Khan to vacate WBA title and fight Malignaggi in May?
January 16th, 2010
By Eric Thomas: According to the Daily Star, World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) will be vacating his WBA crown, and fighting former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO’s) on May 1st at Madison Square Garden, in New York. Khan was supposed to be facing WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana in the next few months. This would be bad news for fans that were hoping to see Khan face Maidana.
However, it’s a smart move for Khan if he does in fact vacate his WBA title. The Maidana fight is a dangerous one and it’s a fight that will likely only impress hardcore fans who know how powerful Maidana is.
A fight against the better known Malignaggi would be a better option if Khan wants to get attention of the U.S. audiences, because Malignaggi is well liked by a segment of the American boxing fans because of his high speed talking and his Mayweatheresque style of fighting.
Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach hasn’t been pleased with the thoughts of Khan facing the hard hitting Maidana, so this should make him happy. Malignaggi has very little power and would also zero chance of stopping Khan unless Amir’s chin is worse than people think it is. At the same time, this is a great opportunity for Khan to shine by dominating the feather fisted Malignaggi. Khan would have been in deep had he fought Maidana, who would have been only one punch away from taking Khan out at any time in the fight.
Tags: 28 Responses to “Khan to vacate WBA title and fight Malignaggi in May?”
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typical…just typical… I don’t like Khan, I amm British and I get behind most British fighters…he has let us down by ducking anyone of credibility and it sucks…
you know…Paulie is technically gifted and I could see him outpoint Khan…I hope so…
if khan doesnt fight maidana, then he is gonna look like a proper chicken, dont say you can beat everyone then avoid the fights!
Who is maidana ?nobody ..malignaggi great fighter beat juan diaz fought hatton lost coz his shoulder injury..amir malignaggi grat fight
@rob,your probable right because i saw thought his so called nice boy image from day one its all about money making with him.
to vacate and fight paulie is the most sensible move money and popularity wize within the usa (for normal fans) but for us hardcore lot and every 1 in boxing we know this is a duck if it happens. im english and have allways liked kahns boxing even tho i think he can be a bit stuck up his own arse i still rate him as a very good boxer and hopefully he will be a massive success to Briton like naz was… but if he does not take the madina fight then i have no time for him.. its the fight in the dog what counts not the dog in the fight.
@rob
Kahn should vascate the title. I dont think Kahn gives a s**t about you or what you think of him fortunatley.
I dont think he really cares for Madina or Maidana (whatever his F***ing name is). Its all about earning a living. I dont think he cares if you or any other retches on here lose respect for him. Floyds made a good living from select his opponents so go on Amir
@ asif
JUst remember one thing…. Roach is Khans employee…. Khans pays Roach to train him, Khan is the boss so dont make stupid excuses like that.
Had khan fighted madaina then mallagni I would say he is gonna be the best jr welterweight. BUt people remember its roach who is telling khan who to fight and if the boss says no then that means NO!
im really sad khan is vacating his belt. A fighter can wear a champion belt but does not truly earned it until he fights properfighters. HAd khan beaten madaina it would of only made his belt of more value. Fighting mallagni will only serve a promotional basis. When khan beat salita roach was saying khan could rule the world, why is freddie now backing from that claim? Im a khan fan i feel this decsion is not good for his fans.I hope this rumour is wrong and khan fights marcos.
@rob
Its light welter weight 140 pounds.
I agree thou if khan ducks maidana then i will lose alot of respect for him hes a champ needs to start acting like one.
paulie is more well known,, he properly make more fan in the u.s to fight paulie.. and make more money.. don’t blem khan for using his brains,
@ james. Maidana (not Madina) is the interim champion of the WBA, so if you rate him or not (fortunately people don’t look at your rating) teh WBA orders Khan to fight him, he deserves the shot at the full title.
And of course Khan doesn’t want to fight him because he’s one of the the most dangerous fighters Khan could meet in the super welterweight division because he’s a awesome puncher and Khan has a shaky chin.
And you’re right that the WBA is cheapening the belt, course otherwise Khan wouldn’t have gotten a shot in the first place with Khan’s record an opposition when he faced Kotelnik.
ut now he has the belt, and he has to man up! if you are the champion and you’re not willing to face the best contenders than you’re not worthy of the belt, it’s as clear as that and has always been that way. Don’t go crying about who to face! In every weightclass, every organisation it’s all the same… put up or face the concequences, lose your belt and beïng spit out by the boxing fans.
What a coward is Khan….coward…no balls are all..lol..
We have to wonder if he will ever fight a puncher again. Too bad all the to guys at 140 has some POP except for a few..
test.
Where the F**K do people get this idea that Kahn shgould figh Madina. I dont rate Madina. This is the WBA dictating to the fighter he has already smashed their number 1 contender. They cant force to fight another. All they are doing is cheapening the belt
Khan is Not Ducking Maidana – Freddy Roach is not keen on it, Khan is young and hungry, Roach is old and wise
What a total let-down, but not an absolute shocker. Khan needs to face Maidana (a true test at 140), or risk damaging his reputation, and only threatens his future exposure stateside. This only adds more fuel to the fire, upon which his detractors can throw.
Face maidana first, then the feather-fisted Malignaggi as a wind down session. At least then Khan could be considered a relivant force in the 140 division.
Well this is all speculation at the end of the day. Let’s wait and see what happens.
I support Khan, but to duck Medina will seriously expose his heart. Or lack of. Dont do it Khan, prove the critics wrong and fight Medina.
He knows he has no chance in this fight, I smart chicken move by one of Freddie Roach fighters,
This was already predicted, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck it problably is a shamfull duck!
I wanted to see that fight so much, but a lot of people already predicted it wouldn’t happen because of Maidana’s punching power.
A lot of Khan fans said he would NEVER vacate his title, because Amir always said how important his belt was and he would never just give it up!
Of course it’s not official yet, but this is the predicted outcome of couse… run from the powerpuncher, fight the featherfist.
I like the paulie fight, its a good step for khan. But i am extremely dissapointed in this decision if true. It just appears that ducking is so prevalent in boxing today its almost laughable. Roach knows how to pick his opponents ill give him that, he wanted no part of Maid and surprise now khan isnt fighting him.
I dont think the daily star is a reliable source. Khan will fight maidana.
smart move, its better to vacate the title, cause if he dares to fight maidana chiken khan would risk himself to be humiliated!!!
roach knows his business, he fought an over the hill BARRERA but wont risk his ballon “fighter”(¿?)to fight a real contender.
AMIR NO CHIN KHAN = FIGHTS FIGHTERS WITH NO POWER
this is the most obvious and worst duck in the history of boxing in the modern era
Damn he is scared, lol, Why is one Freddie Roach boxer ducking?
if he does then i have no respect for kahn