Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi

[jmt225]

Not only is Strikeforce this Saturday, but so is Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi, which airs on HBO at 10:00 PM Eastern, 9:00 PM Central, with a replay shown immediately afterward on HBO 2, just in case you decide you want to be like me and tune into both shows.

Anyways, this should be a great fight. There has been a TON of build up to this and it's perhaps the biggest "free" fight so far this year. Here's a promo video to see what we're in for:

[YOUTUBE]XSm_ws0IIE8[/YOUTUBE]​

Amir Khan is the favorite in this one. He's one of the fastest rising Welterweights in the sport, and he's expected by many to be the next real challenge for either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, once those two finally square off. For a WW, he's has VERY powerful hands, and he's very fast as well. People are expecting this guy to end up being one of the greatest to ever come from the UK.

Paulie Malignaggi, on the other hand, is mostly known as simply a fast talking Guido. The guy can run his mouth like no other, and in the build up to this bad boy that's all he's been doing. The fight is in his hometown, and there's no doubt he's going to come to put on a show. His style is very much like Money Mayweather, as the guy has tremendous footwork and fast hands. He likes to stick and move the entire fight. He's also a huge showboater, who looks to get under his opponent's skin throughout the contest with disrespectful gestures and what not.

Basically, this is the classic brawler vs. boxer fight, and there's no telling who will come out victorious. Paulie looked better than ever in his last fight against Juan Diaz, and if he shows up in that kind of shape (which he will), then I do see him avoiding Khan's power punches and working his way to a decision. However, while Paulie has a very solid chin, I think all it will take for him to get put down is one overhand right from Khan. So, this really could go either way.

And on the undercard, for once in boxing, there's actually a great fight there as well between Victor Ortiz and Nate Campbell. Ortiz is another fast rising star in the Welterweight Division, and everyone is expecting huge things from the kid. He's only 23 and already has a record of 23-2. His opponent is Nate Campbell, someone the exact opposite of him. Nate is a journeyman who's faced some great fighters in the past, but he doesn't hold wins over anyone special. So, this will either be the hot shot kid continuing to climb his way up that Welterweight ladder, or the crafty veteran stealing the kid's dreams and finally getting over that big hump he's had his entire career.

All in all, should be two great fights, and a great transition to make from the Strikeforce show. If you're any kind of fan of boxing, I strongly suggest you tune into this one, because you will be in for a great, great show.

 

[People's Champ]

Yea I'm really looking forward to this fight. In fact both of them. First, Paulie did look good in his fight with Diaz. However, I just don't see him coming out with the win. I know its in his hometown but Khan is just too good. You talked about his power. His power along with his speed will be too much for Paulie to handle. Plus this reeks of the hometown kid, flashy, cocky, losing at home.

An example would be the Zab Judah vs Corey Spinks fight in St. Louis. Spinks was the hometown guy, coming out with Nelly rapping. Fans packed it in. And what happened? Judah handled him, knocked him out. Another Judah fight was with Carlos Baldomir(?) In Judah's hometown of Brooklyn. Judah came in cocky and lost. People were shocked. Now I'm not saying that exactly what's going to happen. But that what I feel. Khan really is as good as he is hyped. I just can't see him hitting that bump in the road by losing to Paulie. Nonetheless this should be a great fight.

As far as the Ortiz vs Campbell fight, I think this is a tough fight. Nate, while being an older fighter, still is tough. He looked good in wins against Ali Funeka and Juan Diaz.I think this will really be a tough test for Ortiz. And speaking of hometown upsets, that's what happened to Ortiz when he fought Marcos Maidana. He wasn't cocky, but was at home. He was on a 17-1 streak up to that fight. But he got knocked out in the 6th after having knocked down Maidana 3 times in the first 2 rounds. To be fair tho Maidana was 24-1 with 23 knockouts. I remember how good a fight that was.

So this is Ortiz's first test since that fight. I like this kid. He's something you don't always see, humble. He not this flashy, cocky, loud mouth guy. He quietly handles his buisness. I can't see him losing. Now, I don't think this will come by easy.he is going to have to work hard, but I think he comes out with the win and reestablishes himself in the division.

