If Khan fights Malignaggi, what does this say about Amir?
December 20th, 2009
By William Mackay: There’s been talk lately about WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) possibly fighting former International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi rather than an arguably tougher opponent like WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana.
So what does it tell you if Khan is matched against Malignaggi, one of the lightest hitters in the division? Does it mean that Khan is looking to avoid getting knocked out again like he was last year against Breidis Prescott? Boxing fans are still waiting to see if Khan will attempt to avenge that defeat. Recently, little Kevin Mitchell beat Prescott by a 12 round decision, doing the job that many thought that Khan should have tried to do. Mitchell didn’t stand and trade with Prescott like Khan foolishly tried to do, but he still was able to beat him.
To listen to the spin that Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach is making about a fight with Malignaggi, you’d think that Malignaggi is the perfect fight for Khan to become a star in the U.S. That’s frankly hard to believe when Malignaggi isn’t exactly a huge star himself. How does Khan become a star in the U.S. by beating a light hitting fighter whose recent fights have come against a smaller former lightweight champion Juan Diaz?
Before that fight, Malignaggi had been stopped in the 11th round by Ricky Hatton in a one-sided fight in November 2008, and then beaten little known Christopher Fernandez by an eight round decision in April 2009, a fight in which Malignaggi was staggered by Fernandez late in the bout. In 2007 and 2008, Malignaggi beaten Herman Ngoudjo and Lovemore N’dou, not looking good in either of the fights. I had Malignaggi losing both of those fights by a couple of rounds and was shocked to see him win.
Is Khan being put in with purposely weak punching opponents to try and keep him winning as long as possible before throwing him in with a good fighter? How long can this go on before boxing fans start to lose interest in him. Some boxers make a career of taking easy fights against opponents they know they can beat, and end up with hugely inflated records.
Right now, Khan may have a nice 22-1 record, which looks good on the surface, but I only see one fight on Khan’s entire record, his win over the light hitting Andriy Kotelnik, that is worth giving any meaning to. All the rest of the opponents, I feel, are fighters that a good portion of the top 15 would also beat and end with the same identical record as Khan, if not better. I honestly think Kevin Mitchell would breeze through the opponents that Khan has faced in his career, beating all of them without a loss. And I don’t think so highly of Mitchell as a fighter.
So is Khan being spoon fed opponents to build up an inflated record to just make money off him? If so, how long can it go on before boxing fans get wise to it? I don’t think that Khan can beat Timothy Bradley, and I certainly don’t think he can beat Maidana, Alexander, Torres, Prescott, Alvarado, Peterson, Holt, Hatton or Bailey either. However, it may not matter what I think. If Khan can be steered away from those fighters, he could keep winning for a long time to come.
Tags: 38 Responses to “If Khan fights Malignaggi, what does this say about Amir?”
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Khan will not beat malignaggi, he has been looking sharper since his new trainer. this fight is tougher than the article makes it sound. Khan will lose
mackey you need to stop hating your a friggin boxing reporter and you still dont now little things like amir khan CANT fokkin have a rematch with prescott because prescott lost 2 times,
and taking on maidana would be very risky because amir is not in his prime yet and a top of that freddie roach will be busy with manny pacquiao and the mayweather fight
There seems to be loads of talk about Khan not being ready yet and he is being groomed for greatness. What then is he doing with a title belt if he cannot defend it against the best? If he is as good as his fans believe, then he should put his and Roach’s reputations on the line and take on a decent fighter for a change. If not, then vacate it and leave it to the pro’s. The above article’s last section sums it up the best.
At first, his promoters talked about Bradley and Maidana. Then all of the sudden they got scared for their boy. I think he should take on one of those two. If he is able to even stand his ground, then he has my vote. Otherwise, he is just a puppet.
