Paulie Malignaggi Opens Door to Adrien Broner Rematch

The former two-division champion says fans keep asking for another fight with Broner as streaming platforms revive veteran boxing matchups

Paulie Malignaggi says he isn’t chasing a rematch with Adrien Broner, but persistent fan demand has forced him to reconsider the idea. More than a decade after their WBA title fight, Malignaggi believes the streaming era has given the rivalry new commercial appeal.

“To answer your question, am I interested in the fight? It’s weird because in the streaming era that we’re in now, it’s suddenly become popular again,” said Malignaggi to Fighthype. “This fight gets talked about a lot. You’re not the first person asking me about it. I don’t know if anybody’s asking Adrien about it, but from my end, I’m getting asked about it a lot. I get DM’d about it. I get comments on my Instagram about it.”

Broner defeated Malignaggi by split decision in June 2013 to capture the WBA welterweight title in one of Showtime’s biggest events of that era. Their rivalry extended well beyond fight night, fueled by months of personal insults and memorable trash talk.

Looking back, Malignaggi believes that history still gives the matchup value today.

“With streaming, there’s a fan base that really tunes into these fights. Me and Broner wouldn’t just be streamers,” said Malignaggi. “Broner isn’t just a streamer, but there’s actually a championship element to him, even if he’s past his prime, and even if I’m past my prime. You could revive a lot of that. Me and Broner were the best trash talkers of our generation, hands down. You’ve got to be witty to be a trash talker.”

At 45, Malignaggi recently competed in bare-knuckle boxing but indicated he’s unlikely to continue there because of the grappling element under those rules. A return to traditional boxing against a familiar rival, however, remains a different conversation.

Broner’s interest in the matchup remains unknown. Malignaggi admitted he has no idea if Broner gets hit with the same questions, but from his own perspective, fan interest has stayed surprisingly strong all these years later.