Victor Ortiz and Paulie Malignaggi square off in the main event of BKB 62 at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on December 5. The contest features two former boxing world champions in a bare-knuckle bout.
Ortiz (boxing 33-7-3, 25 KOs, BKB 1-0), of Garden City, Kansas, is the former WBC welterweight champion. The 39-year-old southpaw made his bare-knuckle boxing debut in July, defeating Dominick Salcido by unanimous decision. The outing marked his first fight in four years.
In his previous boxing bout in mid-2022, Ortiz scored a unanimous decision over Todd Manuel. In August 2024, he returned to the ring against Rodrigo Damian Coria in an exhibition match on the Mayweather vs Gotti undercard.
Ortiz’s resume also includes bouts against the likes of Andre Berto, Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana.
“I’ve been in some of the biggest fights of my career, and now I’m ready for a completely different challenge in the Trigon,” Ortiz said.
“Paulie is a former world champion with a lot of experience, but this is bare knuckle boxing and I’m coming in prepared to fight. I’m excited to give the fans a great show and show everyone what Vicious Ortiz is all about.”
‘Life comes full circle’
Brooklyn native Malignaggi (boxing 36-8, 7 KOs, BKB 1-2) is a former two-division champion, having held the IBF super lightweight title and WBA welterweight title. The 45-year-old comes off a second-round knockout loss to Rolando Dy in May in his bid to claim the BKB super welterweight title.
During his boxing career, Malignaggi faced Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and Adrien Broner, among others.
“Myself and Victor was a fight that was constantly talked about, about 20 years ago, 15 years ago,” Malignaggi said. “We were both world champions around the same time, we were among the big names in professional boxing. It didn’t happen then, it almost happened a couple of times, it didn’t happen, and sure enough, life comes full circle.”
“Be ready, Vic. December 5th, I’m coming to your hometown, and I’m taking you out.”
Further event details, including the undercard, ticket and broadcast information, are expected to be announced shortly.