Paulie Malignaggi has shared the ring with some of combat sports’ best during his stellar career.
Malignaggi, a former two-weight world champion had a brilliant time at the peak of his powers fighting some of the sport’s best including Shawn Porter, Zab Judah and Adrien Broner.
The American also had some famous collisions with British fighters including Ricky Hatton in 2008, where he was brutally stopped.
He has also encountered some tough challenges including UFC superstar McGregor, who famously dropped him in sparring footage.
And in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com, Malignaggi named Miguel Cotto as his hardest-hitting foe.
He said: “Without a doubt the guy who hit hardest was Miguel Cotto.
“It was ridiculously hard, and it’s not even close to anyone else. Others were underrated.
“Porter obviously had a big KO of me, but Miguel Cotto was the hardest puncher.
“He was insanely difficult on so many levels, luckily I was faster than him so I was able to keep it competitive.
“What a fighter, a really tough night and it is a memory that will stay with me for good and bad reasons.
“To see what he did in that fight and went on to accomplish, he was an amazing fighter.
Cotto took on Malignaggi in 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York, a tough night against the rugged Mexican.
And it was the former who did the damage throughout, dropping Malignaggi to the canvas in just the second round.
Malignaggi then opened up a cut above his eye, which was an inch and a half long.
The injuries continued to come as he suffered injuries to his cheek, nose and face.
He survived until the final bell but was beaten on the judges’ scorecards.
And a post-fight medical examination showed that he had also suffered a fractured cheekbone.
It is no wonder Malignaggi didn’t fancy a second bout with Cotto before retirement.
Malignaggi is now retired from professional boxing, with his final fight ending in defeat against Sam Eggington in 2017.
But the ‘Magic Man’ has since announced he will make a return to combat sports.
He will return in a three-fight deal with bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKB, which will be broadcast live on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel.
Malignaggi recently offered McGregor a huge ‘winner takes all’ bout in bare-knuckle boxing.
