Fight Game (Click Here to Leave/Read Comments)

While the boxing world focuses its attention on the Mayweather vs. Mosley fight on May 1st, I would like to get into another May fight with huge implications. On May 15th, in Madison Square Garden, WBA Junior Welterweight champ Amir Khan will make his United States debut against Brooklyn native Paulie Malignaggi. Khan, (22-1 16KO’s) who won a Silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, has called fighting at Madison Square Garden a dream of his, and after fighting exclusively overseas for his entire career, was looking for a big fight when he signed with Golden Boy promotions.

Enter Paulie Malignaggi who after defeating Juan Diaz in impressive fashion back in December, has looked better and better since leaving trainer Buddy McGirt in favor of Sharif Younan. After a tough loss to Ricky Hatton, Malignaggi (27-3 5KO’s) made the change to Younan in an effort to get back to the style that made Paulie the boxer he is today. Since then, Paulie has looked stronger with every fight he takes and after getting completely robbed by home town judges in his first fight with Diaz, came out looking to prove a point in the rematch. Paulie looked incredible in the rematch, controlling the ring and never allowing Diaz to mount a solid attack. While he might not be the most powerful fighter, there aren’t many guys that can move like Paulie and his blinding hand speed and ability to adapt coupled with a tough chin and heart make him an extremely dangerous opponent.

Khan and Malignaggi, who are both extremely fast fighters, have eerily similar styles. Khan, who trains under the same roof as pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao, has also benefited from a change in trainer moving to the Wild Card gym in LA to train with the legendary Freddie Roach. Khan, like Pacquiao, is known as a stronger fighter who likes to punch in flurries. The book out on Malignaggi is that you need to be aggressive and cut off the ring to beat him so it will be interesting to see the game plan laid out by Roach. I am also anxious to see how Khan will react if Malignaggi won’t let him execute that plan. Khan has not fought the talented fighters that Malignaggi has and may not have the same level of experience. One thing to keep an eye on will be whether or not Khan presses in the early rounds to try and impress the crowd in his first fight on US soil. If Khan is too nervous or overzealous early on, he may make mistakes which Malignaggi will surely make him pay for.

I’m thinking this is a very close fight that goes the distance, but in the end, I believe Malignaggi will come out victorious. A lot of people have criticized Khan for taking the fight with Malignaggi saying that it will be an easy fight because of Paulie’s lack of power. In my opinion though, big punchers can be overrated at times. There have been many young prospects who have worked their way up the ranks, racking up knockouts, only to fail when they have nothing other than the big punch in their arsenal. Paulie’s ability to move and counterpunch makes him much more well rounded than some of these big punchers we have seen in the past. I think a lot of people are going to owe Paulie an apology after this fight and I wish him the best…how can I not back a fellow Italian American? My hope is that he beats Khan and moves on to a rematch with Ricky Hatton. Paulie has claimed that if he had the right trainer in place, he would’ve beaten Hatton easily, and I would love to see that fight. Good Luck Paulie…