The NHS hospital that treated an American bare-knuckle boxer who complained of the quality of healthcare he received has responded following the fighter’s shocking outburst.
Paulie Malignaggi, 45, complained that NHS staff ‘wouldn’t be allowed to work on farm animals’ in the US after he endured a lengthy wait following his victory over Tyler Goodjohn at a bare-knuckle event in Leeds in October 2025.
Malignaggi, who broke his ribs and his hands, required multiple stitches to his face in the aftermath, but complained that he has suffered infections following his treatment.
‘The cuts [I suffered] would have been just a regular stitch job in a regular hospital in the United States,’ Malignaggi said on The Ariel Helwani Show. ‘But they have people in the UK that work in the NHS that in America, probably wouldn’t even be allowed to work on farm animals. They let them work on human beings in these hospitals. I was in that hospital all night.
‘Basically, what I’m getting at is the complications from one of the cuts [on my left eyebrow] has been constantly infected and pussing out up until a few weeks ago.
An NHS hospital has responded to complaints by a US bare-knuckle boxer on his health treatment
‘It is closed at the moment – I expect it to open up in the fight, but I expect cuts to open up in a bare-knuckle fight.
‘Absolute inept [staff], who were keeping me in the waiting room, not cleaning the blood dripping down my face. I’m hearing them gossiping in the other room – the hospital is almost completely empty.’
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has responded, apologising to Mr Malignaggi while stressing that they prioritise patients based on clinical need.
A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘We’re sorry Mr Malignaggi had to wait in our Emergency Department to be treated following his bare-knuckle fight.
‘We do prioritise patients based on clinical need, to ensure that the most critically ill patients are treated first. If Mr Malignaggi would like to contact us, we would be happy to discuss his complaint further.’
Shortly after his win, Malignaggi had complained about the lengthy wait time he endured at the hospital in a social media update to fans.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust apologised to Mr Malignaggi but said the hospital ‘prioritises patients based on clinical need’
‘I’m fine. I’m still in Leeds General Hospital. This is crazy, by the way. I don’t know how it works in the UK. I still have not been stitched up. It’s 4:30 in the morning; I got here 10:00. Still have not been stitched up, guys.
‘They X-rayed me, didn’t give me the results on my hands. They gave me a CAT scan [and] I’ve got broken ribs in the back from all the kidney punches. The kid broke my ribs, my lower rib on the left side. And my eyes are too foggy still. When they put the really bright light, it’s too foggy for them to tell the extent of the damage.’
Mr Malignaggi also revealed that he suffered temporary vision loss as a result of an eyepoke he received during the fight, but claims his eyesight is ‘pretty close’ to returning to 100 per cent health.
The American returns to the UK this weekend for his next fight, where he will take on Rolando Dy in a superwelterweight bare-knuckle boxing fight.
