It’s hard to feel for Paulie Malignaggi when he was given fair warning of what Conor McGregor had in store for him.
How else could Paulie Malignaggi have interpreted Conor McGregor’s unforgettable way of confirming that he had been drafted into his fight camp for the Floyd Mayweather fight?
“We’re going to have a knock, then he’s going to have to answer to what he’s been saying.”
To be fair to McGregor, Malignaggi did say that he would beat the UFC superstar with ‘one hand tied behind (his) back’. While John Kavanagh was very grateful for the former two-time boxing world champion’s contribution to the camp, it was fairly obvious that McGregor wanted to use him to prove a point.
When those few seconds of their 20 rounds of sparring emerged, it appeared as though McGregor’s point had been made loud and clear.
How did more people not spot this? https://t.co/Dy6SMC2jBt
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 16, 2017
Prior to that footage sweeping the internet, all we had seen of McGregor’s abilities inside the ring was some old clips leaked by former IBO and IBF welterweight champion Chris van Heerden. Just the time frame alone raised questions over how accurately that sparring session represented how McGregor could deal with top-level boxers right now.
However, he looked damn good against Malignaggi. Admittedly, it was only a short snapshot of a much longer battle, but he was light on his feet in the latter rounds, moving excellently, evading haymakers well and using that ‘fundamentally wrong’ boxing style to piece up Malignaggi.
More footage has been leaked the day before the fight and well, it’s much of the same from McGregor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NppGBVNDj4
A retired former champion coming off the couch is one thing, but the greatest defensive boxer ever and arguably the greatest pugilist to ever grace a ring is a much tougher challenge.
However, this new footage bodes very well for McGregor. It will give the believers a lot of hope.
