Paulie Malignaggi says his second sparring session with Conor McGregor, held in Las Vegas on Tuesday, was far more intense than his first.
Speaking to ESPN, the former two-weight world champion described the 12-round session as 'violent'. The rise in intensity may have had something to do with the New Yorker feeling like he was being set up.
[A] lot of violence. I went in there to prove a point. I didn't like the fact I had to fly across the country on Monday, and they have me scheduled for 12 [rounds] on Tuesday. I thought it was a little bit of a setup.
Usually all sparring is private. I show up at the UFC headquarters and [former owner, Lorenzo] Fertitta is there. [UFC president] Dana White is there. So, I'm thinking these guys are thinking they'll catch me right off the flight, set me up for him to look good in front of his audience. I didn't like that. I kind of went in with a chip on my shoulder.
Malignaggi says that McGregor's desire to make his presence felt in the ring was evident as he prepares for his August 26th fight with Floyd Mayweather.
He's coming to win, right? He wants you to know you're in a fight. He doesn't want you to think it's a picnic. So, any time he's in the ring, he's trying to make it as rough as possible - be it roughhouse tactics, be it trying to land hard shots.
There was a pushdown yesterday. Conor on the inside, he can get a little rough. He shoved me down, you know, but no knockdowns. Obviously, 12 rounds, you're gonna see there's a mark on my face. Very, very hard work for both of us. I was starting to get in a groove in the middle rounds, starting to land some good shots. Conor really came on strong in the end. It was back and forth.
On Newstalk's Off The Ball earlier this week, Malignaggi laughed when asked if the shots McGregor landed in their first sparring session had hurt. That was an encounter in the ring which he described as 'outgoing and full of trash-talking'.
Though, he has already seen improvements between that first sparring session and the second.
I think the intensity Conor's reaching is starting to show in the hard work he's put into camp. 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.
