Full Story VIA Washington Post: Because of the whole he’s-not-an-actual-boxer thing, MMA star Conor McGregor needed some serious sparring competition to get him ready for his Aug. 26 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. No tomato can would do; McGregor would need to get a steady diet of ring time against solid competition.
Enter Paulie Malignaggi, a recently retired two-weight world champion boxer whose tenure as McGregor’s sparring partner lasted all of a few days this week. On Thursday night, he told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he was quitting after the MMA fighter’s camp released photos that depicted the sparring in an unfavorable light to Malignaggi and an untruthful light to what actually happened in the ring.
Here’s one, taken by McGregor’s official photographer, showing McGregor landing a left to Malignaggi’s face: