Paulie Malignaggi makes an unlikely friend in Amir Khan
They say fierce enemies can often become the best of friends.
Just six months after his memorable clash with WBA champion Amir Khan, Paulie Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KOs) is training along side the British boxing star at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California, according to
boxingscene.com.
In May, Khan battled the tactical Malignaggi and earned an eleventh round knockout at Madison Square Garden. Notwithstanding the fight, the weigh-in was particularly memorable for rallying up both fighters to the point of nearly brawling.
Khan and Malignaggi are training together due to the fact that Malignaggi, 29, recently signed a promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions, who also promote Khan.
Malignaggi's reasons for signing with Oscar De la Hoya and co. were laid out at a Golden Boy press conference, where he said, “I know they [Golden Boy] can give me the biggest and best fights out there and that's what I want at this
point in my career.”
On becoming buddies with Khan, Malignaggi told FanHouse, “It felt a little weird at first, but it's all good. We actually have different training times. He's getting ready for his and I'm getting ready for my own fight. It's
actually all love in that gym. A lot of good sparring, a lot of good work and just a good solid atmosphere to be training in.
“The amount of talent in there, I haven't seen that much talent in one gym in a long time, so it really raises my level,” he concluded.
Malignaggi will return to the ring on December 18 in Quebec City. He'll be fighting on the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins undercard against Michael Lozada (39-6, 29 KOs).
Khan is expected to return to the ring December 11, where he'll meet mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana. The winner of the fight is thought to challenge the winner of Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander to determine the best junior welterweight
in the world.
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