Paulie Malignaggi wants to settle his longstanding beef with Conor McGregor in a ‘winner-takes-all’ boxing fight.
The former two-weight world boxing champion first crossed paths with ‘The Notorious’ when he joined the Irishman’s training camp for his crossover fight against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2017.
But he decided to leave the camp after images and footage of McGregor knocking him down in sparring surfaced online.
The UFC’s biggest draw would go on to lose against Mayweather via tenth-round technical knockout while his feud with Malignaggi reached the next level as they go back and forth on social media and in interviews.
‘Magic Man’ retired from professional boxing at the age of 36 but he recently appeared in a bareknuckle match opposite McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov, which he lost by way of unanimous decision.
Now, he wants to come out of retirement once again to teach the Irishman a lesson and put an end to the rumors about their infamous sparring session.
Conor McGregor's sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi has quit abruptly over some controversial photos https://t.co/aQK0mFkloI pic.twitter.com/90nUqk85Vn
— Complex (@Complex) August 4, 2017
Finances At Risk
In a recent interview with Boxing Scene, the former boxing champ said he still wants to do a crossover bout with McGregor but this time, he suggests the winner will take home all the fight money.
“We both know what I did to him in the gym that day in 2017,” Malignaggi began.
“The Conor McGregor fight always interests me. I will gladly do winner takes all the money in that fight. I will put my finances at risk because it will be a pleasure to beat that guy up.”
“There would be a lot of money in the pot. I would rather let the winner take it all. He’s dragged my name too much in the mud. He knows he will get the sh-t beat out of him if he tries me.”
“Him and I both know that. He gets stopped, 100 percent, no doubt about. He can’t last the distance in a boxing match.”
Video: McGregor vs. Malignaggi Sparring Footage – https://t.co/Qh6ilQGxD7 pic.twitter.com/SCT41yX1dZ
— SevereMMA.com (@SevereMMA) August 12, 2017
Quitter
Malignaggi insists he is the the perfect opponent for ‘The Notorious’ should he decide to cross the bridge for a second time and fight in the squared circle.
“A Floyd Mayweather rematch is not a realistic fight for McGregor because it doesn’t appear Mayweather is interested in fighting. I think Manny Pacquiao obliterates McGregor in one round,” he continued.
“McGregor will have advantages of bringing money to the table, but I think he values his name. If he’s going to fight either of us in a boxing match, he’ll be exposed.”
“He quit during his submission losses in MMA. As soon as it gets hard for him. He looks for the first way out. He’s the king of ‘perception is reality.’”
“In boxing, he’s going to taint his name because there aren’t too many ways out of a fight. He basically quit against Mayweather and stopped throwing punches. He was in shape. I was in camp with him. He was looking for a way out of that fight.”
Paulie Malignaggi still wants Conor McGregor fight three years after infamous sparring https://t.co/7yqp32ONH6
— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) April 29, 2020
(Featured Image Source: Twitter/ MMA Army and BetVictor)