Quote: Artem Lobov Is Being Grossly Underestimated Against Paulie Malignaggi

There is a ton of bad blood when Artem Lobov goes up against Paulie Malignaggi in their upcoming boxing bout.

Malignaggi will face the former UFC featherweight competitor from Tampa, Florida, on June 22nd. This fight will be promoted by BKFC. Conor McGregor’s longtime training partner has been in the headlines after exchanging words and even having a confrontation with the former boxing champion. There is some backstory to their problems.

Malignaggi was brought in as a sparring partner to help McGregor prepare for Floyd Mayweather. The footage from their sparring sessions, where Malignaggi felt he was depicted in a bad light, was released to the public. “Magic Man” subsequently left the camp.

Top mixed martial arts (MMA) coach Firas Zahabi has sounded off on the upcoming fight. He noted that he thinks Lobov has a very good chance of winning despite fight fans grossly underestimating him.

Artem Lobov Against Paulie Malignaggi

“I think that everybody is grossly underestimating Artem Lobov,” Zahabi explained on his YouTube channel. “These are all points I think are gonna give Artem Lobov a very good fighting chance.”

“If it’s a brawl, I’m picking Artem, if it’s a clean boxing match, I’m picking Malignaggi,” Zahabi said (H/T to Bloody Elbow). “If Paulie Malignaggi comes in there like a hot head, and lacks discipline, he can lose.

“I’m ultimately picking Paulie to win, but I listen to his interviews, and he scares me. He makes me think that this guy is either a great actor, or they really got under his skin and he’s going to forget everything he knows that night and he’s just gonna brawl.”