By Dan Ambrose: Although technically Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) is one of the three light welterweight champions, holding down the World Boxing Association crown, but he still hasn’t proven that he really belongs at the top with the other elite fighters like WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, IBF/WBC title holder Devon Alexander and WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana. Khan’s name has been mentioned with those fighter, but as of yet he’s still not proven that he belongs with fighters in that class.

The 23-year-old Khan will try to show he deserves to be considered a top rung fighter when he faces former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO’s) on May 15th, at Madison Square Garden, in New York. Khan’s promotional company Golden Boy Promotions thought long and hard before finding the exact right opponent that would match Khan’s requirements.

First of all, this is Khan’s first fight in the United States, and because of that Khan needed an opponent that he could look good against without having to run for his life to keep from getting his knocked off. Malignaggi, a fighter with no power, was selected to be Khan’s opponent rather than someone that would really test Khan and his weak chin. Besides Malignaggi’s nonexistent power, he was also selected because he’s been shown on HBO a number of times and is well known to both hardcore boxing fans and to a certain extent with casual fans. Malignaggi also has a built in fan base on the East coast of the U.S.

Khan has thus far weaved his way through the minefield of the light welterweight division, finding opponents that were beatable like Andriy Kotelnik and Dimitri Salita. Malignaggi will continue with that tradition. Khan should beat Malignaggi, possibly by knockout. However, it’s highly unlikely that Khan will be seen as being in the class of Bradley, Maidana and Alexander, because of Khan’s weak opposition.

For him to get to their level, Khan will have to step up the level of competition and start going after fighters who can punch a little. Khan doesn’t necessarily have to fight Bradley, Alexander or Maidana next, but he should consider facing some better fighters that can actually punch, like Mike Alvarado, Randall Bailey, Ricardo Torres or Victor Ortiz. Those would all be a big step up for Khan, and it would show whether he has the chin to make a career out of fighting in the light welterweight division.

Khan’s style of fighting includes a lot of movement, jabs and circling the ring, thanks to his trainer Freddie Roach. To keep Khan from getting knocked out again, Roach has turned him into more of a runner. It’s worked thus far, but it’s not clear whether it would work against better fighters, because hasn’t been in with any dangerous opponents since he was knocked out in the 1st round by Breidis Prescott in 2008.