By Jonathan Shrager

Former two division world champion Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7KOs) is a big fan of the British boxing scene. Malignaggi is very well known among the British boxing public. He fought twice in big fights on UK soil, against Lovemore N'dou and Ricky Hatton. And when Amir Khan made his American debut in New York City, he faced Malignaggi. Last year, Kell Brook of Sheffield captured the IBF welterweight championship and Malignaggi has expressed his interest in testing him.

BoxingScene.com: We’ve always felt that the perception stateside of British boxing is that it’s essentially second best. Is this perception gradually altering as the US boxing fraternity witnesses the thriving state of British boxing?

Paul Malignaggi: I think it is; a lot of fighters in Europe pad their record before taking their chances in America against tougher fighters. It’s not as easy to pad your record in the States. American fans are used to seeing these European guys with padded records coming over to the US with a lot of hype. But now we are seeing guys like Kell and Amir come stateside. Especially Amir, who came to the US very early and tested himself immediately against the best, more so than other European fighters. Kell is here now, and he’s here to stay for a while.

Carl Froch is doing some great things for British boxing, having fought one of the toughest schedules I’ve ever seen, and yet he continues to win. British boxing is currently enjoying a booming period, and is separating itself from the European stereotype of padded records. English fighters are now consistently beating top fighters, and they aren’t shying away from tough challenges. Whereas there are world champions in Germany who would only be club fighters in America, constantly fighting unknown fighters. The prime example is Arthur Abraham, who was a monster in Germany, but yet couldn’t win a fight in the Super Six tournament, aside from a shot Jermain Taylor. Abraham wasn’t even competitive in that tournament. And that’s the flaw with European boxing. But British boxing is yielding entertaining, world class athletes who are willing to challenge other world class athletes, and regularly win.

I actually thought Paul Smith Jr deserved the decision against Arthur Abraham, and he could be another man to enter the fray if he wins that rematch.

BoxingScene.com: And he’s a fellow Liverpool fan of yours, Paulie, but I wont accuse you of any bias.

Paul Malignaggi : Haha, no. I actually support AC Milan given that I’m Italian. I appreciate a lot of teams in the Premiership. James Lindemann, head of Manchester SEL, is taking me to Old Trafford to watch Manchester United play Leicester whilst I’m over there for the event.

I keep a close eye on Liverpool at the moment because they have Balotelli, even though he’s a hard-headed, stubborn guy a lot of the time. If he could just get his head together, he’d be amazing, but he’s a terrible teammate at the moment. I have love for the Premiership in general because the football is so entertaining.

BoxingScene.com: And are you aware of the historic, competitive and geographical rivalry that exists between England’s two most famous clubs, Manchester United and Liverpool?

Paul Malignaggi: Ah yeah. I had an amateur fight in Liverpool in 1998. The day I arrived Liverpool were playing Chelsea at Anfield, and the game ended 1-1, with Casiraghi scoring Chelsea’s goal. At the time, several Italians were playing for Chelsea, including Zola and Di Matteo. So, it felt like I wasn’t the only Italian in Liverpool with Chelsea in town.

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