Paulie Malignaggi wants to settle his feud with Conor McGregor man to man, fists to fists – no gloves.
That’s right: no gloves.
In a surprising move, it was announced Thursday that Malignaggi, the former multi-division boxing champion and current Showtime commentator, signed an exclusive deal with Bare Knuckle FC. Not long after the announcement was made, Malignaggi, 38, took to Twitter to call out McGregor.
“Conor the coward @TheNotoriousMMA with 2 minute rounds I’m sure even YOU can’t quit at this! Time to settle it. @bareknucklefc,” Malignaggi tweeted.
Malignaggi, who retired from boxing in March 2017, emerged as a central figure in the “Money Fight” between Floyd Mayweather and McGregor, serving as a McGregor training partner. After unflattering footage of their sparring sessions emerged, Malignaggi called out the former two-division UFC champion and confronted him at a press conference for the August 2017 blockbuster. They’ve traded social media barbs in the time since, leading to rumors of a possible boxing showdown that never materialized.
While it’s doubtful Malignaggi would get a crack at McGregor in bare-knuckle fighting, a potential bout with Artem Lobov could serve as a substitute. Lobov, one of McGregor’s close friends and training partners, signed with BKFC in February and is set to meet former UFC fighter Jason Knight in his debut on April 6. The working plan, confirmed by BKFC president David Feldman to MMA Junkie Radio, is to have Malignaggi and Lobov square off should the “Russian Hammer” win.
For his part, Malignaggi is ready to take on not just Lobov – but any MMA fighter.
“You understand what it takes to fight a professional boxing with bare hands? I don’t think people understand the accuracy a pro boxer has,” Malignaggi said through his “Brooklyn to the World” podcast Twitter. “Any of you MMA (expletives) that want to stop trolling and get in there and do it, I will knock you the (expletive) out.”
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