Sparring partner Malignaggi calls McGregor ‘scumbag’

LOS ANGELES: Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi says he has no regrets about quitting Conor McGregor’s training camp, describing the mixed martial arts fighter as a “scumbag” who surrounds himself with “a bunch of yes men.”

McGregor is preparing to face boxing star Floyd Mayweather in a Las Vegas boxing ring on Aug 26 in what could be one of the richest fights in history.

The 36-year-old Malignaggi, who retired from boxing five months ago, walked out of training camp last week after he said McGregor used him like a pawn, disrespected him in the dressing room and housed him and the other sparring partners in dumpy accommodations.

“He’s a scumbag,” Malignaggi said of McGregor in an interview on Monday with the American website The MMA Hour.

He also gave a detailed breakdown of how their sparring sessions went, no doubt providing Mayweather with a blueprint on how to beat McGregor.

Malignaggi, a former multiple world champion, said despite training little during retirement he had no trouble getting the better of McGregor.

Malignaggi said McGregor is more concerned about putting on a spectacle in training camp than getting ready for a serious boxing debut against one of the greatest fighters of alltime.

Malignaggi was also upset about training camp pictures made public that show the Irishman in a positive light.

“The guy is all about his ego. He’s actually not trying to get better. He’s got a bunch of yes men in his corner who tell him he’s doing good even if he’s doing bad. It is just about him and cheerleading,” Malignaggi added.

He said he asked McGregor to stop releasing misleading sparring photos that showed the MMA fighter getting the better of the exchanges. McGregor refused.

“I showed up with the best intentions to camp and at a certain point you start to realise you are being used as a pawn where somebody’s trying to get ahead at your expense and not through your help.”

Malignaggi indicated that Mayweather should have little trouble with McGregor over 12 rounds of boxing as long as he goes to the body on a regular basis.

He, however, said McGregor’s biggest asset against Mayweather will be his excellent conditioning.

“Conditioning wise he could push the issue a little bit more than I could,” he said. AFP