In the early hours of Sunday morning, WBA world champion Amir Khan faces his toughest test to date in the form of Paulie Malignaggi, live on ITV from Madison Square Garden.
Khan isn’t yet everyone’s cup of tea but it has been hard to ignore the Bolton boy’s impressive form, with a one sided points win over Andriy Kotelnik closely followed by a devastating first round KO victory over Dmitriy Salita, seeing the 23 year old rise to 6th in the world rankings. Kotelnik and Salita aren’t exactly house hold names but they are well respected fighters on the big stage, with both possessing proven punch power.
Although Khan claimed both bouts in convincing fashion, the most pleasing aspect for me was the way in which he took clean shots on his supposed glass chin without breaking stride.
We are now approaching two years since the Breidis Prescott massacre and it is now time for fight fans to put it down to experience and lend their support to one of Britain’s most talented sportsmen.
Bookmakers are leading the way with their patriotic stance and make the Brit a 1/5 favourite (Boylesports) to continue his progression.
At the start of the year I said my main hope for 2010 was to see Khan matched with the dangerous Malignaggi and I am delighted that this enthralling contest will take place at the earliest opportunity. Khan has been well matched for the vast majority of his career but in Malignaggi they are taking a real gamble, similar to that of Prescott.
There are many similarities between these fighters with the brash, overly confident New Yorker having few friends on either side of the Atlantic. The 29 year old ‘Magic Man’ has nothing in common with any of Khan’s previous opponents however with the onetime IBF champion bringing quick hands, an attacking style and the footwork needed to get himself out of trouble. British fans may recall Malignaggi from a 2008 meeting with Ricky Hatton, which he lost courtesy of an 11th round stoppage, and odds compilers offer as big as 5/1 (Sporting Bet) on the home town challenger.
This contest will tell us a lot about how good Khan really is as he won’t get things all his own way. Malignaggi isn’t the type of fighter to stand in front of the champion and trade big punches if he is in trouble, meaning another quick finish doesn’t look likely. It was work rate rather than punch power that saw Hatton prevail and I see Khan’s lightening quick jab being the deciding factor.
Both men have suffered stoppage defeats during their careers but this one should test the judges and Sporting Bet’s 13/10 about a successful defence on points looks like a sound investment.
