Win or lose on Saturday night, Conor McGregor will have a fascinating potential opponent awaiting him if he decides to hang around the professional boxing ranks.
Interest continues to swell for a clash between 'The Notorious' and the most high-profile sparring partner he brought in to help him prepare for Floyd Mayweather this weekend.
It's well-documented by now but Paulie Malignaggi, a former two-weight world champion, remains very unhappy with how he was treated in McGregor's training camp in Las Vegas ahead of his super-fight with 'Money'.
Malignaggi left McGregor's camp after two sparring sessions, accusing the Irishman of misleading editing and disrespect in relation to the social media portrayal of a disputed knockdown in their second session.
Following the release of a photograph showing Malignaggi on the canvas, the retired boxer insisted that it was a pushdown that had floored him but McGregor has since published footage of the sequence that seemed to show Malignaggi being downed legitimately.
https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/896221007740100608
Malignaggi will cover this weekend's monster bout between McGregor and Mayweather for Showtime and he was in attendance at the so-called Grand Arrival of the fighters on Tuesday.
The exchange got heated as the pair squared up to one another on the T-Mobile Arena premises and the argument seems to have stemmed from a conversation between Malignaggi and McGregor's manager, Audie Attar.
"I just saw him lurking around and he started talking to my manager, Audie," McGregor explained after the incident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uakNbrTkfh4
"I saw him talking and I walked over. He was still talking to Audie and wouldn't look at me. I put my hand on him and said: 'What's wrong with you? What's up with you?' And he just put his head down.
"I was like: 'Mate, get over it! You look stupid. You got your ass whooped but it's done.'
"I actually don't know [the intention]. I think maybe he was looking for a little spot but whatever. Leave him to it.
"It was a little show. He's alright. I still don't mind Paulie, even after all the stuff."
