American boxer turned pundit Paulie Malignaggi has suggested that he would be open to fighting Conor McGregor but insisted that a lot would depend on the outcome of his upcoming bout against Floyd Mayweather on August 26.Malignaggi has sparred with McGregor’s twice before deciding to leave the UFC star's training camp on following rumours of discontent and a bust up.Since then, the American has been frequently asked on Twitter whether he’d like to face McGregor in the ring, and to his credit, while he has told fans he’s open to the idea, the 36-year-old attempted to cool talk of a potential fight.

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Earlier this week, Malignaggi posted a series of tweets responding to fans hoping to see the two rivals go toe-to-toe.

“Let’s see how August 26th plays out, that one is around the corner. The result and how it comes about plays a big factor in future endeavours.

“The most lucrative fight in combat sports is at the end of the month, let’s see how it plays out.

“Let’s enjoy the present. The future things and possibilities can def be discussed afterwards though.”

He was even called up on the fact that he’d retired, to which Malignaggi cheekily responded with: “So was Floyd ;-)”

Rumours of a bust up while sparring with McGregor surfaced last month and Malignaggi’s departure afterwards only stirred the pot further. 

The footage of the sparring sessions is yet to be released to the public and it’s likely to stay that way until at least the Mayweather-McGregor fight has passed. But should Malignaggi be up next for ‘The Notorious’, it may just prove a big hand to play.

In the meantime, Malignaggi, who retired in March after losing to Englishman Sam Eggington, is very much playing the ‘wait and see’ card.