Conor McGregor confirms he'll return to boxing, and wants to fight the guy who has been mercilessly trolling him for over 12 months
- Conor McGregor is just one fight into a new six-fight UFC deal.
- But that has not stopped him from talking up his chances of returning to the boxing ring, as he wants to rematch Floyd Mayweather and fight his former sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi.
- Malignaggi has been trolling McGregor for over a year, and once said he would be willing to fight the Irishman if the demand was there to see it.
- With McGregor on board, he may finally have his wish.
Conor McGregor has confirmed he plans on returning to the ring for more boxing rules contests.
The Irish striker, the biggest name in mixed martial arts, took a break from UFC to challenge the unbeaten boxer Floyd Mayweather in a landmark crossover bout last year.
McGregor was easily beaten and stopped on his feet in the 10th round of the fight last August. He has since returned to UFC, but his comeback at UFC 229 on October 6 was unsuccessful as he was dominated by lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, dropped in the second round by a thudding right hand, and submitted in the fourth.
The Nurmagomedov fight was McGregor's first in a new six-fight deal with UFC but even though he is committed to the premier cage-fighting firm, he seemingly has unfinished business in boxing.
30-year-old McGregor was at the TD Garden in Boston to support his compatriot Katie Taylor, who defended her IBF and WBA world female lightweight belts on Saturday by beating Cindy Serrano on points.
While backstage, he was asked by YouTube boxing channel Fight Hype about whether he would rematch Mayweather, or if he wanted to box his former sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi. McGregor's answer was positive. He wants "both of them," he said.
Malignaggi has been trolling McGregor
Speaking to iFL TV recently, Malignaggi called McGregor a "quitter" and a "p----" for begging Nurmagomedov "to take it easy" on him in the middle of the fight.
And his comments have progressed.
Ahead of the Mayweather fight, Malignaggi gave insight into what training life was like in McGregor's camp - and he told the world the Irishman's greatest weakness is that he "whimpers" whenever he is hit hard on the body.
Traditionally, there's an unspoken code in boxing that whatever happens in training camp stays in training camp. If tactics or weaknesses are revealed, an opponent could benefit from that inside knowledge. Malignaggi broke that golden rule by exposing a potential strategy and a clear weakness.
Things weren't always so sour between the two athletes. In fact, their relationship was initially a good one as McGregor recruited the American as a sparring partner to help him train and get ready for boxing Mayweather in Las Vegas in 2017.
But Malignaggi only stayed for a couple of days in camp, as McGregor's team released footage of their sparring sessions which included an image of Malignaggi on the floor - with McGregor towering over him.
Malignaggi has not forgiven McGregor for releasing the clip, and has spoken ill of him ever since. Last year, he even told The MMA hour, a show produced by MMAFighting.com, that he wanted to fight McGregor if there was a demand from fans to see it.
It looks like McGregor may grant him his wish.