Paul Malignaggi Pays $75K To Be a Free Agent

By
Edgar Gonzalez
-
4
Player Props.

Former junior welterweight champ Paulie Malignaggi became a free agent after he paid the remainder of his promotional agreement for $75,000.00. After 10 years together, Malignaggi and promoter Lou DiBella are parting ways. Malignaggi was only 19 when

Boxing promoter Lou DiBella (L) and Paul Malignaggi / Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
he first met Dibella at that time Dibella was starting out his promotional career in 2000 after leaving HBO Sports as its chief boxing programmer.

“It was a good run,” Malignaggi told ESPN, who is coming off an 11th-round knockout loss to junior welterweight champion Amir Khan on May 15. “I’ve had my ups and downs with [DiBella Entertainment] but in the end you want to finish your relationship having made money and I did that. No hard feelings. There were some things we disagreed on, so it’s probably better to part amicably so the relationship remains. If we remained together, we’d probably end up hating each other and neither of us wanted that. So the best thing to do is part ways and remain friends. But it’s not like I’m just walking away. I’m paying $75,000 to get out of the deal. I think it’s the best-case scenario for both parties.”

Despite his recent lost in his home town of New York, Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KOs) is not thinking of retiring just yet.

“I think I still have a lot of options,” Malignaggi said. “I’m not going to buy out my contract and not fight. The intention is to fight. I’m taking a chance because I am probably not going to make $75,000 in my next one or two fights. But to get this release, it was a risk I was willing to take. We’ll see where it goes. But so we remain on friendly terms, this was the best way to go.”

The Magic Man is thinking of pursuing a fight with Ricky Hatton’s youngest brother, Matthew Hatton who is currently the European welterweight champion.

Player Props

4 COMMENTS

  2. Not sure how long was his contract for, but with out a promoter and with out a schedule fight his taking a RISK. What if he dosent get a fight on his own, he just lost 75,000. He could of stayed with hi Dibella and get at least one or two more fights and get paid instead of paying him.

  3. This is the side of boxing I completely understand. How much longer would he fight for Dibella so he wouldn’t have to pay him the $75K ??

Comments are closed.