Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi: A brawl beyond the boxing ring
Action is always expected in the boxing ring, but the kind of brawl that was witnessed at the Essex House a day before the grand duel at Madison Square Garden had the media circles spinning in frenzy. Fans thronged to the arena to greet the youngest Olympic Champion Amir Khan, who is on his US, debut, and his challenger Paulie Malignaggi during their weigh-in at the hotel ballroom. The entire affair turned ugly when a war of words occurred between the two prestigious boxers. Amir Khan was in the United States in pursuit of his second World Boxing Association light-welterweight title at Madison Square Garden. What followed was sheer pandemonium and culminated with Malignaggi being driven off the stage in an unceremonious fashion through the advertising banner hoardings.
It all began when both champions were centre-stage for a photo shoot and where their heads were already on a collision course. And the battle of fists occurred outside of the arena. They had entered into the lavish hotel with bad blood, with both players taking jabs at each other even before the weigh-in had begun. After having being weighed on stage, both players started arguing and pushing each other before several people, presumably Khan supporters from the crowd, ran amok towards the stage.
Paulie, even after falling through the promotional hoarding, maintained his composure, as Khan left the building. However, it was Paulie’s promoter, Lou DiBella, who called the entire scene a serious breach of security. His argument was that the event was supposed to be closed for the public, and yet throngs of Khan supporters arrived at the hotel, whereas a minimum number of Paulie fans were present. He threatened to pull Paulie out of the tournament if an event like that ever occurred again. DiBella further warned that after reviewing the videotape of the incident, he would decide whether to approach the New York Athletic Commission, in the event that Amir Khan started the brawl. If so, he would file a case with the commission to get Khan suspended or fined.
However, Khan’s promoter Richard Schaefer had a different viewpoint on the incident. According to him, when the players began to argue he was going to intervene. Before Richard could step in, Paulie grabbed Khan by the neck. That’s when all the pushing and shoving commenced and all the people that had come to witness the weigh-in took advantage of the situation and rushed to the spot. At this point Richard went in and retrieved Khan and made their exit.
Earlier, expressing his confidence over winning the title, Khan told the media that he would crush the player from Brooklyn and be the reason that Paulie’s career would come to an end. But pundits reported that Khan was underestimating Paulie’s strength, considering Khan himself unexpectedly lost to Columbian underdog Breidis Prescott some two years ago, losing his status as the hottest commodity in the boxing circuit. Paulie had throughout his career proved his mettle by beating the likes of Puerto Rican opponent Miguel Cotto.
Both players faced off one final time at Madison Garden on Saturday night, entering the arena with the previous night’s hostility barely concealed. The test was to see how the earlier incident would translate into an epic battle. Once the blows were being exchanged, Paulie was completely overwhelmed. From the third round onwards, Khan was the dominant player in the arena. He handed down several blows to his opponent, who just could not keep up with the jabs. And after eleven rounds, Khan emerged as the winner.
He successfully defended his title and won the WBA light welterweight championship in his American debut. It was an entertaining yet fast paced battle, with Khan being the more accurate of the two. The offsite brawl attracted about 4000 spectators and it is assumed that ticket sales went through the roof after the incident at Essex House to see the action in the Madison Square arena. With the thrilling match that occurred, it seems as though fans were not disappointed.
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