Amir Khan vs Paulie Malignaggi

By Bennie

Amir Khan’s American dream looms. The British boy makes his US debut in New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden next Saturday against brash and talented local man Paulie Malignaggi. While Las Vegas and its over-the-top hotels took over from New York as boxing’s major host from the late 1970s, The Garden is still shrouded in the history of big-time boxing, a place to rise to glorious victory or to sink to bitter defeat. It separates the men from the boys.
An Olympic silver medalist at 17, Khan won his medal as a one-man British boxing team in 2004. How lonely he must have felt squaring up to Cuban great Mario Kindelan in the lightweight final but the steely son of a scrap-metal merchant fought magnificently to concede a 30-22 verdict to a man whose victims included Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad. A year later, Amir lured "Super" Mario over here and took his revenge by 19-13 in his own hometown of Bolton. He was ready to hand in his vest.
Khan launched his pro campaign in Bolton in July 2005 with a quick dismissal of outgunned Londoner David Bailey. His hands were a blur as he reeled off 18 straight victories (14 early) before an unknown but unbeaten Colombian by the name of Breidis Prescott sparked him in 54 shocking seconds in Manchester in September 2007, dumping him twice. Khan now faced the second lonely climb of his career.
He made it look easy. In three inspired matches he toppled Irish brawler Oisin Fagin, Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera and Ukrainian stylist Andreas Kotelnik, the latter for the the WBA light-welterweight title, a title he puts on the line against Brooklyn’s Malignaggi.
Khan makes his second defence. He disposed of another Brooklyn man, Dmitiry Salita, inside a round last December in Britain, dropping Salita three times and then rather ungraciously dropping his British backers to fight out of America, hence this showdown.
Malignaggi is better than Salita. He has good speed and a good chin but falls down on his power with just five career stoppages. Khan, who is even quicker but falls down (literally) on an ‘iffy’ chin, has nothing to fear this time. Watch him unload his lightning combinations, whip in his body blows, use the big ring and look a million dollars against a proud Italian with brittle hands and a history of soaking up punishment.
Khan, 23, dazzles Malignaggi on the way to a unanimous decision.