Paulie Malignaggi says he will fulfill a lifelong dream when he challenges Gianluca Branco for the European Welterweight title at The O2 on December 12. The Italian-American was born in Brooklyn but spent the his early years in Siracusa, Sicily before returning to the Big Apple, where he has become one of America’s most popular fighters.
Malignaggi won World titles at Super-Lightweight in 2007 and at Welterweight in 2012, and the ‘Magic Man’ is no stranger to boxing in the UK and Europe, having defended his Super Lightweight belt at the City of Manchester Stadium (now the Etihad Stadium) in a rematch with Lovemore N’Dou in May 2008 and winning his Welterweight strap against Vyacheslav Senchenko in the Ukraine in April 2012.
Branco makes the first defence of the title he won last November against Rafal Jackiewicz to become a two-weight European champion, but Malignaggi intends to make his reign a short one and achieve his European title goal at the first attempt.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to fight for the European title,” said Malignaggi. “I’m proud of my Italian roots and I’ve always believed that I would get the chance to fight for the belt.
“British boxing fans are amazing and The O2 is one of the best venues in the world, I cannot wait to get over to the London and put on a great performance for the fans and get my hands on the title. Branco is a quality fighter with a lot of experience, but I believe that I’ll take that title on December 12 and do it in style.”
Campbell Also on Dec 12th O2 Card
Luke Campbell will face French champion Yvan Mendy at The O2 in London on December 12. Campbell returns after the all-Hull clash with Tommy Coyle at the KC Lightstream stadium in July, with the Olympic gold medal star making Coyle his tenth KO victim in his 12 wins as a pro.
The Hull favourite now looks to end a great year on a high against ‘Le Lion’, the 30 year old French title holder that has a wealth of experience behind him, with four successful defences of the national strap he won in June 2013 and going the distance with WBC Super-Lightweight champion Viktor Postol and taking Edis Tatli to a decision for the Finn’s European title.
“A big win at The O2 will be the perfect end to a great year for me,” said Campbell. “Beating Tommy in the huge show in Hull in the summer was great, but this fight with Mendy is massive for me before moving towards a World title fight in 2016.
“Yvan has bags of experience and has mixed at a high level and gave Postol and Tatli 12 hard rounds, so it’s going to be a real test for me and one that I need with an exciting year ahead of me in the brilliant Lightweight division.”
Campbell’s clash with Mendy is part of a huge night of action at The O2, topped by Campbell’s Olympic gold team mate Anthony Joshua MBE taking on bitter rival Dillian Whyte for the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight titles.
