NEW YORK -- Boxing may have had its share of hyped-up, promotional stunts at weigh-ins, but if you ask WBA junior welterweight (140 pounds) champion, Amir Khan, Friday night's near-brawl with challenger, Paulie Malignaggi, was not one of them.
On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater, the 23-year-old Khan battered his rival relentlessly to improve to 23-1, by scoring his 17th knockout in the 11th round over the 29-year-old Malignaggi (27-4, five KOs).
Nearly 24 hours earlier, however, the fighters nearly came to blows at the pre-fight weigh-in.
"It's part of boxing, you know. But to be honest with you, none of that was fake. It was real, everything that happened between me and Paulie Malignaggi," said Khan, during a ringside interview at the WaMu Theater after the fight.
"I'm a very calm person, and you remember at the weigh-in, when he kept pushing his head into mine," said Khan. "Overall, he was very disrespectful at the weigh-in."
While the fighters stood, nose-to-nose, words were exchanged before Khan shoved Malgnaggi, and all chaos broke loose before order was restored after about two minutes.
"You never know, he could have slipped and bopped me in the nose," said Khan, who completed his debut in the United States. "It could have cut me if someone else had pushed me from behind."
Fortunately, neither fighter was harmed during the fracas, which Khan later chalked up to what he believed was part of the American boxing culture.
"You know, this is hype in America. When I was watching the news later on in the day, I saw that a lot of people were talking about the weigh-in. It just seems like American fighters love to do that," said Khan.
"I respect Paulie, and he's a great fighter. After the fight, he apologized for everything. He told me, 'mentally, I wanted to break you down, but you're a strong fighter, mentally,'" said Khan. "And the same goes for him. I think that he's a mentally strong fighter. I'm just happy that we both didn't have a fight outside of the boxing ring in the end."
Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, echoed his assertion of Malignaggi, who "said after the fight that there were no hard feelings, and that he respected Amir Khan."
"Paulie told me, 'Freddie, I love you, and you're a great trainer. I still think that Manny Pacquiao is on steroids
, but that's him, and that's not on you,'" said Roach. "He said, 'I respect you,' and I said, 'You fought a helluva a fight,' and I left the rest of it alone."Overall, Khan said that he is has benefitted from the experience.
"It will just make me a better fighter, and at least, now, when I come to America, I know what to expect," said Khan. "This was my first fight here, and the next time I come here, Amir Khan is going to be even better."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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