On Thursday night, Paulie Malignaggi made an appearance at a Thanksgiving event for local youth at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where he'll face Zab Judah on December 7 in a Showtime Championship Boxing main event between two hometown heroes.
From the press release:
On Thursday night, former Two-Time World Champion Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi attended a special Thanksgiving celebration at Barclays Center for community youth. Malignaggi joined the Brooklynettes, BrooklyKnight and LIU Brooklyn mascot for a special Thanksgiving meal for students from Project Mentor Development Council and Put Down the Guns Foundation (P.S. 161 chapter). The former Two-Division World Champion signed autographs, took photos and spoke to the youth about the importance of believing in yourself and following your dreams.
Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KO) is coming off of a debated loss to Adrien Broner in June, and now faces Judah (42-8, 29 KO), who put up a good battle in a losing effort to Danny Garcia back in April. This is not a fight for titles or even rankings; it's about pride and hometown bragging rights. Oh, and money. Money, too. They want to make money because this is their job.