Malignaggi Accuses Pacquiao Of Ducking Him

Paulie Malignaggi calls out Manny Pacquiao for refusing to fight him.

The former two-division world champion made the accusation on The Ariel Helwani Show.

Malignaggi says Pacquiao is actively avoiding a fight with him.

"This guy Pacquiao comes back and he's looking to fight anybody but me right now," Malignaggi said.

"This guy's 100 years old. He's looking to fight anybody but me."

Pacquiao is 47 years old and has not fought since July 2025.

That fight was a draw with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.

Before that, Pacquiao had been out of the ring since August 2021.

That was when he lost a WBA welterweight contest to Yordenis Ugás.

Pacquiao is a veteran of 73 professional fights with eight losses.

He is a former eight-weight world champion.

Malignaggi says the Filipino legend is picking opponents who are smaller than him.

"Now he's fighting a guy 20 pounds smaller than him just so he can fight," Malignaggi said.

Malignaggi says he has put his name out there for a fight.

"I've been active," he said.

"He doesn't even mention my name."

Malignaggi believes Pacquiao knows what he has said about him.

"He knows what I said about him, and he knows I'm right," Malignaggi said.

"They don't want that spewed out in that promotion, so they don't bring it up."

Pacquiao had been linked to several opponents throughout 2026.

He was rumored for a fight with Shakur Stevenson.

He was also linked to Paddy Donovan.

Then Joe Cordina was considered the front runner.

Cordina is a two-time IBF super-featherweight world champion.

That fight was expected to happen on the undercard of Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury in December.

But that has now been confirmed as not happening.

Retired rivals such as Amir Khan and Danny Garcia were also suggested as potential opponents.

Malignaggi is set to fight Victor Ortiz in a bare-knuckle bout on Saturday, December 5.

That fight is under BKB 62 rules.

Malignaggi and Ortiz have history between them.

They sat down for a face-to-face interview ahead of the fight.

They discussed how the bout came together and how they expect it to go.

Malignaggi also touched on his rivalry with Pacquiao during that interview.

He also talked about a potential fight against Tony Ferguson.

He expressed his distaste for MMA fans.

Pacquiao is now most likely to return in 2027.

He will turn 48 in mid-December.