UFC News: Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi calls out Conor McGregor, McGregor responds
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor acquired his boxing license in the state of California last month.
Since then, a number of boxing stars have started to call out the money man of MMA, one of them being former two-time boxing world champion, Paulie Malignaggi, who has promised to make McGregor pay for trying to get into a boxing ring.
The boxer stated that he would “knock the beard off of McGregor” and went on to claim that the Irishman would apologise for stepping inside a ring with him.
As per the reports on Bjpenn.com, he also criticised McGregor’s boxing skills stating that he wouldn’t stand a chance even in an amateur fight. Malignaggi was quoted as saying:
“After seeing that sparring session (with Chris van Heerden), I don’t think the guy would win the New York City Golden Gloves.
I don’t think he would. I think he gets beaten in the New York City Golden Gloves, so the fact that you would put a guy that probably can’t even win the New York City Golden Gloves against the best fighter in the sport is almost laughable.”
The ‘Magic Man’ of boxing claimed that a possible match with McGregor would be ‘comical’. He remarked that the fight would turn out to be as funny as a Kevin Hart movie.
Also read: UFC News: Oscar De La Hoya wants to see Conor McGregor vs. Canelo Alvarez
Malignaggi doesn’t think highly of The Notorious one despite him showing great striking skills in the Octagon.
“Who the f—k does he think he’s gonna scare in a boxing ring? I’ll put the camera guy against him and it will be competitive in a boxing ring.
Does a guy who plays golf, is he able to get on the ice and play hockey because it’s a similar looking object that you’re hitting something with? It’s ridiculous.”
Conor McGregor responded to Malignaggi’s challenge by claiming he didn’t know who Malignaggi was:
The UFC lightweight champion has intentions of acquiring boxing license in other states in the US. This isn’t the first time he has been called out by a boxer. In the past, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Amir Khan and Floyd Mayweather have shown great interest in locking horns with McGregor.
But it’s no secret that McGregor is under the contract with the UFC which doesn’t seem interested in its poster boy stepping inside a boxing ring with the elite of the sport.
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