An American bare-knuckle boxer has called NHS doctors “inept animals” after he suffered from complications following post-fight surgery.
Paulie Malignaggi has claimed that medical staff who treated him following his fight in Leeds in October 2025 failed to properly clean his wounds, which resulted in persistent infections.
“They have people in the UK who work in the NHS that, in America, probably wouldn’t even be allowed to work on farm animals, and they let them work on human beings in these hospitals,” he said, speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show.
A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “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.”
