Tag: Paulie Malignaggi

Paulie Malignaggi Says Conor McGregor’s Sparring Is Improving

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 
“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to …

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 

“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to show in the hard work he’s put into camp,” Malignaggi said, per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “I think he’s getting better and better. I really felt improvements from two weeks ago to now … I do see a guy who is implementing more and more of what they want to do in their game plan.”

Malignaggi has been sparring with McGregor to help him prepare for Mayweather in the ring.

While working with Malignaggi should help him on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, McGregor still faces what is nearly an impossible task of closing the gap on one of the best defensive boxers in the history of the sport.

McGregor’s a very good striker in the realm of mixed martial arts, and 18 of his 21 victories have come via knockout. If he has an opening, he can end the fight with one punch. But that’s far easier said than done against the 40-year-old Mayweather, who didn’t look to have lost a step in his most recent fight, a unanimous decision win over Andre Berto in September 2015.

McGregor shared a video of his training on June 29:

In doing so, he unintentionally illustrated the gulf between himself and Mayweather, who also posted a training clip on the same day:

According to OddsShark, McGregor is a 4-1 underdog against Mayweather.

McGregor may be able to silence his critics in Las Vegas in a little over three weeks, but many more experienced fighters stepped into the ring against Mayweather with the same intention and exited in defeat.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paulie Malignaggi Says Conor McGregor’s Sparring Is Improving

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 
“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to …

With less than a month before Conor McGregor’s superfight with Floyd Mayweather, sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi saw encouraging signs from McGregor after watching the UFC champion train. 

“I think the intensity Conor’s reaching is starting to show in the hard work he’s put into camp,” Malignaggi said, per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “I think he’s getting better and better. I really felt improvements from two weeks ago to now … I do see a guy who is implementing more and more of what they want to do in their game plan.”

Malignaggi has been sparring with McGregor to help him prepare for Mayweather in the ring.

While working with Malignaggi should help him on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, McGregor still faces what is nearly an impossible task of closing the gap on one of the best defensive boxers in the history of the sport.

McGregor’s a very good striker in the realm of mixed martial arts, and 18 of his 21 victories have come via knockout. If he has an opening, he can end the fight with one punch. But that’s far easier said than done against the 40-year-old Mayweather, who didn’t look to have lost a step in his most recent fight, a unanimous decision win over Andre Berto in September 2015.

McGregor shared a video of his training on June 29:

In doing so, he unintentionally illustrated the gulf between himself and Mayweather, who also posted a training clip on the same day:

According to OddsShark, McGregor is a 4-1 underdog against Mayweather.

McGregor may be able to silence his critics in Las Vegas in a little over three weeks, but many more experienced fighters stepped into the ring against Mayweather with the same intention and exited in defeat.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor’s Sparring Sessions With Former Boxing Champ ‘Got Out Of Control’

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking his upcoming professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather very seriously. That’s why he brought in Hall Of Fame boxing referee Joe Cortez to officiate his sparring sessions. Cortez officiated a sparring session between “The Notorious One” and former two-weight boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi recently and told Sirius XM that the Irishman actually […]

The post Conor McGregor’s Sparring Sessions With Former Boxing Champ ‘Got Out Of Control’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking his upcoming professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather very seriously. That’s why he brought in Hall Of Fame boxing referee Joe Cortez to officiate his sparring sessions.

Cortez officiated a sparring session between “The Notorious One” and former two-weight boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi recently and told Sirius XM that the Irishman actually ‘handled himself pretty good with Paulie.’ Cortez did, however, have to stop the action at one point after things got a little too heated (quotes via Bloody Elbow):

“He handled himself pretty good with Paulie. That guy can pop. He was in there mixing it up a little bit with Paulie and it was the real thing,” he said. “They was no messing around. In fact, I had to stop the action and I had to say, ‘Alright guys, you guys are a little out of control here, you gotta stop this.’ It got a little rough.”

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The ref then suggested that both me were roughing each other up pretty good and that he had to stop the action at one point as if it were an actual fight:

“They were both roughing each other up and I had to stop the action like in a regular fight. They were holding too much, they were trying to punch each other. I mean, it got a little bit out of control where I had to call ‘Time!’

