An American bare-knuckle boxer has hit out at the quality of healthcare he received from the NHS and claimed that treatment after his most recent fight led to serious health complications.
Paulie Malignaggi, 45, picked up his first win in nearly a decade when he defeated Tyler Goodjohn at a bare-knuckle event in Leeds in October 2025.
The brawl, which Malignaggi won by split decision, saw the veteran former lightweight contender hospitalised with broken ribs and hands, as well as cuts to his face.
And it was the treatment he received for his cuts by staff at Leeds General Hospital which led to his complaints. Malignaggi described staff as ‘inept’ and said that they ‘wouldn’t be allowed to work on farm animals’ in the United States.
‘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.
US boxer Paulie Malignaggi has complained about the treatment he received from the NHS
‘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.’
A spokesperson 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.
‘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.’
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.
