Street Fighter: Son of boxing legend defends belt in England

World bare knuckle champion Rolando Gabriel Dy has his fancied foe all figured out.

The Filipino banger is slated to battle former two-time boxing titleholder Paulie Malignaggi on 16 May in Manchester, England.

The son of former World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion Rolando Navarrete, Dy, 35, told DAILY TRIBUNE that his main advantage over Malignaggi, 45, is his being “a veteran” in bare knuckle fighting.

Malignaggi, who logged a professional win-loss record of 36-8 with seven knockouts, turned to bare knuckle in 2019.

So far, the Italian-American ring stylist has fought two times in bare knuckle, losing his first bout in 2019 and winning his second in 2025.

Known for his slick fighting style, Malignaggi remains tough given his high IQ.

However, Dy, who also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a mix martial artist practitioner, swears that it’s not going to matter.

“I will not box with him. I will fight him like we are going to be fighting in the streets,” said Dy, who has a 5-1 mark in bare knuckle.

“This is a different kind of game,” Dy said.

To get ready for Malignaggi, Dy does a lot of sparring.

Dy didn’t grow up with his immensely-popular father as Navarrete left him and his mother when he was just 10 months old.

He took shelter at the Elorde Sports Center in Sucat, Parañaque, and was “adopted” by Liza Elorde, daughter-in-law of the great Flash Elorde.

“She is my godmother,” said Dy.

Dy obviously inherited his father’s genes, something he is thankful for.

“I thank him for his genes,” he added.

Navarrete was the Manny Pacquiao of his day during his heyday in the 1980s.

He fought the likes of Alexis Arguello, Rafael “Bazooka” Limon and Cornelius Boza-Edwards.

In August 1981, Navarrete knocked out the London-based Boza-Edwards in five rounds to snatch the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight title in Viareggio, Italy.

Five months later in Manila, Navarrete had to pick himself up from the floor to stop Korean Choi Chung-il before a massive crowd at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium with no less than President Ferdinand Marcos in attendance.

In May of 1982, he traveled to Las Vegas where he lost the WBC 130-pound diadem to Limon on a 13th round knockout.

He could no longer return to the top after being imprisoned in Hawaii and his comeback fell short despite scoring a few smashing knockout wins.

In about two week’s time, Dy will bank on that awesome punching power to beat Malignaggi.