It’s not every day that you hear of a boxer, an amateur at that controversially losing a high-level sparring partner during vital preparations for a big fight. This is exactly what has happened within the Conor McGregor training camp after he lost former WBA Welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi ahead of the upcoming mega fight against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
After pictures surfaced on the internet of McGregor standing tall above a downed Malignaggi, and rumors of the Irish man knocking down the former world champion, Malignaggi took to Twitter to address what went down. Malignaggi stated that he wasn’t knocked down by McGregor but rather shoved down during their 2nd sparring session in which professional boxing referee Joe Cortez had to intervene and get both fighters under control.
Malignaggi was a guest on the latest episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, to give us more detail of their sparring sessions, the type that only a professional boxer can and clear the air once and for all of what truly unfolded these past few weeks in Las Vegas. Flip the page to hear what Malignaggi had to say about McGregor’s training camp.