Former two time World Champion and now retired boxer Paulie Malignaggi has never been as relevant as he is now. He has been doing the media circuit absolutely lapping up the attention over his so-called 'mistreatment' at the hands Conor McGregor. Laying the groundwork for a big payday done the line, perhaps?

The puppet-master

First off, kudos to Floyd Mayweather. He could have attempted 50 and 0 with virtually anyone in boxing. Every fighter around his weight class was looking for a Mayweather payday. Floyd however choose 0-0 Boxer and UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor.

Since the May-Mac tour ended, Mayweather has been able to focus on getting ready for the fight and put his feet as a showman. In the meantime the promotional wheels have continued to roll, thanks to Mayweather choosing the perfect dance partner. Be it in a quote or a tweet, Conor McGregor is the master of publicity.

The subplot

On this occasion McGregor has created a fantastic subplot to the main story. The subplot being Conor's so-called beef with Paulie Malignaggi and it came to a crescendo at the end of last week - with the release of Malignaggi apparently being floored by McGregor, and Paulie rage quitting claiming he was pushed.

As Conor puts it,

He came, he got his ass whooped. That's it.

The end to Paulie's cameo was perfectly timed ahead of this week's press conferences.

Bluff called

As I've documented previously there has been a back-and-forth between Paulie and Conor going back months. Culminating in Conor inviting Paulie to spar.

I’m sure when Conor’s people first contacted Paulie they were expecting him to reject the proposal to spare, ’Nah dude, I ain’t gonna spare you dude, I’d break your heart and make you not wanna step in the ring with a Mayweather for all the money in the world! Me? A sparring buddie… gtfoh. I tell you what I’d do. After Mayweather dances rings around you, I’ll lay some serious hands on ya.’ That should have been Paulie’s reaction.

But Paulie didn’t do that. Paulie said yes! He accepted like he was being invited to dinner! If it was dinner, he was the main course! On the May-Mac Tour, Conor explained what it was. Clear as day.

Paulie is going to have to answer for his words. He gonna come in and we’re going to have a knock. And he’s going to answer for what he’s being saying.

Sparring with the enemy

‘He’s gonna answer for what he’s been saying.”

When a man talks about you like that, you know you’re going into enemy territory. You should have your guards up. Every single one of them. Your physical guard. And if you have some celebrity, your social media guard. You should go with backup. You should make sure the terms and conditions of your involvement are clearly spelt out.

The inflection in McGregor’s voice suggested that if he didn’t "do" Malignaggi in the ring, he could very well "do" him outside the ring. I suspect, McGregor was using Paulie as a trash talking, highly skilled adversary. To get a feel for what it might be like going rounds against Mayweather. And at the same time, if he can get some licks in on someone who had been mouthing off and some good publicity out of it, even better.

But from the way Paulie tells it, he went in there like a goodwill ambassador. Malignaggi genuinely went in there to help! He stepped in the lion's den to help the lion sharpen it's teeth! Either he is incredibly naive or suffers from selective amnesia. He was slating McGregor only months early. I’m not sure who sweet talked Malignaggi into it behind the scenes. But it appears Paulie wasn’t really listening clearly to what McGregor was saying to the public, in front of the camera.

Let’s be real. Paulie knew what he was getting into. But he didn’t care because it was fantastic publicity for brand Malignaggi . What better way to keep yourself relevant than to have inside, intimate knowledge of McGregor’s camp. However a look at McGregor's track record reveals he keeps a tight circle. No new friends. Certainly no new Frenemies.

So they did their thing. In reality, it doesn’t matter what happened in sparring. Who did what to whom. Who said what. Was it a push or a knock down.. Who was in what condition... blah blah blah. Sparring is a means to an end not the end itself. It’s just a prelude to the main event. The purpose is to get McGregor ready for August 26th. The one that really cares about Paulie's sparring woes is Paulie’s ego. For everyone else, it just adds to the entertainment value.

Complain brigade

I hear people complaining that Conor has broken some sparring code. ‘What happens in sparring stays in sparring.’ That may be true for an ordinary boxing or mma camp. However Mayweather-McGregor is no ordinary event.

The number one item on McGregor’s promotional agenda for this fight is to convince the public he can mix it with a pound-for-pound great boxer in Floyd Mayweather. Because on paper it is a mis-match. That is why we’re seeing pictures of Conor apparently lighting sparring partners up. That why we see pics of his hands behind his back as he spars a former two-time world champion. That why we see pictures of him punching Paulie’s face into distortion. That’s why we’re seeing pictures of Conor standing over a pushed or knocked down Malignaggi .

How Malignaggi ended up on his back is irrelevant. It’s all a show to convince the public that Conor has a modicum of the boxing acumen needed to trouble Floyd Mayweather. That’s it. Nothing personal. Strictly show-business.

Champion in 'Crack-House'

As for Paulie’s complaint about the living conditions of the sparring partners. You've got to be kidding. I would expect sparring partners to be living in digs. It comes with the territory of being a sparring partner! It’s not unusual for young, hungry fighters, eager to cut their cloth to forgo luxuries just to be part of an elite training camp. To learn from and spar with the best.

It's the same with football. I remember, ‘back-in-my-day’ it was standard practice for apprentice footballers to clean the dirty boots of professional footballers who were on multi-million pound contractsand driving luxury cars. You do your time. Learn the grind. Become successful. Then enjoy the spoils. 101.

If Paulie was expecting for ‘former champion’ treatment in his sparring partner role, he should have negotiated upfront. Rather than (according to his own words) bitched and moaned to the other sparring partners after the fact.

Everyone's a winner

In the end of the day, for all his whining, Paulie should be happy. He’s doing the circuit, telling his account to anyone that will listen. Fair play.

I think a simple tweet laughing off the prospect that he could be legitimately knocked down by McGregor would have sufficed. However if you have a spare hour to lose, you can listen to Paulie pour his heart out over the situation,

As it stands, he is milking it for all it’s worth. Don’t be surprised if after the dust settles on the Mayweather- McGregor circus, we don’t hear rumbles of a “Mal-Mac” fight at Madison Square Garden. The Italian and Irish communities in New York will lap that one up! Particularly if McGregor puts up a decent performance against Mayweather. Then Conor and Paulie can settle the score in the ring and bank millions between them. In many ways, they should have made this fight first! It would have been the perfect hors d'oeuvres.