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Paul Malignaggi opened up on his dispute with Conor McGregor. The Italian-American boxer explained what took place at that training camp ahead of the Floyd Mayweather fight back in 2017 that created tension between him and the former UFC double champion.
A former IBF and WBA world champion, Malignaggi was one of Conor McGregor's sparring partners when the Irishman was preparing to fight Mayweather. Moods supposedly heated up between the two during a training session, where, according to Malignaggi, he beat Conor McGregor up.
However, videos and pictures from the sparring that emerged after the conflict suggest the opposite. Talking to 'MMA on SiriusXM,' Malignaggi remembered the clash and gave his full account of the episode:
"Image-wise, I took a hit when that Conor McGregor thing happened, you know? While everybody was thinking you were eventually going to see the whole thing, I knew that was never going to happen because the whole thing was not favorable to him. But in doing that, it kind of just left it hanging out there in the wrong direction, and also people automatically have this assumption about me that that's the way it went and that's the way it is, and just get over it. There's nothing to get over because if I beat you up, and the whole world thinks I got beat up, it's kind of not easy to get over it, you know?" said Malignaggi. "So, if it was the kind of thing where it was like, okay, you would have just released it after the Mayweather fight, that would have been it. Honestly, I wouldn't have cared. I wouldn't have mentioned McGregor again, you know? I've had a lot of professional fights in my career. I've had a lot of contact with a lot of different athletes and fighters in general in my career, and nothing ever kind of - nothing ever holds on to it where things just continue to go and draw in a dramatic fashion. I've had a lot of drama in my career, but it doesn't stay because you settle in, and that's it."
After the disagreement, Malignaggi announced that he would leave Conor McGregor's training camp. He followed to fight against Conor McGregor's sparring partner and friend, Artem Lobov, at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in 2019. Malignaggi lost the bout via unanimous decision and then retired from fighting.
Paul Malignaggi says that Conor McGregor does not forget about him
In the same interview with 'MMA on SiriusXM,' Paul Malignaggi elucidated why he thinks that the full video of the incident with Conor McGregor during that sparring session in 2017 will never be released.
"This kind of thing just kind of never got settled, and I don't blame him. I mean, why would he? Why would he put a video out of him getting beat up when he just got beat up on the Mayweather fight? Why would they have put that video out in general, obviously? But, of course, you reap what you sow. You kind of have to pay the price for it. If it had just been released, I would have let it go, and that's it. Everybody could just make up their mind, and that's it. I wouldn't care for it, just like you can make up your mind about all of my fights that are on video and then all anything else that's on video about me, any completion in full," said Malignaggi. "But because this never happened, it kind of just left this bad taste in my mouth, and it's not like it's just me. Conor McGregor is a bit of an immature guy. Let's not beat around the bush. Conor doesn't forget about me either."
Malignanni posted a picture of a knocked out Conor McGregor after Dustin Poirier defeated the Irishman at UFC 257.