“IF YOU WANT TO SOAR WITH THE EAGLES, THEN DON’T FLY WITH THE TURKEYS!!!”
morales, you make me laugh. totally agree, if you hate khan don’t watch him but i tell you what he’ll shut the big boys up unfortunately his very young buts that not his fault his too taleneted. if his fights hatton then people will say hatton was past it, if he fights bradely then they’ll say bradleys too short, if he fights malignagi then people will say his not a powerful puncher. khan is in a no win situation. all these fighter would get the salita treatment under the guidance on roach.
They really like bumming everyone, especially if it makes Khan look bad. This is the response when he ko’s a mandatory challenger, imagine what they would say if he lost the fight! If you hate the guy that much stop writing about him, oh but then you’d lose half your readers, lol I feel sorry for you guys. Why don’t you bum each other that would be less embarrassing.
Funny but look at the profiles of each critical response to Khan, notice any pattern? Good on ya boys!
khan will take them all on, now he has to prove it. malignaggi is too easy, bradley is a midget compared to khan, madiana would be tough and a brutal war but with roach with khan he’ll win, so bring them on i say and king khan will spank them all. as for his critics, well half of them ae probably racist with khan being asian and muslim.
HE should be forced to fight maidana. Then maidana will get the belt and knock this poser out
End of the day his fans can talk all they want about khans super speed and talent but the fact remains that when a fighter hits back and comes to have a war, Amir khan cant take any of it. And thats even at lower domestic level.
Mallignaggi cant punch for toffee but hes a step up at least and i think hes still got too much for khan
if this guy isnt ready then why is he holding a world title, crap one i know but still. oh and i would of never known king khon was asian WOW. i was wondering how a british boxer had so much support inside and outside the ring, not to mention the publicity and made so much money boxing b level boxers you really are that gullable did i forget get to mention the greatest boxer is roman catholic ha ha ha king khon might want to think about converting it might help his chin
the public loves to see fighters in wars and see ko,s.but as a business man you want your man to win.if you dont want to watch khan v malignaggi dont have ppv simple as.i dont pay to watch khan,but his team are looking after him and building him up cus mallignaggi is a step up from salita.but at the end of the day warren is a clever man,tv as it and fools ppv it.he keeps the gravy train rolling
james mc – It’s alrite naming boxers who did this and that at a young age. But all boxers develop differently, some peak early, whilst some come into there own with experience. It’s obvious Khan still has a lot to learn. (Im no fan of Khan either)
Also, Precott Maidana Torres etc, are all good at one thing, knocking people out. So what if Prescott knocked him out, Prescott has been shown to be very limited since. Whether it was Khan’s inexperience or his chin, it doesn’t really matter, he has come back to win a world title.
What promoter would put there boxer in with someone who has knocked the majority of there opponents out? Especially after there boxer has already been knocked out by a big puncher before.
listen boyz khan will rock malignaggi in the first 10 seconds, and then TKO him his speed is unstoppable if he misses one punch he will land with the other before you can blink that is khans speed, and it proved to be his best tactics so far he even said himself that he just wanted to give a normal one-two to salita and it knocked him down he may have not been hurt but was stunned and i have seen maidana and ortiz they also have weak chins but great heart and if khan gets 3 ko’s in one round against them he will win and hopefully as time passes on his power will improve
if they take the fight with malignaggi what it says about khan is that he’s scared of big punchers with power and scared of a real fight with a top contender.
it reeks of avoidance. it’s also an extemely boring and predictable fight and boxing fans were bored with khan along time ago
its purely a boxing business and master roach is the master of this business, they say Freddie is a cherry-picker. . oows!if you’re in his shoes. . what are you going to do. . let your boxers get slaughtered?
LOL khan is way better than most people think look at him hes one of the best asian boxers around better than all the boxers in india combined lol so keep hating KHAN bharat gandoos
if i managed khan i would keep him winning.at the end of the day the idiots are the ones who have the ppv for him cus they are filling khan and warrens pockets.so as a manager promoter malignaggi is ideal and a step up from salita.clever move
starting to get sick of khan beating bums and has beens and soft punchers, come on man amir plz leave frank warren who always does this with all his fighters and fight the big boys!, if khan fights pauliei certainly wont be buying it to see khan knock him out in the first round, boxing needs more fights like mayweather pacquio now thats a fight! in fact that is probably going to be the greatest fight in history!
