Nine years ago, when Paul “Magic Man” Malignaggi was just 17 years old, he and several other New York City Golden Gloves boxers traveled to Ireland and England to compete in international tournaments. Hosting the trip was Ring 8, the NYC chapter of the Veteran Boxers Association, the venerable institution that has been helping boxers for more than 50 years.

“Paulie was the best fighter in the tournaments,” said Henry Wallitsch, a former professional heavyweight who tangled with, among others, Ernie Terrell and is now the president of Ring 8. “We kept telling him that he was going to be a [professional] champion someday.”

The “we” that Wallitsch is talking about is Tony Mazzarella and Bobby Bartels, both of whom have also served as presidents of the organization. All three were present at the Ring 8’s monthly meeting on June 19, when Malignaggi, who just three days earlier at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, defeated Lovemore Ndou by unanimous decision to win the IBF junior welterweight title, came VIEW FULL STORY…