“(I said) ‘Alright guys, you gotta stop this right now. I want a good clean round. Give me sportsman-like conduct. Understand? I don’t want to take any points from either one of you. Do you understand??’ I looked at them and they said, ‘Okay, alright.’ And I said, ‘Time in.’”

As per usual in a McGregor fight, Cortez also claimed that he had to put a stop to the trash talking going on between the two at one point as well:

“I had to put a stop to (the trash talking) as well,” said Cortez. “That’s part of why I had to stop the action.”

Mayweather vs. McGregor goes down live on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada later this month (August 26, 2017).

The post Conor McGregor’s Sparring Sessions With Former Boxing Champ ‘Got Out Of Control’ appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Joe Cortez Says Sparring Got Intense Between McGregor & Malignaggi

For a moment, Joe Cortez felt he had come out of retirement to officiate Conor McGregor vs. Paulie Malignaggi. McGregor is preparing for his Aug. 26 “super fight” against Floyd Mayweather. The mega bout will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’ll air live on Showtime pay-per-view. To help prepare for […]

For a moment, Joe Cortez felt he had come out of retirement to officiate Conor McGregor vs. Paulie Malignaggi. McGregor is preparing for his Aug. 26 “super fight” against Floyd Mayweather. The mega bout will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’ll air live on Showtime pay-per-view. To help prepare for […]

Conor McGregor, Paulie Malignaggi Sparring Got ‘Out of Control,’ Says Joe Cortez

Veteran boxing referee Joe Cortez revealed in an interview Monday that a recent sparring session between reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi got heated.       
Cortez discussed the situation with R…

Veteran boxing referee Joe Cortez revealed in an interview Monday that a recent sparring session between reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi got heated.       

Cortez discussed the situation with Randy Gordon and Gerry Cooney on SiriusXM Boxing:

McGregor is in preparations for his first professional boxing match, which will be a clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In the interview (h/t Anton Tabuena of SB Nation’s Bloody Elbow), Cortez said McGregor acquitted himself well against Malignaggi before things started getting out of hand:

“He handled himself pretty good with Paulie. That guy can pop. He was in there mixing it up a little bit with Paulie, and it was the real thing. They was no messing around. In fact, I had to stop the action, and I had to say, ‘All right, guys, you guys are a little out of control here, you gotta stop this.’ It got a little rough.”

Cortez also said he had to shut down the trash-talking between McGregor and Malignaggi while also trying to get them to have a clean sparring session:

“They were both roughing each other up, and I had to stop the action like in a regular fight. They were holding too much, they were trying to punch each other. I mean, it got a little bit out of control where I had to call ‘Time!’

“[I said], ‘All right, guys, you gotta stop this right now. I want a good clean round. Give me sportsmanlike conduct. Understand? I don’t want to take any points from either one of you. Do you understand?’ I looked at them, and they said, ‘OK, all right.’ And I said, ‘Time in.'”

Malignaggi boasts a 36-8 career record as a professional boxer, and he is a former welterweight and junior welterweight champion.

According to Sky Sports (h/t BoxingScene.com), Malignaggi has been impressed by what he has seen from McGregor: “It makes me respect McGregor to see his work ethic that he’s put into the training camp. Seeing him work hard every day and see that he’s really determined to upset the odds.”

The 29-year-old McGregor is 21-3 in his career as an MMA fighter and became the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at the same time (featherweight, lightweight).

He is easily among the top draws in combat sports, and his star power is undeniable. But he is stepping into an unfamiliar realm.

Mayweather is a perfect 49-0 in his boxing career, and despite being 11 years McGregor’s senior, his vast amount of experience makes him a significant favorite heading into the fight.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paulie Malignaggi Says Conor McGregor Always Overcomes The Odds

Conor McGregor has earned the respect of Paulie Malignaggi. On Aug. 26, McGregor will battle Floyd Mayweather inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The boxing “super fight” will air live on Showtime pay-per-view. McGregor’s team brought Malignaggi on board to prepare for “Money.” Malignaggi is a former IBF and WBA champion. Speaking with Sky Sports, […]

Conor McGregor has earned the respect of Paulie Malignaggi. On Aug. 26, McGregor will battle Floyd Mayweather inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The boxing “super fight” will air live on Showtime pay-per-view. McGregor’s team brought Malignaggi on board to prepare for “Money.” Malignaggi is a former IBF and WBA champion. Speaking with Sky Sports, […]