American bare-knuckle boxer Paulie Malignaggi has strongly criticised NHS staff for the treatment he received after a fight in Leeds, claiming he suffered complications from his injuries. The 45-year-old defeated Tyler Goodjohn in a five-round bout at BKB 47 last October, sustaining two severe cuts above his eyes and multiple fractured ribs.
Lengthy Wait for Treatment
After the fight, Malignaggi was taken to Leeds General Hospital but spent nearly nine hours waiting for care. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, he described NHS staff as ‘inept animals’ and insisted he would have received better treatment in the United States. ‘The cuts would have been just a regular stitch job in a regular hospital in the United States, they would stitch you up, maybe you leave in a couple of hours and you’re good to go,’ Malignaggi said.
He added: ‘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. My wounds were not cleaned and so on.’
Complications from Injuries
Malignaggi explained that one of his cuts became infected and was ‘pussing out’ until a few weeks ago. ‘It is closed at the moment, I expect it to open up in the fight, but then again I expect cuts to open up in a bare-knuckle fights where I won’t even have scares, let alone with scars,’ he said. He blamed the NHS staff for the infection, calling them ‘absolute inept animals’ who kept him in the waiting room without cleaning the blood dripping down his face.
‘I’m hearing them gossiping in the other room, the hospital is almost completely empty, they don’t even have a guy there to stitch anybody, let alone take care of whoever is in there. I’m in that waiting room half sleeping, because it’s the middle of the night, half passing out, with blood dripping down my face. It was a pretty interesting experience,’ the boxer recounted.
Hospital Response
A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust responded: ‘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.’
In a video from the hospital after the fight in October, Malignaggi had already raised concerns. ‘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,’ he said. He added that an X-ray and CAT scan revealed broken ribs from kidney punches, and his eyes were too foggy for doctors to assess the damage.
Malignaggi is set to return to the UK this month for another BKB-promoted bare-knuckle fight in Manchester on May 16.
