Paulie Malignaggi Hits Back At Chael Sonnen, Ben Askren For Boxing Criticism

Paulie Malignaggi responded to Chael Sonnen and Ben Askren’s criticism of him by challenging them to take up the sport of boxing.

Malignaggi was outpointed by Artem Lobov when the two met in bare knuckle action earlier this month. For his part, Malignaggi claimed to have broken his hand but believed he was still deserving of the decision. Others felt he was underwhelming and should have put Lobov away considering he was a former boxing champion.

Two prominent figures to have commented on his performance were Sonnen and Askren, with the latter even questioning how good boxers really were if Malignaggi was capable of losing to Lobov. This drew a response from the New Yorker:

“Literally, if you listen to any of their analysis, you got Chael Sonnen talking about how boxing is not a sport, this guy just walked in and beat me,” Malignaggi said recently (via MMA News). “Chael, cuz, you not that old, bro. Go and do it. Go and do it, bro. Go and do it. Go fight any light heavyweight in the world.

“Ben Askren, the same sh*t. I did it with one hand. I did it with half a hand. And I did it bare knuckle. Go and do it. Go put on gloves if it’s not that hard. Because you know we make more than you guys. You know we get paid more than you. You know that already. So come in. Come and do it, cuz! It’s that easy? Go make your money!”

Do you think Sonnen and Askren’s criticism was warranted? Or are they being too harsh on Malignaggi and the sport of boxing?