LAS VEGAS – Why does Paulie Malignaggi keep talking about Conor McGregor? Why can’t he let go of what happened six months ago when video of their sparring session went viral? Why is he still talking about a fight?

Simple: People keep asking.

“Everybody I do interviews with asks me about Conor McGregor,” Malignaggi told MMAjunkie before a press conference for the Showtime-televised “Garcia vs. Rios” on Saturday. “Then people get mad when I give my thoughts on it.”

Malignaggi still has no problem giving his thoughts, whether they’re on a radio show, on TV or, more frequently, on Twitter, where he seemingly never lets a McGregor slight pass.

The truth of the matter is, sure, Malignaggi (36-8 boxing) would love to get a piece of McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC, 0-1 boxing) after he believes he was setup as the fall guy for the Irish champ’s meeting with Floyd Mayweather (50-0 boxing) this past August. Malignaggi would love to prove what he’s been saying all along – that he’s the vastly superior boxer to McGregor.

Of course, given the result of “The Money Fight,” that’s far less of a shock than it might have been this past summer. That’s why Malignaggi can’t imagine why McGregor would agree to face him now.

“Do you really think he wants to box me after what I did to him?” Malignaggi groaned. “You really think he’s going to risk, after all the junk he’s talked about me, the truth really coming out? He fooled enough stupid people to keep that perception going, and the only way you keep that perception going is by going nowhere near me.”

The other way Malignaggi would get satisfaction is if McGregor is interested in a little chat, whereupon the two might discuss their differences. Fists would be optional, not required.

“At day’s end, we can always discuss this,” Malignaggi said. “Sometimes, men just need to talk about it. Sometimes, they’ve got to do more, right?”

Malignaggi claims he was trying to work things out when he and McGregor nearly came nose-to-nose at the press conference for “The Money Fight.” If not for McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar – who Malignaggi somehow has come to know as “Avi” – they might have hashed things out.

“I was trying to pull Avi away from the media scrum to talk to him about it and be like, ‘Yo, listen, what’s going on, man? Man to man, talk to me truthfully.’ I wasn’t even going to bother Conor because he was in the media scrum. But Avi made a big scene, because what I found out about Avi is he wants to be famous more than Conor wants to be famous… . Conor’s a media whore, but Avi secretly wants to be just as famous as Conor.”

And so these days, Malignaggi is doing his own thing. He’s focused on his own projects. If Conor wants to discuss things, great. If Conor wants to box, even better. He’s even got an enticement to sweeten the deal.

“You can’t fight winner takes all, because commissions won’t allow it,” Malignaggi said. “But what you can do is give winning bonuses. We can put on the paper, as our purses, $50,000 each. Very minimal purse. The winner takes home the rest of the pot, which is all the other millions. That way, it’s winner takes all for real.”

Having fought for the UFC, McGregor is well acquainted to the idea of a win purse. Post-Mayweather, they matter less than ever. But should McGregor wish to shut his rival up, he can come see Malignaggi. You know, to talk things out.

“We can handle it, and then you can take the deceit out of it, the lies out of it, and then you’ve got the truth. You’ve got the truth in front of everybody, and I’ll send you home like a broke (expletive).”

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