Malignaggi interested in a Khan rematch for the right money

By Boxing News - 05/29/2012 - Comments

Image: Malignaggi interested in a Khan rematch for the right moneyBy William Mackay: Amir Khan may have the perfect opponent for him to start out against when he moves up to the welterweight division after his fight against WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia on July 14th. WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KO’s) is expressing interest in fighting a rematch against Khan.

The 31-year-old Malignaggi said this on his twitter page when asked about a Khan rematch: “Moneys right.”

True, their fight in May 2010 wasn’t close with Khan dominating and stopping Malignaggi in the 11th round. But Khan will need a well known opponent when he makes his move up the ladder after the Garcia fight, and Malignaggi, with his WBA 147 pound title, will be perfect for Khan. Malignaggi can’t punch, so he’s not going to be any kind of danger to Khan. But best of all, Khan can pick up a paper title with a win over Malignaggi and then milk for a while or use it as bait to try and get Floyd Mayweather Jr. into fighting him. I see the former happening rather than Mayweather agreeing to fight him.

Malignaggi probably won’t have to worry about the not getting a big enough offer because I see Golden Boy being willing to make this fight happen, if only because it’s the only way they can be sure that Khan will be able to win without risking him.

If they put him in with someone with talent and power, Khan could suffer another loss like the last time he fought against Lamont Peterson. That was supposed to have been an easy fight for Khan, but he ended getting exposed by Peterson. I don’t think that Malignaggi can do that to Khan, but if Golden Boy puts him in with some of the top welterweights like Kell Brook and Victor Ortiz, Khan could taste defeat again.



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