Having concluded their loud and confrontational promotional tour, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor have now returned to training, looking to sharpen up and hone their skills before the big showdown on August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During the well-attended promotional events that spanned four cities, the two-division UFC champion, Conor McGregor, claimed that he would knock out the undefeated boxer in the fourth round. Now, to assist in his preparation and sparring, McGregor has the former two-weight champion Paulie Malignaggi in his camp.

There’s no doubt that Malignaggi will be bringing with him a wealth of experience and some decent pedigree, but how much help will the boxer-turned-commentator really be to boosting McGregor’s preparation?

A big feat for McGregor to win via knockout

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor go head-to-head during promotional tour, via Twitter

With the big fight little over one month away, the bookies are still swaying toward the former professional boxer, Floyd Mayweather, coming up trumps when he faces Conor McGregor in Las Vegas.

While the American doesn’t trust the rumors concerning his upcoming opponent being knocked out in a sparring session recently, he is backed to knock out the never before KO’d fighter – only losing via submission in the UFC. At 4/6 to win via knockout, technical knockout, or disqualification, and being favored to win in any round five through nine at 12/1, Mayweather is certainly favored to send the Irishman to the canvas in his debut boxing bout.

Conor McGregor has, as many boxers have in the past, called a round in which he predicts that he will win by knockout – the fourth round in this instance. However, that’s not how the betting markets see it, setting him all the way at 33/1 to do so. In fact, on the Mayweather v McGregor betting tips page, you can get as much as 40/1 for the Irishman just to win the contest.

Will Malignaggi help McGregor?

Paulie Malignaggi is a well-known and respected name in the boxing community, having taken on many of the biggest names in his division over his boxing career, amassing a 36-8 record and winning two world titles in two separate divisions. Upon confirming his upcoming involvement with the McGregor camp, the retired American boxer said that the camp will decide how involved he is, but that he’s “there to accommodate as best as [he] can.”

This comes after Malignaggi was quite strong-worded about McGregor getting a boxing license, but it appears as though the matter has been put aside for the benefit of McGregor’s success. However, the Irishman hasn’t forgotten what was said:

Caution, the video contains strong language:

The veteran boxer will bring a lot of know-how and will no-doubt be a good sparring partner, but that may be as far as his usefulness extends, given his history. Take nothing away from Malignaggi, he forged a mighty boxing career, but when it came to the big occasions, more often than not, he came up short. Losing to Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Juan Diaz, Amir Khan, Adrien Broner, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia in huge events, his big-fight losses greatly outweigh his big-fight wins.

While Conor McGregor should get some good rounds of sparring from Paulie Malignaggi, he will likely be looking for preparation tips and help on the mental side of the game elsewhere, as this is the biggest money fight of his career.