Former two-division boxing world champion and current Showtime boxing commentator, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, hasn’t set foot in the ring since sparring UFC star the “Notorious” Conor McGregor to help him prepare for his 2017 boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Malignaggi only sparred McGregor a few times and left the camp because he felt the UFC and Conor’s team were trying to humiliate him and create a false narrative of the sparring sessions.
Photos were leaked on social media by McGregor’s team and clips of the Conor McGregor vs. Paulie Malignaggi sparring session showed the Brooklyn boxer getting dropped and battered.
Malignaggi felt he was being used to make Conor look good and the UFC mislead the public so they would buy the Pay-Per-View thinking if Conor could drop a former world boxing champion he might have a chance against Floyd Mayweather.
He wants the UFC to release the video of the sparring so the fans can judge for themselves who really got the better of who and to clear his name.
Malignaggi was on hand for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner presser and gave Behind The Gloves an interview concerning his situation with Conor McGregor and the Irishman’s weird obsession with him.
In the interview, Paulie suggests that Conor has a “Weird, Gay Thing going,” because of Conor’s refusal to release the full sparring video. Paulie says he is not homophobic and has no issue with Conor being gay, but he is straight and doesn’t go that way.
Paulie believes the reason Conor won’t release the video is because he likes the attention and might have an attraction to him.
In order for the feud to finally end, Malignaggi suggests that the sparring footage be released and everything will be over.
