Amir Khan: Has the Boxing World Found a New "King" To Throne?

WBA world light welterweight champion Amir “King” Khan pulverized Paul “The Magic Man” Malignaggi by an 11th Round TKO on Saturday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Khan (23-1, 17 KOs), a British citizen of Pakistani descent who became the youngest Englishman to win an Olympic medal when he captured a silver as a lightweight at the 2004 games in Greece, thoroughly dominated Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KOs) in his United States debut before referee Steve Smoger mercifully halted the bludgeoning.

“Me and (trainer) Freddie (Roach) stuck to the game plan. Paulie is a very awkward fighter. We had to break him down slowly,” said Khan, 23, the third youngest Brit to ever win a crown.

“We had to use our brain. I knew in the last few rounds I was hurting him. All I had to do was put the pressure on him.”

Roach, a native of Dedham who has been voted Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America a record four-times, has clearly helped hone Khan’s prodigious skills since they began working together.

Malignaggi, an Italian-American from Brooklyn who is the former IBF junior welterweight champ, is absolutely a polarizing prizefighter and it is understandable that many fans consider him to be a scorching hemorrhoid.

Nevertheless, Malignaggi is a defensive wizard in the ring and he is a legitimate pugilist who possesses exceptional hand-speed and quick reflexes.

Hence, Khan’s utter domination of Malignaggi was extremely impressive.

“I ran into a clone of myself when I was younger. But he was faster and stronger,” said Malignaggi, 29, whose only three previous losses came at the respected hands of Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs).

“He’s bigger and stronger. But I gave it all I had.”

Khan, whose record is only blemished by a first round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott (22-2, 20 KOs) in 2008, stated he wanted to fight Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) next, and then scrap the victor of the Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs) versus Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs) bout.

Alexander is the current WBC and IBF light welterweight titlist and Bradley is the WBO world light welterweight champ.

“I’m not going to leave the 140 pound division until I unify the titles,” said Khan.

If Khan fights in the future like he did this past weekend, he will be the “King” of the 140 pound division much sooner than expected...

“I’m sure Khan’s good,” Malignaggi says

New York: The boxer Amir Khan spent late April and early May in Vancouver, British Columbia, his entry into the United States delayed while he obtained a work visa. By Saturday, Khan had gone to work here for the first time, and his opponent, Paulie Malignaggi, wished the stopover had been longer.

Khan justified the hype he brought with him from England. He punished Malignaggi at the outset and pummeled him throughout, registering a technical knockout 1 minute 25 seconds into the 11th round.

In a one-sided triumph that was nearly stopped earlier, Khan retained his World Boxing Association super lightweight title in front of 4,412 at Madison Square Garden’s smaller theater. Afterward, he said he planned to remain in that division until he could unify the belts, and that he will fight in England in July.

“I was just amazed,” said Richard Schaefer, the chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions. “The speed. The combinations. The power. He’s the total package.”

Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) landed more jabs, more power punches and more total punches (259 to 127). He won every round and forced Malignaggi (27-4) to deliver an opinion opposite from all the criticism he levied across an ocean the past few months.

Malignaggi took questions with a swollen left eye and bruised face. He said that of the four fighters he has lost to, he considered two, Khan and Miguel Cotto, to be truly elite — high praise for Khan, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and does not turn 24 until December.

“He’s a terrific fighter,” Lou DiBella, Malignaggi’s promoter, said. “He’s a tremendously talented kid.”

Khan dictated the pace in the early rounds, stalking Malignaggi, throwing punches with more potency and frequency. In the second round, Khan landed a four-punch combination that sent Malignaggi backward, and by the middle of the next round, Malignaggi’s left eye appeared swollen.

The fight continued in that vein, with the man nicknamed King Khan playing the aggressor. In the fourth round, Khan ducked, then bounced Malignaggi’s head backward with a powerful right hand.

Khan brutalized Malignaggi repeatedly with that hand, with jabs and overhand rights and straight rights, until every round seemed almost exactly like the one before. When Malignaggi adjusted in Round 7, Khan smacked him repeatedly with the left.

Soon after, doctors checked on Malignaggi between rounds. He begged to go back out for No. 11. The referee stopped it halfway through.

“We had to break him down slowly,” Khan said. “From Round 9, I knew I wasn’t letting him off. I had to keep the pressure on him.”

The pressure started, in large part, through a Twitter feud escalated at Friday’s weigh-in, when the fighters’ camps exchanged shoves and punches before security stepped in. DiBella stalked through the room afterward, incensed, his voice rising.

So went another fight week, even if this was not exactly a normal fight.

For starters, it was Khan’s debut in the United States, where he is somewhat unknown. Khan’s low profile here stands in stark contrast to his celebrity status in England, where he once met former Prime Minister Tony Blair and carved out a résumé that shaped his candidacy as one of boxing’s next potential stars.

