By Jim Dower: World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) recently had his U.S work visa denied, according to the Telegraph. Khan, 23, is supposed to defend his WBA title against former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th at Madison Square Garden, in New York. However, because Khan had his work visa denied, he’s had to move temporarily to Vancouver, Canada, where he is re-applying for his work visa with the U.S Consulate.
The snag in Khan’s work visa could be his prior automobile offenses while driving in the UK. Khan has had a number of incidents while driving his automobile in the last few years, ranging from careless driving for cruising through a red light and striking a pedestrian in 2007 to another accident last year involving a cyclist. Khan has also been reportedly caught speeding at high speeds in his BMW.
Golden Boy Promotions, who promotes Khan, feel confident that the Khan-Malignaggi fight will go ahead on May 15th.
Khan is hoping to use the fight against Malignaggi to start the process of winning over boxing fans in the United States and becoming a big star in the U.S. Malignaggi, who is one of the weaker punchers in the top 15, would seem to be the perfect opponent for the sometimes weak-chinned Khan to accomplish that goal in part.
Khan is hoping to look good against Malignaggi, and then keep moving in the direction of taking on Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future – if Khan makes it that far with his career. This all might be for nothing, though, if Khan doesn’t have the chin to beat the very top fighters in the light welterweight division, such as Marcos Maidana, Timothy Bradley, and Devon Alexander.
Malignaggi was considered one of the top three fighters in the light welterweight division in 2007 and 2008, but younger fighters are moving up and replacing him. If Khan can get by Malignaggi, he’ll need to step up the level of his competition if he wants to make it as a star in the U.S. He’s going to have to be able to show some ruggedness, however, because a lot of the better light welterweights can punch and Khan won’t be able to beat them by circling the ring and jabbing night long without getting his chin checked repeatedly.
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