eye by the sixth. At the time of the stoppage, at the 2:22 mark of the ninth round, Malignaggi was absorbing a succession of blows as referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stepped in and wrapped his arms around him, signaling the end. Garcia was awarded a technical knockout. Malignaggi vs. Fazekas, Moscatiello Following the loss to Garcia, Malignaggi wasted no time to return to the ring a month later, fighting in Italy for the first time in his career against little-known 25 year old Hungarian boxer Laszlo Fazekas. In front of a sold out crowd of 550, at the Teatro Principe in Milan, Malignaggi won on points after 8 rounds. The three judges had it 79–72, 80–71, and 80–71 for Malignaggi. Fazekas showed signs of dirty tactics and paid the price by being deducted a point in round 3 for hitting with inside of the glove. Malignaggi returned to the boxing ring again in December against Italian boxer Antonio Moscatiello (20-2-1, 14 KOs) on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte at the O2 Arena in a 12-round scheduled fight for the vacant EBU welterweight title. Malignaggi was supposed to fight 47-year-old Gianluca Branco, however that fell apart after Branco reportedly pulled out of the fight. The fight went the full 12 rounds as Malignaggi claimed a wide points victory. The three judges scored the fight 119–110, 119–110, and 120–109. Malignaggi vs. Bracero According to ESPN, reports stated Malignaggi would be fighting 35-year-old Gabriel Bracero (24-2, 5 KOs) on the undercard of the Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton fight card on July 30 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Malignaggi defended his 'King of Brooklyn' belt and local bragging rights. Using rapid footwork and moving in and out, Malignaggi won the first eight rounds as Bracero stood in front of him not moving or chasing or changing strategy. The final judges' scores were 96–94, 98–92, and 98–92. After the bout, Malignaggi returned to commentating at ringside. Malignaggi vs. Eggington On January 25, 2017 it was announced that Malignaggi would travel to the UK to challenge 23 year old Sam Eggington (19-3, 11 KOs) for his WBC International welterweight title on the Haye-Bellew PPV undercard on March 4 at The O2 Arena. Referee Laughlin called it at 1 minute 50 seconds into round 8 with Eggington winning the fight by way of knockout. The fight came to an