CONOR MCGREGOR AND Paulie Malignaggi may well one day stare each other down in the ring once more given the furore surrounding their two sparring sessions.
‘The Magic Man’, a former two-weight world champion, left McGregor’s training camp in a huff following the leaking of pictures from their spars, and his relationship with McGregor’s camp has deteriorated drastically since.
Yesterday, John Kavanagh wrote in his 42 column that he was already very confident in Conor, but when he watched him spar Malignaggi a couple of weeks ago, “it confirmed to me that the skillset we have transfers effectively.”
Kavanagh continued: “I’m not under any illusions that Paulie Malignaggi is in the same league as Floyd Mayweather, but it does show that the technique and strategies we’ve been training are working because Conor completely outclassed Paulie. It was a mismatch. It proved to us that we were on the right track.”
The Sicilian-born Brooklynite, meanwhile, contends that he ‘beat Conor’s ass’ during sparring, albeit before tiring in the final two rounds due to his lack of in-ring activity while retired.
A fortnight ago, leaked footage depicted an off-balance Malignaggi hitting the deck while under pressure from McGregor, who undoubtedly leaned down on the American’s neck, but could rightly stake a claim that the incident would have been scored as a knockdown at least two-thirds of the time.
Regardless of your perception of the footage, it went nuclear, and it has now been accompanied in the online sphere by the following clip, which shows McGregor and Malignaggi squaring up in front of referee Joe Cortez, and McGregor enjoying the better of a couple of short exchanges.
It also features clearer footage of the ‘knockdown’ incident, but once more stops short of where referee Cortez would have ruled on the matter.
Last night, Malignaggi was filmed spending time with Mayweather, who on Saturday will face McGregor for what’s set to be his final bout in boxing.
‘Money’ joked that he had sent Malignaggi to spy on McGregor in camp, and said he’d sit down with Malignaggi to discuss tactics before his scrap with the Irishman.
Tune in to The42′s Facebook page at 4pm for our Mayweather-McGregor preview featuring insight from boxers Eric Donovan and Jason Quigley, the UFC’s Joe Duffy, and McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh.
https://www.facebook.com/The42.ie/videos/1568553686540448/
Good stuff! Good opportunity for McCarthy to kick on now and gain some form. With the Sheffield lads getting exposure and some youth coming through things could really come along now. Coybig
Great move for McCarthy. Guaranteed first team football with a solid team will hopefully help him regain his fitness and form and his place in the Irish team.
Hopefully Zaha goes the other way now. Everton could do surprisingly well this season
@Kerrydone: err, why would Zaha go to Everton….not much of a difference between 11 and 7…,
@Matisyahu Kelleher: You think that’s the reason players move?