Why does everyone on here use khans age as an excuse?juan diaz who is no special fighter had unified 3 of the lightweight belts at the ag of 23.barrera had been in over 10 world title fights by 23,morales had been in 9 beating the likes off jones,chacon and mccullough.it just shows if ur good enough your old enough,so khan claims to be the best so its time for him to prove himself against the best.Plus i will never respect khan untill he fights another big puncher like prescott,bailey,tores,valero or maidana,witch wont happen any time soon.
If your good enough to hold the WBA Belt then you should be good enough and willing to take on all belt holders. You fancy yourself as a champ? Prove it!!!
Dont get me wrong, im not a Khan hater. I just like to see the best mix it up with the best. If you dont think your the best yet, then vacate you title and come back when your old enough!
First off Paulie is a MUCH bigger name than Maidana and an overall better figher as well. Other than his stellar KO power Maidana is a joke, plus he’s already committed to figthing Devon Alexander and will likely become irrelevant after losing. And no Kevin Mitchell would not have been able to beat Dmitry Salita in the manner that Khan did, if beat him at all.
Paulie is a perfect fight for Khan at the moment. Victor Ortiz was stopped by Khan in the amateurs, has not faced much tougher competition than Khan has, and he totally folded against Maidana. As of right now Khan is the best prospect in the division and you don’t build up prospects by throwing them to the wolves as soon as they start to show promise.
Khan is only 23, he is steadily increasing his level of competition and already the haters are already b$%ching about him fighting bums like they did Joe Calzaghe before he brutally spanked Lacy, Hopkins, and RJJ. Even though Chris Eubanks was not exactly a bum either. Khan’s last 3 opponents were by no means bums. This writer is a typical p#$sed off American who hates on European fighters because they’ve slowly started taking over the sport.
He should step up and defend that belt. Im sick and tired of Roach’s surgical cherrypicks. Have you noticed Roach talks about the opponents badly that he cherrypicks? He isnt saying a work about maidana, because he knows maidana has a chin/punch and could last with his fighter.
Oscar-cant pull the trigger, Hatton-no defense, Cotto-damaged goods, etc. So what has pac accomplished if his own trainer shoots himself in the foot when they pick fights? Lets get back to real match ups out of neccessity. Watch, khan will be the next big celebrity stinkbox fighter just like pac, who avoided fighters who counterpunch, and only fought shop worn come forward styles. Pac should be fighting bradley, not asking him to spar with him. This is getting retarded.
I hate the excuses people make for khan ie he’s only 23 blah,blah,blah,well devon alexander and victor ortiz are actually younger than khan and have been in with more dangerous opponents so those excuses are rubbish!
Paulie is a good boxer and a good fight for Khan.Paulie inly lost to very good boxers.Put with Khans speed he will take paulie out in 8 rounds
amir khan needs to walk through fire to get prescott again, to prove the entire world wrong.
khan is world class, but his opponents are not,
pauly is the mos skilled fighter in boxing he does not rely on power just his boxing skills.
if khan beats him this will show that indead khan is the real deal in world class,
khan vs bradley, 2010 = winner bradley TKO
khan vs bradley, 2011 = winner KHAN KO
khan needs to prove he is world class, his next 3 opponents should be world class yet not dangerous like JMM or hatton or bradley,
khan will skool Maidana juts like the koltelnik fight, haha
Learn to write a decent article with what little knowledge you have, its blatantly obvious that you want everyone to think that Amir is dodging fighters. He is 23 and has a lot of boxing years ahead of him, he will fight the top guys in good time so stop hiding behind hypothetical questions and just say I’ll bum everyone apart from khan if it makes him look bad. You think Mitchell would beat Khan, but there would be nowhere to run. Mallignaggi makes perfect sense to open the American market before the super fights like Bradley et al. Is Hatton chinny for being splattered in two different fights, NO! Sometimes you get hit with a bomb, its how you comeback that counts and Amirs on that road. Oh and by the way William Mackay if he does beat Maidana, Alexander, Torres, Prescott, Alvarado, Peterson, Holt, Bailey or Bradley then you honestly can’t think.
