Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fight Preview: Paulie Malignaggi Calls McGregor a 'Dirtbag'
Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi might have already cut ties with Conor McGregor's camp after photos that painted him in an unfavorable light were posted on social media last week, but he still hasn't cooled off one bit.
In an interview on "The MMA Hour," Malignaggi lashed out at McGregor by calling him "one of the biggest dirtbags" he has ever met in his life and he said the fighter's camp made several questionable requests while he was still the Irishman's sparring partner.
Apparently, he was informed that he had to spar eight rounds with McGregor the day after he arrived in Las Vegas on July 19 despite the fact that he just took a cross-country flight. He also called the accommodation he was provided with a "crack house" located in a dilapidated neighborhood.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Malignaggi said he didn't do well during the sparring session on July 20 because his conditioning was bad. The day after the session, McGregor posted a photo of himself with his hands behind his back while sparring with Malignaggi, but the former boxer said it was fine.
The two were supposed to spar again on July 22, but McGregor decided to cancel it so Malignaggi flew back to New York a couple of days later. However, he felt something wasn't right so he spent a week working on his conditioning before he went back to spar with McGregor.
When he got back to Las Vegas he was once again told that he's going to spar with McGregor the next day. And this time it's going to be for 12 rounds.
When Malignaggi arrive he was surprised to see Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White and McGregor's manager, Audie Attar, at the gym and he believed that they were invited because McGregor thought he was going to dominate. Malignaggi said McGregor actually did well early on, but he started to fade in the middle rounds.
The "push down" photo was taken during this session, and when it was posted on social media Malignaggi decided that he has had enough.
"I was dumbfounded by the way things were. It's just about status with him. It makes me doubt if he ever really went through a tough time in his life like they try to say he did. If somebody went through that tough a time in life just a few years ago, they wouldn't treat people who were not as fortunate as him that bad," Malignaggi said, via MMAJunkie.
McGregor's camp probably did all that to build up the fighter's reputation before he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, McGregor better be ready on Aug. 26 because Mayweather is not going to sit back and watch him showboat.
