It appears that Conor McGregor is finding difficulty in recruiting sparring partners in the aftermath of his fall out with Paulie Malignaggi
Earlier this week, Malignaggi claimed that former Mayweather opponent, Andre Berto, had canceled plans to spar with McGregor as a result of their public spat. According to the former two-weight world champion, Berto was anxious about hooking up with the McGregor camp due to fears that he would also be mistreated.
The Irishman was heavily criticized by the New Yorker following the leak of photos from their sparring session. Malignaggi claimed that the McGregor camp had purposely misled the public with the images, arguing that what looked like a knock down was actually a push down from “The Notorious”.
In further developments, it appears the Malignaggi incident has put off another boxer who could have potentially helped McGregor in his preparations. Former IBF super-featherweight champion Steve Forbes, who worked with Mayweather ahead of his bout with Shane Mosley in 2010, also rejected the opportunity to spar with the UFC lightweight champion:
“I got a call to spar with them too,” Forbes told Fight Hub TV. “I said no.”
“We didn’t even get to [discussing money]. It’s just the way how it was handled with Paulie. Plus, I haven’t been sparring or training really like that.
“Yeah, I know. They’d make me look bad because I’m not in condition. No way! People were like ‘oh you would be able to handle that,’ but I haven’t been sparring.”
