By Michael Lieberman: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan was pretty well exposed in his fight with Marcos Maidana in December. Not only did Khan barely win the fight by a 12 round decision after getting hurt in the 10th and having to cling to Maidana in the last three rounds, Khan also showed that he doesn’t have the power to break an egg in that fight. What I saw in Khan in that fight was a taller, slightly faster version of Paulie Malignaggi, albeit without Malignaggi’s sturdy chin.

The way that Khan ran round the ring while stabbing out a jab every once in awhile and looking to score points by throwing flurries that hit mostly air, it was like like watching a time warp to a Malignaggi fight from his best hears in between 2004 to 2008. It was classic Malignaggi, from the running to the clinching. I give Khan a fail on his ability to do much against Maidana beyond the 1st round, and had Khan stood and traded with Maidana instead of running the entire fight, I think Khan would have lost the fight by knockout.

I don’t see Khan’s chin as having passed any real test in the fight because he didn’t stop running long enough for him to get hit very much. I could give Khan a passing test if he didn’t spend the fight running like Malignaggi. But what I saw of Khan in that fight, and in other fights as well, is vintage Malignaggi. It’s like you took a mold of Malignaggi’s fighting style and put it into Khan’s body because he fought exactly like Malignaggi.