Paulie Malignaggi was a part of Conor McGregor?s training camp ahead of his super fight against Floyd Mayweather, but then left the camp after the infamous photo was released.
The retired boxer now reveals what he was going through when he first realized that the photo was released to the public.
?I finished my workout and I went into the showers. I take my stuff out of my bag and my phone is buzzing like crazy, it?s like it?s on fire? it?s buzzing like crazy like it?s about to blow up,? Malignaggi said on The MMA Hour. ?Then suddenly I realize, everything had been released? everything. And the reaction was, Paulie Malignaggi got knocked down. So I?m like, ?Wow, you really released this shit.??
Malignaggi has claimed since the beginning that McGregor pushed him down and he didn?t fall as a result of a punch from the Irishman.
It was the moment that Maliganggi realized he was fighting an uphill battle that lead him to exiting McGregor?s camp.
?I?m fighting an uphill battle here. Even if I sparred him for the rest of his camp and I start to beat on him more and more and more, he?s always going to have these photographers there doing his will. In ten or twelve rounds, he?s always going to get a few shots in and those are going to be the ones he?s going to post. He?s always going to try and get ahead at my expense and not with me. I said, ?this guy is just a piece of s**t, I can?t deal with this. His team is a bunch of s**t cheerleaders. They?re not improving, they?re not getting any better. They?re telling him he?s doing good even when they?re not. I don?t need to be around these people, it?s not like they brought me in for anything tactical like everybody thought they would. They?re doing the tactical stuff, and all the tactical stuff is, is cheerleading,? he said.
Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather takes place on Saturday, August 26 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.