Hardcore boxing fan here. Since 20 years, been watching since I was a kid and I try to put things in perspective here (if I may do so) from a boxing standpoint. My take on this whole Malignaggi sparring drama and Malignaggi in general:
Malignaggi was a good boxer in his prime, couldn't punch at all (when it came to knocking out high level guys), so he used his movement (meaning feet) and danced around a bit and try to land counter punches while moving mostly backwards. One thing he had was a heart as big as a mountain. Never was out of a fight except when the end of his career came. Stood in there with Cotto (future Hall of famer) and never gave up. Amir Khan outclassed him and the ref (Steve Smoger if I remember correctly) had to save Paul from himself. He was good enough to get robbed against Juan Diaz (who was at one point "the man" at 135 pounds). He was a warrior with no punch, good skills and a big mouth which he always used to talk himself into big fights. But here comes the thing that makes the McGregor sparring drama a farce: Paulie - as decent as he was as a boxer- is done when it comes to elite boxing. Shawn Porter blew him out of the ring and made him retire and he himself admitted that his boxing days were over.
So now Mr. McGregor gets Paul into his training camp knowing 4 things:
- he is well known
- he is done as a boxer
- he can't punch
- he is physically smaller than him