 

[BBLLAASSTT]

Should be a great fight! I saw an interview with the 2 guys and man can Malignaggi talk but i think Khan will win this one.

Heres the interview i saw: http://video.msg.com/Home/Malignaggi-Khan-and-Jacobs-Talk-Boxing-5-13

 

[Super Hans]

It should be a good fight Khan is just better in every department.JMT you mentioned that this is classic brawler vs boxer this is going to be nothing like that,Khan is as skillful if not more skillful than the magic man.The kid is an Olympic Silver Medallist and boasts probably the best amateur record that Britain has produced.This is seen as an easy fight for Khan as he has a VERY,VERY suspect chin and Paulie simply doesnt have the power to test his whiskers.As you can see by his KO ratio(5 kos).

So amir doesnt have to worry about getting caught on the chin when he goes in to unload his fast,powerful combos,he also has reach advantage here.Paulie is one tough cookie though as evidenced against a prime Miguel Cotto where he fought from the 5th round onwards with a broken jaw,so it wont be easy for Amir,look for either a late tko where the ref has seen enough or the much more likely(and what im having a good bet on) Khan on points.

Ortiz vs Campbell is a big crossroads fight in my eyes.The major question in this Campbell/Ortiz showdown ponders "which Campbell will show up"? Knowing a loss would be a significant setback to his career, my money says we'll see the best Campbell we've seen in a while. To get a win, Ortiz will have to realize this much coming in. Ortiz will need to come out sharp and use good footwork, speed, and his power to control the action early. Campbell takes a bit to warm up, but if he's landing early, his level of confidence can start to grow by the second. For Ortiz, this could be the beginning of the end. He will need to make sure that Campbell doesn't gain that confidence, and stay aggressive on him from the opening bell. Although a bit slippery at times, Campbell isn't exactly viewed as a defensive genius. Ortiz will need to penetrate his armor even more by taking the fight to him, and be prepared if a true dogfight actually breaks out.

I see this fight going the distance in a close fight,i see Ortiz ekeing out the decision.

 

[Loveless]

This is a really interesting one because each fighters strengths and weaknesses match up. Khan has some power and very quick hands but the guy has the definition of a glass chin, and in my opinion will never be regarded as a great. On the other side, Malignaggi is very skillful with a pretty good defence and is as tough as fuck to stop but completely lacks any punching power, he does however seem to be on the up recently. I'm 50/50 on who'll win but I think the longer it goes, the more likely Malignaggi is to win on points.

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

Despite being british, I'm actually not that big on Khan. I usually support all the british fighters like Hatton, Calzaghe, Froch and Haye. I'm just not that convinced about Khan. I have no doubt he'll go on to be an accomplished boxer, but i don't see him reaching the dizzy heights that so many others have predicted. On the other hand, I kind of like Malignaggi, mostly because he's a loudmouth. I generally like guys who do the talking before fights as it just entertains me and gets me in the mood for the fight.

I see the fight being more interesting than entertaining, if that makes sense. I don't see any knockdowns or big talking points occuring, but I see it as a battle of speed, skill and tactics until the final bell. That's not a bad thing by the way as I can very much enjoy those types of fights. As to who will win, I'll give a narrow points victory to Khan. Despite my reservations about him, he is a better fighter than Malignaggi and having Roach in his corner will certainly help. The one stumbling block may be the fact that this is his first fight in America, but I really dont see that being a problem for him.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

I live in England and I'm going to wait til 2.40 in the morning for this fight, but it's going to be worth it. I can't see anyone knocking Amir Khan out at this point, he is just on that role, on the path of destruction, you never know, it might be another 1 round fights, i'm hoping it's not, I would like to see both men take it to each other...Khan gets my vote for this one, his rfirst fight in the States, and it won't be the last defence he has..

 

[TheRapist]

Honestly I have never seen these two fight but after seeing this thread I went and looked up both of these guys and I am impressed. It should most certainly be an amazing fight. I don't have a preference exactly but it will be good. I'm planning to watch it, the first boxing match I've seen in forever.

