Paulie Malignaggi rips Conor McGregor after recent fight rumors

Earlier this week, rumors began to swirl that former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor could be returning to the boxing ring for a showdown with bitter rival Paulie Malignaggi.

Malignaggi was originally brought into McGregor’s camp to help the Irishman prepare for his headline-dominating 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. When the retired boxer began to feel as though he was being unfairly portrayed by the Irishman’s team, however, he made an abrupt exit. From there, the two began a longstanding and bitter war of words.

The sizzling beef between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi has certainly created the storyline for a big-ticket fight, but according to Malignaggi, any rumors of such a fight are inaccurate — and very possibly a product of McGregor attempting to keep his name in the headlines.

“Not true,” Malignaggi told Express Sport of these rumors. “But of course, Conor is the king of bulls**t so I would not be surprised if this Conor having his team put out rumours just to keep his name in the headlines.”

Malignaggi also discussed McGregor’s recent call for an exhibition bout with Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

“Yesterday [Tuesday], Tenshin Nasukawa shut him down by telling him he needs to make 58 kilos for a fight,” Malignaggi said. “Now suddenly, the next day, he is [in] another headline negotiating?”

Do you think we’ll ever see Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi settle their score in the ring?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/11/2019.