Paulie Malignaggi ended a six-year hiatus to eek out Tyler Goodjohn on the scorecards, live on talkSPORT.

Malignaggi, who retired from professional boxing in 2017, hadn’t competed in a sanctioned fight since June 2019, when he came up short against UFC veteran Artem Lobov in his bare-knuckle boxing debut.

Returning to the sport on Saturday night in Leeds at BKB 47, the former super-lightweight world champion rolled back his 44 years to secure a split decision victory over his vastly experienced foe.

In the immediate aftermath, both men were battered, bruised and covered in claret, while Malignaggi worryingly revealed that he couldn’t see out of his right eye.

“After that eye poke, when I went down, I still can’t see,” he said.

“I’m still foggy on this side. That may be why I got hit with that shot that cut me.

“I’m still very foggy on this eye after that eye poke. Hopefully, I’ll go to the back and get it taken care of.

“I am blind in this eye right now. Yeah, it’s very foggy.

“I finished the fight with one eye essentially because, right now, I can’t see out of this eye. I just see shadows.”

Former BKB world champion Goodjohn is no stranger to gloveless combat, having competed 9 times (5-4) in the brutal discipline.

The 34-year-old, who also won an English super-lightweight belt as a pro gloved boxer, landed the more eye-catching shots during the contest.

But it was Malignaggi’s volume that ultimately won him the fight.

Using his superior footwork and ring generalship to evade and counter, ‘The Magic Man’ quickly turned Goodjohn’s face into a crimson mess.

Malignaggi, who repeatedly struggled with hand injuries throughout his 36-8 professional boxing career, tapped away at the head before whipping in spiteful shots to the body.

He racked up an early lead this way, but as the fight wore on, Goodjohn began to turn the screw.

In the fourth frame, the Englishman rocked Malignaggi with a hard right hand.

However, the shrewd veteran weathered the storm.

In the end, Malignaggi’s artful display was enough to earn him the victory with two judges scoring the contest 48-47 in his favour, while the third had it for Goodjohn by the same margin.

You can watch a replay of the entire BKB 47 card on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel by clicking this link.