And by the way id go for Paulie mallignaggi by SD
ummmm if Khan fought Paulie I would think he’d be taking a step up in competition. I don’t care what Paulie’s knockout ratio is, he can box and it would be a good fight for Khan and Paulie.
I think Maggi is a great next step for Khan. Maggi has only lost to top fighters and if Khan beats him, it shows that he’s ready for bigger and better.
Im the biggest khan critic on here, but if they announced a fight with mallignaggi in america next then at last id be able to admit hes in there with a current world class fighter, paulie doesnt hit hard enough but id much rather see this than say another kotelnik, salita type bum or a castillo grandad. Khan vs mallignagi id be okay with it. But if he came thru that which is no guarentee, then a big hitter would have to be next or that proves they dont trust his chin
Amir has choosen the right move. Fighting his way up, hes 23 for f*ck sake. Only had about 22-23 fights? Whats your problem? Whats the point in mentioning the best fighters in the divison when you, me, Khan and Roach know hes not ready yet? Why cant people like you accept this? If Amir hasnt choosen to fight atleast 2 of the fighters you mentioned within his next 7 fights, then you have a case for an argument. But at the min Amir is young and building his way up, get over it. Get on with something else and take you mind of Amir Khan, i find participating in s@#$al activities fun (give it a try)
Malignaggi is rated no.5 in the division, rated above the names you’ve mentioned as ‘better’ opponents. Why did Hatton fight Malignaggi , what does that make Hatton then? Hatton fought him when he was 30, in his prime, Khan will be only 23 if he faces him next….
Hatton was fighting when Khan’s age; Freddie Pendleton, Justin Rowsell, John Bailey. Seriously who the hell are these???
Funny how you mention Mitchell who’s obviously really old at 25 and has not yet won a world title, tell you what put him in against Marquez next, otherwise he’s a coward.
Infact put Kell Brook in with Cotto next, otherwise Brook is a coward.
Hey lets stick Nathan James Degale in with Bute next, otherwise he too is a cowrad.
Thing is all these up and comers I’ve mentioned are actually older than Khan, therefore failures in your eyes obviously.
Seriously just another Khan hater.
Its called progression. He just turned 23 like a week ago.
Malignagi is a New Yorker. Born and Raised with a higher profile than the foreigner Malignaggi.
ANyway, it makes sense, that Amir Khan will take things step by step. – he is still learning the trade..
maidana got robbed on the kotelnik fight! watch the fights before you talk about it “scot gil..” plus different styles make different fights watch some boxing before you talk about it.. maidana would destroy khan fast..
In my opinion, Maidana would be the easiest opponent for Khan to face next, but only if he can box smart for 12 rounds and avoid the big punches. Maidana is very basic, but very powerful. Whereas Bradley and Ortiz will offer both speed and decent power.
Malignaggi is high on confidence at the moment, and although Khan is a world champion, he is not yet ready to face the likes of Bradley. You can count the number of credible opponents he has faced on one hand, although this is down to Warren’s matchmaking and trying to rush Khan to World Level.
Ortiz has been KO’d by Khan.. Khan stands a good chance of beating all of them because of his foot and speed… The game is hit and not get hit and use your brain.. not lets how many times i can get hit and suffer brain damage…
i think people are totaly underestimating paulie,as he is a very underrated fighter,his loss against cotto was a very close fight,and his loss against hatton i wouldnt look into to much as u could see in the fights leading up to the hatton fight and the hatton fight that something just wasnt right,but i think since he switched trainers he looks back to his best as his to fights with diaz prove.i think its frank warren trying to smart match make with making khan avoid a big puncher,but i think it could end up a big mistake by under estimating paulie.i am british but i am no a fan of khan at all as he is to protect by his trainer and promoter,and i cant see him fighting a big puncher any time soon.