Conor McGregor’s former sparring partner claims UFC star is ‘brutally bad’ at boxing and would lose to YouTuber AnEsonGib
Conor McGregor’s boxing has been ridiculed by his former sparring partner, retired two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi.
Ahead of his ring debut against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, ‘Notorious’ shared some rounds with Malignaggi before posting footage that didn’t flatter the New York native.
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One clip shows ‘Magic Man’ seemingly being dropped by McGregor, but the American has always insisted he won the spar and wasn’t knocked down by McGregor.
The two men have since become bitter enemies and Malignaggi takes every chance he gets to jab at the Irishman who he still holds a grudge against six years later.
McGregor plans to return to boxing before his combat sports career is over but Malignaggi doesn’t think the UFC superstar has got what it takes to win in the sport - even against influencers.
The 42-year-old recently claimed that YouTuber AnEsonGib, who was knocked out by Jake Paul in 2020, would beat ‘Mystic Mac’ after putting together a five-fight winning streak against fellow internet celebrities.
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“Conor McGregor's boxing skills are so brutal that I think even a YouTube boxer like AnEsonGib would beat Conor McGregor in a boxing ring,” Malignaggi told .
“I worked with Gib for his first last year against Austin McBroom and Gib brings a lot of stress and a lot of pressure. At this point, I think he'd even beat up Conor McGregor in a boxing ring.”
However, Malignaggi doesn’t think McGregor would ever take a fight against Gib as he is intent on protecting his legacy by only losing against elite-level opponents.
“Conor has taken very calculated risks,” he added.
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“He knew getting his ass kicked by Mayweather was ok as he's the best fighter ever. Losing to Khabib - Khabib was the main guy in MMA - so that’s ok too.
“Conor can get his ass kicked perennially, win one fight in six years, and still have this reputation. His reputation is pretty protected.”
“He's a real-life WWE wrestling character. Your favourite wrestler can lose one week and win the next week and it's still a show.
"McGregor's like a WWE wrestler. He gets the s*** beaten out of him consistently and his fan base doesn't care.”
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McGregor’s fighting future is currently in limbo after he missed an important drug test deadline and is, therefore, unable to compete in 2023 unless the UFC makes an exception.
The 34-year-old recently called for 'patience' from his fans who are growing increasingly concerned that he’ll never return from the leg injury he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
McGregor is booked to face Michael Chander, but it’s currently unclear if the UFC still want to make that fight after spending several months trying to tie down their biggest star.
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