 

[Tastycles]

Khan's shit, I think. There's a lot of hype surrounding him in the UK, but having been watching him for most of his career, I just can't see that he'll ever be that big a deal on the world scene, he never looks dominant against anyone, even shit people, and he already has a loss against his name. I've not seen too much of Malignaggi outside his quite decisive defeat to Hatton a couple of years ago. That being said, I still think he will probably beat Khan, despite what the bookies say.

 

[Avrusha92]

Im routing for Malignaggi for this fight, do I think he will defeat Khan? No, Khan is a quicker fighter, this man knocked out a good friend of mine former 30-0 Undefeated Dmitriy Salita in less then 70 seconds. Dmitriy is actually a stronger boxer than Paulie...If Khan knocked Dmitriy in 70 seconds, who knows what will be with Paulie, all I can say about Paulie is..this mans a true fighter, and a warrior in the ring. His fight with Hatton showed that Paulie cant stop wont stop..hes a fighter, fighters fight!
GO PAULIE!
Btw I know Paulie very well, were from the same area, and I hung out with him in the V.I.P Section at one boxing event, great guy, and a great talker. LOL

 

[jmt225]

After last night, I don't know how anyone could look at Amir Khan again as other than GREAT.

The guy is 23-years-old.... think about that. He's 23, already compiled a record of 24-1, and completely DOMINATED a very good fighter in Paulie Malignaggi. How could anyone not be a believer now? Khan's handspeed is absolutely phenomenal, and for someone his size... he hits fucking really hard. He won every round last night, with maybe the exception of round 2, and that's me being really, really, REALLY generous to Malignaggi. Amir Khan is forreal.

All that said, Paulie Malignaggi did not fight like himself. He didn't circle or use angles to his advantage. That is NOT the Paulie Malignaggi we saw against Juan Diaz. He just stood in front of Khan and got his ass kicked. It was seriously mind-boggling.

Rumor is that Malignaggi was suffering a knee injury going into the fight and that slowed him down, which would make sense, but I just think he was a little intimidated of Khan, and Khan's handspeed through him for a loop. I don't know... but whatever it was, Malignaggi got his ass handed to him the entire fight and I am now a firm believer in Amir Khan. Very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds for him.

Oh, and Victor Ortiz looked fantastic as well and completely dominated his opponent Nate Campbell. He's also only 23, and there's no doubt his future will be a great one. I won't be surprised if Amir Khan vs. Victor Ortiz ends up being a HUGE fight two years down the line.

 

[People's Champ]

Khan looked great Saturday night. I underestimated just how many followers he would have there. But as far as the fight is concerned, he just dominated Paulie all fight. JMT I don't even think I would give him round 2. He looked better in that round but not enough to win it. Khan showed his speed and power in that fight even tho he didn't get a knockdown until the KO in the 11th. But he showed that he didn't need to. He was able to outbox Paulie the entire fight. At your right JMT, hs only 23 and has so much talent its hard to argue how good he is now and just how great he can be.

 

[Avrusha92]

JMT, Your absolutely right...Paulie was so rubbish against Khan, this was not the Paulie that fought against Juan Diaz. Paulie was literally a punching bag against Khan. He let Khan kick his ass, grab on to his neck etc. I thought maybe Paulie would actually have a few good punches during the fight, a few good hits... But nah, Paulie my brooklyn boy disappointed me ALOT! this fight. Paulie is a true fighter, but this fight...he was meh..pathetic.

Khan has a bright future ahead of him...
he knocked out a good friend of mine also from brooklyn Dmitriy Salita in 76 Seconds, and thus Dmitriy is a great fighter...
Shows a lot about Khan.

 

[Super Hans]

Paulie was handpicked for khan for his US debut,they new that Khan did not have to respect the power of Paulie,as he has none whatsoever,stylewise khan is younger faster and better than PM and was always going to look good.Im not convinced personally yet.
Lets see how he copes with the power of Maidana(who had an epic fight with Ortiz last year) and if he can take a punch off of a truly powerful LWW then i will give him his dues.Lets be honest he hasnt faced a puncher since his defeat to prescott(i dont count the faded,blown up lightweight version of barrera he fought).
While he is and will always be of great entertainment value because of his fast hands and china glass chin.I hope that this move up in weight and filling into the weight makes his whiskers stronger,i seriously doubt it,but we will see.