It was only a matter of time before former two-weight boxing champion Paul Malignaggi ripped Conor McGregor's boxing prospects to shreds.
The 36-year-old 'Magic Man' was one of the finest pure boxers of his generation, his slickster style and tremendous hand speed more than making amends for a distinct lack of power due to his fragile hands. Now semi-retired, Malignaggi is as quick with his mouth than he was with the mitts; the Showtime-slash-Sky Sports broadcast analyst is considered by many to be the best in the sport, his outspoken, no-nonsense approach to boxing punditry appeasing fans frustrated by a sport chock full of, well, nonsense.
The latest such garbage was Conor McGregor's potential crossover bout with Floyd Mayweather - a hype-building, headline-making farce which has bored hardcore fans of both boxing and MMA since last spring. Yes, it has been that long. Back in May, we explained how Mayweather and McGregor's respective teams had convened in Las Vegas and agreed to continuously make noise about a fight for each fighter's own promotional benefit. No actual fight was discussed, and it will never happen.
However, we also reported that Al Haymon - Floyd Mayweather's chief adviser - was open to putting the then-UFC featherweight champion on a Premier Boxing Champions card, were the Crumlin man ever to defect even temporarily from the UFC. This, however, remained a simple pipe-dream for the boxing mogul.
After a few months of relative peace, more Mayweather-McGregor nonsense emerged in December when McGregor was granted a boxing licence by the state of California. This, combined with McGregor's recent demands for shares in the UFC and recent hiatus, sparked rumours that 'The Notorious could be set for a money-spinning leap from octagon to ring.
Malignaggi, however, scoffed at the suggestions that McGregor could make for a successful boxer, having watched the Irishman's much-criticised sparring session with the relatively unheralded boxer Chris van Heerden. He told Bloody Elbow's The Three Amigos podcast:
I don't know that Conor even knows how to adapt, because I've seen the sparring videos, and I've watched him moving in directions that he shouldn't be moving in, and putting himself in positions that could be dangerous - where he doesn't even know where he's going.
In his mind, he's just moving around the ring. There's no particular reason behind what he's doing, and if you put him in with a capable boxer, they're going to take advantage of that and put him in dangerous positions.
If you put him in boxing, you probably have to treat him as a prospect, just like the 20-year-old prospects that turn pro and get put through the normal phases. You have to start Conor from the beginning. There's no other way to put it. If Conor intends on winning a fight, he probably can't fight anyone who knows how to box even relatively speaking.
The only way he'll take a risk in boxing is if it's a $100m risk. You may take a beating, but it's worth it because of the money you're doing it for. It's going to totally destroy him. No matter who he boxes, it's going to ruin his image.
Malignaggi's assertion is doubtless the most likely; McGregor was - to put it kindly - an average amateur boxer in his Crumlin days, and claims in America that he's a former national champion are untrue.
He does, however, carry legitimate pop in his left hand, as testified by former Crumlin gymmate and professional boxing prospect Jamie Kavanagh, and Celtic Warrior Gym head coach Paschal Collins has previously praised his boxing ability having trained McGregor in Blanchardstown.
Regardless, a switch to boxing remains wholly unlikely for 'Mystic Mac' in 2017.
