Former two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi has said that he would face Conor McGregor in a boxing bout on St Patrick’’s Day next year, providing that the UFC superstar does not suffer a one-sided beating at the hands of Floyd Mayweather on August 26.
Malignaggi cut short his spell as a sparring partner in McGregor’s training camp after pictures of him hitting the canvas were released on social media. The ‘Magic Man’ said that he never wants to speak to the Irishman again, but is happy to follow in Mayweather’s footsteps and fight him inside the ring.
“It’s picked up a ton of momentum, the bad blood is there so let’s fight,” he said during an in-depth interview on The MMA Hour. “We’ll need to see how he looks against Mayweather. If he looks s***, no one will want to see us fight. As long as he doesn’t get beaten up, I think the demand is there to make the fight.”
Malignaggi insists he simply wanted to assist McGregor’s preparations, despite exchanging heated words beforehand and vented his anger on Twitter after UFC President Dana White posted short videos of the sparring sessions.
“I showed up with the best intentions in camp, but at a certain point you realise that you are being used as a pawn where somebody is trying to get ahead at your expense and not through your help,” said Malignaggi, adding that he had no choice but to leave. “If I never see him or speak to him for the rest of my life, it’s cool.”
Darren Barker has said that McGregor should stay in boxing after facing Floyd Mayweather and settle his feud with Paulie Malignaggi.
“I think McGregor will box again after this fight. I have called it a bad day for UFC, because I think they will lose McGregor. He’ll be loving the hype around this fight and especially the money,” Barker said.
“He won’t be able to get an opponent like Mayweather again, but he is going to love being involved in the No 1 combat sport which is boxing, no doubt. It’s stood the test of time and I think McGregor will want to be a part of it for years to come,” he added.
Barker further said that McGregor is a two-weight UFC champion and why would you want to be a part of something that’s not as big? “When you watch Conor McGregor fight, he’s a stand-up fighter who likes to throw his hands. Why not remain in that main discipline and earn the recognition by trying to become a great boxer?” he said.
“It would be interesting to see McGregor fight Paulie Malignaggi. There has been so much talk going on. Did Paulie get put down? Was Conor whimpering? Because of the stories we are hearing in training camp, it would be interesting to see McGregor fight Malignaggi.”
