By Edward Chaykovsky
A few weeks ago, UFC superstar Conor McGregor made viral headlines when he secured a boxing license in the state of California. He also applied for a boxing license in the state of Nevada, but he was denied.
For most of last year, McGregor was trading words with former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. Although he officially retired from boxing in September of 2015, Mayweather was willing to entertain the idea of fighting McGregor in a boxing match.
McGregor's interest in pursing a boxing career created a whirlwind of challenges from a who's who in the boxing world. Even fighters like Saul "Canelo" Alvarez were daring him to step in the ring.
Former two-division world champion Paulie Malignaggi, who is also an expert analyst for Showtime and Sky Sports, watched some of McGregor's sparring videos with fighters such as welterweight contender Chris Van Heerden - and Malignaggi feels McGregor is light years away from being capable of beating any fighter with decent boxing ability.
"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 have been 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," Malignaggi told Bloody Elbow's Three Amigos Podcast.
"If you put him in boxing, you probably have to treat him as a prospect, just like these 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 McGregor intends on winning a fight, he probably can’t fight anybody that 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."
