Amir Khan is the new golden boy of boxing in more ways than one. Despite being a name over here since his 2004 Olympic heroics, Khan is now starting to garner a big reputation Stateside.
Khan may have only won a silver medal but he has a Midas-like quality at the moment and he jumped at the chance to join Golden Boy promotions, which is home to all the big names and brings to an end his association with Frank Warren.
Since joining up with Freddie Roach, Khan has begun to look a more rounded boxer. His shock 45-second knockout defeat against Breidis Prescott is now just a distant memory. However “King Khan” has been talking the talk for a long time and it’s time for him to prove himself at an international level.
Ever since he burst on the scene Khan has shown that he possesses raw speed, but Roach has added power to pace and taught Khan how to defend by being more offensive. So far his biggest wins have come against Marco Antonio Barrera and Andreas Kotelnik. Quite frankly Barrera looked about four years past his sell-by date, while Kotelnik was a poor champion who just happened to have an iron chin. Now Khan has to up the ante for his American debut and it’s looking likely to be against Paulie Malignaggi.
Roach is being very picky about whom Khan faces and for someone who has hyped himself up as the best up-and-coming boxer around the WBA champion seems reluctant to step in the ring with a lot of fighters.
Firstly there was Marcos Maidana. The Argentinian powerhouse holds an ominous record of 27-26-1 with 25 KO’s and Khan and his camp have been keen to steer clear of him, despite the fact he is the mandatory challenger. Also linked with Khan has been the veteran Juan Miguel Marquez. The Mexican still has some of his old skills, as he proved against Floyd Mayweather in September last year. Marquez is thought to have rejected the fight, while Michael Katsidis claimed Khan ducked him, even though it would have been the Australian moving up a weight to fight him. It looks sure to be Malignaggi now and he will represent Khan’s sternest test yet.
The thing with Khan is he looks like he could be top class - his movement, foot work and phenomenal hand-speed make him an exciting prospect - yet you can’t help but feel he is getting ahead of himself. You get the feeling that training day-in-and-day-out with pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao has made Khan start thinking that he is at the same level as the Philipino, when the fact is he still has dues to pay. Also he has always come across as a decent guy, a family man and proper professional but now you hear him mouthing off and it’s a bit disappointing. For example he said of Malignaggi: "I want to fight him in his home town and beat him in his home town in front of his own people.
"When it does happen, I'm just going to go in there and do what I normally do and I really think Malignaggi has a style which is going to make me look good. He's not at my level. He has a few good wins in America, but it's another fight for me and I'll go there and do what I have to do."
To say Malignaggi is not at his level is ludicrous. Maybe in the future he could be right, but right now “The Magic Man” has enough tricks to cause him problems. Anyone who has followed his career and seen his wars with Juan Diaz will know that he is no pushover. Malignaggi is a fighter who is all heart; he genuinely loves the sport and is one of boxing’s nice guys. Like Khan, the Magic Man possesses lightning-fast hand speed, meaning that if the pair traded off against each other it could be quite a spectacle.
Malignaggi punches from the hip and is constantly on the offensive; Ricky Hatton proved in their meeting that the way to beat him is to overpower him from the start. However, question-marks remain as to whether Khan has the heart to do that. If he keeps hitting Malignaggi with combos and the New Yorker doesn’t go down then Khan could be in trouble because Malignaggi will test his suspect chin.
Against Dmitry Salita, Khan proved he was capable of being a top class fighter. It may have only lasted for 76 seconds but the fact is Salita was undefeated and No.1 challenger and the WBA champion made mincemeat out of him.
Now Khan steps-up with the big boys and the hard work is just about to start. Malignaggi is certainly beatable and it will be a great stepping stone for Khan, but he needs to make sure he doesn’t falter on his American debut or it could be curtains for the Bolton-born pugilist.
If Khan makes the Magic Man disappear then he will prove that his ability is more than just an illusion.
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