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Russian born Irishman Artem Lobov has claimed that he is more than willing to step inside the ring for another dance with ‘familiar foe’ Paulie Malignaggi, this time with the 14 oz gloves on. The ‘Russian Hammer’ as he is fondly called by fans, has been on a hot streak this year. On his Bare Knuckle fighting debut, he beat Jason Knight via unanimous decision in the main event of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) 5 on 6th April, 2019 and followed it up with another unanimous decision victory in the highly anticipated ‘grudge match’ against the former WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi at BKFC 6 on 22nd June, 2019.
The undefeated Bare Knuckle fighter, while speaking to The Mac Life (h/t MMA Junkie) revealed that he would like to have another crack at Paulie but this time in a boxing bout, preferably as part of the KSI vs. Logan Paul card which is set to take place on 9th November in Los Angeles.
In the interview which took place at SBG Ireland he shared a piece of his mind on the Malignaggi rematch, his next Bare Knuckle bout, a probable MMA return and more.
Bad blood persists!
Here’s what Lobov had to say on a rematch with Malignaggi.
“I’ve heard that he hasn’t stopped complaining, but if he wants another go, I would be more than willing. Let’s do it again. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on him. It’s something that I don’t think I would ever get sick of, so why not? Or if he doesn’t want to do it in the bare-knuckle format, we can do it straight up boxing. Maybe on the Logan Paul and KSI card.”
“There are some legit boxers on that card and it is making a lot of noise, and I need some real fights, and me and Paulie would be that fight. We can box on that card easily.”
Next up at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
Artem has further confirmed that although he is open to a rematch against both his bare-knuckle victims Paulie as well as Jason Knight, talks are already in place for his next Bare Knuckle fight.
“I will be fighting either end of November or early December, and it will be bare-knuckle. The details will be released very soon. We’re trying very hard to make it in Boston. I would absolutely love to put on a show for the Irish-Americans at the wonderful city. Also, I have a few Irish fighters in mind that could share the card with me.” said the Russian.
MMA comeback on the cards?
On being asked if he will ever make a return to MMA, he said,
“Absolutely! I’m actually in talks with some of the MMA promotions already. I love to fight and am always on the lookout for fights. MMA is my bread and butter. It is where I started and I surely want to make a comeback. I am not sure when but I believe that within a year’s time, I will have fought in boxing, bare knuckle as well as MMA."
Unfinished business with Zubaira
The Russian also has a beef to settle with fellow countryman Zubaira Tukhugov whom he was set to face at UFC Fight Night 138 before the latter got hit with a suspension due to his involvement in the chaotic aftermath of UFC 229: Khabib vs McGregor.
“I would definitely want to fight Zubaira. He is in the UFC now and I do not think our paths will cross immediately but it is definitely something I would want to do. I even said that if they give me a single fight deal for the fight against Zubaira, I am willing to fight for free. No problem.”
Money matters
Although he would love to settle scores with Zubaira, Artem is not willing to sign up with one promotion exclusively as he has a lot of offers on the table at the moment.
“It would be crazy on my part to sign an exclusive deal with a single promotion now when I have got so many other opportunities lined up for me. I am talking seven figure pay days already in the boxing world; I made half a million in my last Bare Knuckle fight so there are so many opportunities around and I don’t want to be signed up with just exclusively one promotion.”
“I am someone that wants to work with everybody. I never pull out, I never miss weight and I accept fights against anyone on the shortest of notices and make it enjoyable to do business with me, therefore I hope I will be able to work out deals with different promotions.”
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