Amir Khan defeats Paulie Malignaggi, Khan Won in New York
Amir Khan embarked on his pursuit of the Yankee dollar last night and by the end he was clearly being cheered by the American audience a goal khan holds close to his heart. The fight was watched by millions in the UK who stayed up late to see the third youngest British boxing champion take Paulie Malignaggi to the cleaners.
This was the biggest fight of Khan’s career to date and his first bout under Oscar Del la Hoya’s Golden Boy banner. The Englishman showed the American boxing fans what he is all about, his flashy hand speed was way too much for Malignaggi to handle. Khan (23-1, 17 KO) was lighting fast, way too big, and too good for Malignaggi who was not a pushover with record of (27-4, 5 KO). Khan’s abusing punching forced the referee Steven Smoger to stop the fight in the 11th round. By then Malignaggi became a punching bag that never hits back, his face had swollen badly and he just wasn't able to do anything against Amir Khan’s speed.
Khan is trained by one of the top boxing trainer Freddie Roach who is an expert match-maker. Public believes Roach throws his fighters in with people that they stand a good chance of beating and since Malignaggi only had 5 KO’s he may have been selected cause he can’t knock people out. But the actual fight was anything but a handpicked boat; Malignaggi was no push over and it took 11 rounds for Khan to showcase his dominance. At the end the best man won.
The biggest question mark concerning Khan was his chin which was highlighted by Breidis Prescott in under a minute in their battle and almost ended “The Pride of Bolton’s” career before it had begun. He has also been floored by Michael Gomez, Willie Limond and Rachid Drilzane, not exactly the crème de la crème of the boxing world but did come back to win every one of those fights.
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Aslo Read Amir Khan’s American dream
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His chin held its own against Andreas Kotelnik when he won the WBA strap, last night’s fight showed a mature, bigger, stronger and faster Khan. This was very impressive American debut Khan was more aggressive than he was against Andriy Kotelnik and just as dominant. When one fight ends the next boat becomes the question mark “who is next for khan” could it be Marcos Maidana, the hard-punching Argentinean, after the fight, and Khan said he'd "love" to fight Maidana next or would it be Timothy Bradley or Devon Alexander?
Malignaggi’s trash talk and slagging before the match "I'm the best fighter Amir Khan has ever fought, bar none. I'm going to make sure this is a one and done deal for this poor bloke," was met by an honest words at the end were Malignaggi made no excuses, and just gave Khan credit.
When it came to raw talent Khan had the upper hand. He has phenomenally rapid mitts and must be on par with anyone out there in terms of speed, including Manny Pacquiao and when you train with the Pacman himself and are coached by the big Roach, you have no choice but to move up in life. Under Roach Khan has made vast strides, he’s also added that knockout power and his card now boasts an arresting 17 stoppages in his 24 bouts, also he is far more accurate than ever before, which when combined with pace and strength was the deciding factor in the fight last night. This was the making of Khan and the outcome of this fight finally gave him American fans and since it was on channel 3 in the UK; the millions watching made it a huge night for Khan. There is no question about it; Khan’s hands are as fast as Usain Bolt’s feet.
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Amir Khan’s American dream
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