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Paulie Malignaggi has been in training camp with Conor McGregor, helping the UFC superstar sharpen his boxing skills for McGregor’s big, weird August 26 fight with Floyd Mayweather.
Things seemed to be going well. But as was perhaps inevitable with two personalities this big, it looks like there are some cracks developing in the business relationship.
Things started when a McGregor fan account posted a tweet that indicated he’d dropped Malignaggi in sparring:
Ghostie pic.twitter.com/ViSNzrWV0J
— Conor McGregor News (@ConormcGregor5) August 3, 2017
Malignaggi was quick to reply with a series of his own tweets:
Its not nice 2 paint a pic that isn't true, this was a pushdown in sparring, post the whole video rounds 1 through 12 UNEDITED https://t.co/R82BLiMMVm
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
The @ufc PI has cameras all over the gym recording 24/7. The video exists UNEDITED of rounds 1 through 12 Tuesday night, let the fans see.
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
I came to help this camp out, not to be exploited, now your gonna get the truth though. Post FULL UNEDITED VIDEO FROM TUES night #Ethics
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
Again, expecting two guys with egos/personalities as big as McGregor and Malignaggi to not hit any bumps working together is probably more naïve than anything, so I can’t say I’m surprised by this.
This could all go away pretty quickly, but maybe it won’t. Would a big explosion from Malignaggi really surprise anyone? He’s long been known as someone who speaks his mind, doesn’t mince words, and keeps it “real,” among other cliché things.