NHS hospital responds to American bare-knuckle boxer after he attacked staff who ‘wouldn’t be allowed to work on farm animals’ in the US in shocking rant about his health treatment – and he is fighting in the UK again this weekend!
The NHS hospital treating an American bare-knuckle boxer who complained about the quality of healthcare he received has responded following the fighter’s shocking outburst.
Paulie Malignaggi, 45, complained that NHS staff ‘will not be allowed to work on farm animals’ in the US after a long wait following his victory over Tyler Goodjohn in a bare-knuckle event in Leeds in October 2025.
Malignaggi broke his ribs and hands and required many stitches to his face, but after his treatment he complained of an infection.
‘cuts [I suffered] “In a normal hospital in the United States, it would be an ordinary sewing job,” Malignaggi said on the Ariel Helwani Show. ‘But there are people working in the NHS in the UK who are probably not even allowed to work on farm animals in America. They allow them to work on humans in these hospitals. I was in that hospital all night.
‘Basically what I’m saying is complications from one of the incisions. [on my left eyebrow] Until a few weeks ago, he was constantly getting infections and getting angry.
An NHS hospital has responded to complaints about the health treatment of a US bare-knuckle boxer
‘Currently closed; I expect it to open in a fight, but I expect cuts to open in a bare-knuckle fight.
‘Absolutely incompetent’ [staff]The ones who kept me in the waiting room without cleaning the blood dripping down my face. I hear them gossiping in the other room; ‘The hospital is almost completely empty.’
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust apologized to Mr Malignaggi and stressed that they prioritize patients based on clinical need.
A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘We are sorry that Mr Malignaggi had to wait in our A&E for treatment following his bare-knuckle fight.
‘We prioritize patients based on clinical need to ensure the most critical patients are treated first. If Mr Malignaggi wishes to contact us, we would be happy to discuss his complaint in further detail.’
Shortly after his win, Malignaggi complained about the long wait he spent in hospital in an update to fans on social media.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust apologized to Mr Malignaggi but said the hospital ‘prioritises patients based on clinical need’
‘I am good. I’m still in Leeds General Hospital. This is crazy, by the way. I don’t know how things work in England. I still haven’t had my stitches removed. It is 4:30 in the morning; I arrived here at 10:00. Still no stitches, guys.
‘They took my x-ray, but they did not give me the results of my hands. They gave me a CAT scan [and] My ribs on my back were broken due to the blows I received to my kidneys. The kid broke my ribs, my lower rib on the left side. And my eyes are still very foggy. When they put the really bright light on it’s too foggy to tell the extent of the damage.’
Mr Malignaggi also claimed that he suffered temporary vision loss as a result of an eye blow sustained during the fight, but that his eyesight was ‘pretty close’ to returning to 100 per cent health.
The American will return to England this weekend for his next fight, where he will face Rolando Dy in a super flyweight bare-knuckle boxing fight.
