'Emotional & bitchy': New footage fans flames ahead of Lobov v Malignaggi bare-knuckle bout (VIDEO)

Artem Lobov was one of the handful of people who witnessed the now infamous spars between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi two years ago, and in brand new footage Lobov is heard slating the boxer just moments afterwards.

The two sessions, which occurred ahead of MMA star McGregor's blockbuster boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in August of 2017, ignited a war of words which has rumbled all the way to a bareknuckle boxing ring in Florida on Saturday night, when Lobov and Malignaggi face off. 

Video clips and photographs released afterwards show, depending on which side of the argument you fall on, McGregor pummelling and dropping former two-weight world champion boxer Malignaggi or selectively chosen clips designed with the intention of making McGregor look good. 

Malignaggi clearly believes it to be the latter. 

READ MORE: 'When the going gets tough - Conor looks for the first window to jump out of': Paulie Malignaggi

McGregor has vowed to release more of the footage, though some reports suggest it is being held back as the subject of a future documentary to be released on streaming platforms.

Nonetheless, ahead of Saturday's fight, McGregor's media wing, The Mac Life, released a short clip of Lobov discussing those sparring sessions shortly after they ended.

"Like I said, I think he was just a bit too emotional," Lobov says in the clip. "Boxers, they're used to having the whole camp revolve around them. They are not used to coming into someone else's camp and I feel that was the biggest issue there.

"Paulie came in and he wasn't the star. It wasn't about him, it was about someone else and he couldn't take it. Then on top of everything, he got his ass whooped. He just got really emotional and bitching. And he was gone.

"If he wants to fight, we can fight no problem but as far as I know he's retired," Lobov said of a potential future fight with Malignaggi.

"I've got no problem. Anyone, anytime, anyplace. That's been me from my first fight and it will be me to my last."

Whether those words prove prophetic, or whether Malignaggi goes some way towards righting the wrongs he feels McGregor's version of events have created, we will find out soon enough.