Khan’s only loss came by knockout at the bruising hands of Breidis Prescott, who won his bout on Saturday’s undercard. After that defeat, Khan hired Freddie Roach, perhaps boxing’s best trainer, who steered Manny Pacquiao toward greatness. Still, questions lingered.

“I’m sure Khan’s good,” Malignaggi said on Wednesday. “But he’s unproven at a high level. He hasn’t got one major victory on his record. They handed him a world title, after he got knocked out.”

Malignaggi presented a real test, even though Khan entered the bout the heavy favorite. Malignaggi once held his own super lightweight title belt — he lost to Ricky Hatton in 2008 — but he fell so far so fast that he made only $10,000 in his next fight and wondered if his boxing days were numbered.

Malignaggi also hired a new trainer, Sherif Younan. As Malignaggi rebuilt his reputation — winning his rematch against Juan Diaz in December to rise back into title contention — he credited Younan.

Malignaggi said this fight, held near his native Brooklyn, represented redemption. But he also knew the brutal truth: another loss, and even his promoter said fights of this magnitude would likely be out of reach.

Afterward, Malignaggi was not sure what would come next. Off they went, two fighters headed in opposite directions. King Khan had come here and delivered. His message was emphatic.

Amir Khan retain light welter-weight World title

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.

Amir Kahn's brother Haroon intends to box for Pakistan at Commonwealth Games

London: Haroon Khan, 19, the younger brother of World Boxing Association light-welterweight champion and former GB Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan, intends to box for Pakistan at the Commonwealth Games in October, having been rejected by British selectors.

The family, whose sons were born and raised in Bolton, claim that Haroon, a Junior Amateur Boxing Association champion last year, has been frozen out by the British Amateur Boxing Association, in spite of having earned his England vest as a junior.

Ironically, Amir Khan faced a similar situation in 2004, when boxing officials said he was too young, at 17, to go to the Olympic Games in Athens. Khan had won the world junior lightweight title in South Korea early in 2004, and the family threatened to offer his services to the Pakistan Olympic squad.


Khan was later selected for Great Britain, coming home with a silver medal and reaching the lightweight final against double-gold medallist Mario Kindelan of Cuba.
Shah Khan, father of the boxing brothers from Bolton, explained: "We've been over to Pakistan to their training camp, and Haroon has sparred with their guys, one at 56kg and one at 52kg. Their Cuban coach was very keen on getting him into the squad.

"Haroon would prefer to fight for England and his dream was to fight for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics. But if he can't get a look in with England, what else can he do? There's the podium squad and then the development squad just below it and he's not even getting a look-in for the development squad.”

Khan Snr added: "Mick Jelley, Amir’s coach when he went to the Olympics, is 100 per cent behind what we are doing. We asked his advice, and he said if Team GB won't give him a chance, then he's lucky he's got the option of fighting for Pakistan."
Khan's plan is to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October and the join the professional ranks. "I really wanted to box for Britain at the Olympics ever since Amir won silver in Athens. I looked at what he did and dreamt of going one better,” explained the 19-year-old who is in New York for his brother’s US debut against Brooklynite Paulie Malignaggi.

"But I've never had a look-in with the senior England squad, not even a letter. What used to happen was they would call me up a week before an international fixture and ask if I was available to box, but I knew it was only because someone had pulled out."

Khan earned junior vests for England. He added: "Whatever happens, I couldn't see myself fighting for Pakistan at the 2012 Olympics in London. That just wouldn't feel right. If all goes well, I will turn pro after the Commonwealth Games."
Haroon fights at 52kg, won the 2009 Junior ABA title, and has fought 76 amateur bouts, with 61 wins and 15 defeats.

Brit boxer Amir Khan to quit in 2015

London: WBA World light welterweight champion Amir Khan is planning to quit boxing in five years after beating American legend Floyd Mayweather Junior and Philippine Manny Pacquiao on his road to superstardom.

"In the next four years I will have all my big fights so in five years time I will be gone," News of The World quoted Khan, as saying. "When I hit my peak I will be fighting men like Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao. They will be my last few fights." "There are so many big fights in my division, but my body will tell me when to call it a day," he added. Khan insists the decision is not a knee-jerk reaction after his closest friend, British boxer Jamie Moore, retired two weeks ago. "You need to know when it is the right time to call it a day and, believe me, I will get my retirement right. You need to know when to walk. As soon as you have gone past your peak and start getting hurt, be man enough and walk away like Jamie," Khan said. "He lost fights against Ryan Rhodes and Sergey Khomitski, men he would have beaten at his best," he added. Khan will become the youngest Briton in history to defend a world title in America when he puts his crown on the line against Paulie Malignaggi in Madison Square Garden's theatre on May 15.