Boxer Paulie Malignaggi -- UFC Getting It Right On Doping ... BOXING Needs A Clean Up (VIDEO)

The UFC is cracking down on PED usage in a way boxing DESPERATELY needs ... that's according to former boxing World Champ Paulie Malignaggi ... who says it's HIS sport that needs a scrubbing.

We got Paulie -- the former junior welterweight and welterweight champ of the world -- in NY training for his big Showtime PPV fight against Gabriel Bracero on Saturday and asked him about recent drug scandals in combat sports.

A fair share of those have gone down in the UFC ... where high-profile guys, like Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones, have been popped just recently for doping.

Paulie's been a vocal critic of PED use in boxing for a long time ... but given recent history it's still interesting to hear him say that it's HIS sport ... and not the UFC ... that has the real problem.