Former two-weight world boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi was brought in to help prepare UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor for his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather on August 26. Then McGregor posted an image of Malignaggi on the canvas with McGregor standing over him, and the boxer quit the camp and tweeted a river of tears. Then UFC president Dana posted video showing it was not the slip that Malignaggi has claimed, but was instead a shove, that McGregor put some English on, too. In a further clip McGregor can be seen punching Malignaggi silly. UFC fans were rapturous.
However, in an interview with Elie Seckbach for Fight Hub TV, Floyd’s uncle Jeff Mayweather, a former IBO super featherweight title holder and current boxing and MMA trainer, said he was not impressed.
You see him land one punch but do you see all the other bulls*** that goes with it?” said Mayweather as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. “Don’t get me wrong, that much is true, but you’ve got to realize, Paulie didn’t come back to boxing to box again. He didn’t do what Floyd did. Plus, he’s not Floyd, so watching that means nothing because no matter what he did to Paulie, he’s not gonna do to Floyd.
It looks like it was a knockdown and it was a push. It was the punch and then a little push at the end. It was a little push at the end but still, even if it wasn’t a push, still, this guy right here, he’s not Floyd Mayweather so it doesn’t matter.
That’s part of the politics of boxing and it’s also part of the salesman, it’s part of the build up. Realistically, by showing that much of what Conor’s doing, they actually expose what he’s really capable of. It’s worse because he’s fighting a Paulie that’s out of shape.
I’m not impressed. He was in there with a guy that’s been retired. Paulie’s not getting in shape for him. You could look and see that Paulie was still fat. He just went in there with a guy that, don’t get me wrong, he’s much younger than Paulie and he’s in shape. He should out-work Paulie. . . Ain’t nobody ever seen Floyd fatigued.
Conor McGregor boxes Floyd Mayweather on August 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
