One of UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor’s sparring partners recently suggested that Paulie Malignaggi was knocked down, not pushed down, when the two were sparring.
Tiernan Bradley also joined McGregor’s training camp to help him prepare for his professional boxing debut.
When Malignaggi and McGregor were sparring, Bradley was in Malignaggi’s corner.
Recently, Malignaggi left McGregor’s training camp after not being happy with the way he was treated. Malignaggi was upset after photos were released of McGregor landing shots on Malignaggi while sparring.
The photo that made Malignaggi the most upset was a photo of McGregor standing over a fallen Malignaggi. The retired boxer claims McGregor pushed him to the ground.
“As for the ‘knockdown’ itself, you can make your own mind up when the footage is eventually released, if anybody even cares by that stage,” Bradley wrote in a blog post.
“I’ve seen people say that, from the photo, you can tell that it was a push down by the body language of (referee) Joe Cortez. I can tell you now – Joe didn’t see the incident that led to Paulie being on the ground. He didn’t see it.
“At the end of the day it was a spar, so what is he going to do – give him a count?”
McGregor will make his professional boxing debut against Floyd “Money” Mayweather on Aug. 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
