By Sean McDaniel: Former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO’s) would like nothing better than to fight World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan in the near future. In an article at the Manchesterevening news, Malignaggi had this to say about the prospects of fighting Khan: “My team told me Amir wanted one more fight in England to hype things up then we’d fight at the Garden later in the year. Over here we talk about Amir like he will be England’s next superstar, that once in a generation superstar like Ricky Hatton or Naseem Hamed.”

As you can see, Malignaggi is talking real nice about Khan right now. I guess he doesn’t want to blow a big opportunity to get a shot against the British star. Malignaggi will have to wait his turn, though, to get a chance at Khan, because Amir looks to be facing WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana next.

The word is that Khan will likely take that dangerous fight, but if he can get through it in one piece, then a bout between Malignaggi and Khan could be a possibility in 2010. Khan would like to get a shot against former International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton, who made an announcement today in the press that he’s planning on coming back for one or two more fights, but Hatton didn’t mention Khan’s name as a potential opponent.

It could be that Hatton might be open to fighting Khan once he sees how much money he can make in a fight with him, but as of now Hatton isn’t saying who he plans on fighting for sure.
Malignaggi is being considered for a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in March. That would be a huge fight for Malignaggi if he ends up being the one picked by Mayweather.

As of now, Floyd has mentioned two names: Malignaggi and Nate Campbell as two of the fighters that he’s considering. Boxing fans have been less than pleased with these two picks, however, and see either of those fights as one-sided affairs because of Mayweather’s bigger size and talent.

Even if the Mayweather doesn’t happen, there’s still a good chance that Khan will show interest in facing Malignaggi later in 2010. Khan needs a well known American fighter for his fight in the United States, and Malignaggi would serve that purpose without being too dangerous for Khan.

Malignaggi has very little power to speak of, and some boxing fans call him a poor man’s Mayweather. Malignaggi is certainly not an easy fighter to go up against unless you have a lot of power like Miguel Cotto or Ricky Hatton, both of which beat Malignaggi in the past. Khan doesn’t have the power of a Hatton or Cotto, but he does have much better hand speed and movement. He should be able to take care of Malignaggi with his speed advantage and get a win. It might not make Khan look good, though, because Malignaggi is hard to look good against because of his spoiling tactics.