bad way. I think of it like, thank god that this fan base in MMA is so f—king stupid that they actually have made this possible. A fight this easy is possible in a main event situation. That’s how I look at it. I look at it in a thankful way. From that perspective I say yeah, I can’t believe I’m here. I’ve been in the ring with top fighters, main events inside stadiums and the biggest arenas in the world. I’ve been announced as a world champion. Believe me, it all goes through my mind. And now, I’m fighting this guy, who I don’t think has ever fought a guy who’s been a world champion, let alone fight for a title. So I catch myself and say I can only be thankful. There’s no way realistically possible to have a fight this easy against a bum of this level unless there is a fan base this stupid.
Malignaggi har ingenting positivt att säga om Lobovs boxningskunskaper, som han anser är obefintliga.
Artem’s boxing? What boxing?” His fighting or whatever he does? I don’t really know. I struggle to find something positive about it. He’s a guy who’s tough, but then again, I know club fighters who fight in front of 500 people who are tough, too. I can’t say there’s anything that worries me past that. The thing is, I don’t have to make it up. Literally, everything he says to pump himself up, he has to make it up. Me? I’m legitimately telling you the truth when I tell you the guy can’t fight. The guy has no respectable boxing ability, and I have a hard time figuring how this fight’s going to be tough. I can legitimately say that, and if you watch his boxing, you know I’m telling the truth.
