New York: British boxer of Pakistani origin Amir Khan gave American fight fans a taste of what he can do inside a boxing ring on Saturday night, scoring an 11th-round stoppage win over Paulie Malignaggi in New York.
The British fighter improved to 23-1 with 17 knockouts and retained his World Boxing Association 140-pound title for the second time. Referee Steve Smoger stopped the bout at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden midway through the 11th with Malignaggi far behind on the scorecards and unable to cope with Khan's hand speed.
The 23-year-old winner from Bolton had fought entirely in Great Britain until Saturday.
The fighters set a brisk pace in the first round, with Khan getting the nod in a competitive stanza. Malignaggi arguably won the second, but there was little for his supporters to cheer about after that point.
Khan established distance with his jab and appeared to hurt Malignaggi with a left hand to the body in the fifth. The fighters fell into a clinch, and Malignaggi slid to the canvas and took his time getting up, buying some seconds before having to engage again.
Khan gradually began to snap his opponent's head with frequency with left hooks and right hands as the fight wore on. Afterward, Khan had praise for the 29-year-old challenger, with whom he tussled in a shoving match at Friday's weigh-in.
Khan rose to prominence at 17, winning a bronze medal in the 132-pound lightweight category at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
He rolled to 18 consecutive wins as a pro until getting blitzed in one round by Breidis Prescott of Colombia in 2008.
Khan soon after decamped to Los Angeles to work with esteemed trainer Freddie Roach on his fundamentals. Problems with his work visa in recent weeks saw him travel to Vancouver, where he spent time preparing for the bout at Sugarrays Gym.
Brooklyn native Malignaggi dropped to 27-4-1 (five KOs). Khan joined fellow Briton Ricky Hatton as the only fighters to stop the former International Boxing Federation titleholder.
No comments:
Post a Comment