By Tim Smith, New York Daily News
Amir Khan, a British citizen of Pakistani descent, had fought to get his work visa at the last minute to get into the country to fight Paulie Malignaggi at The Theater at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.
Khan made good use of that visa and did a job on the Brooklyn product, pummeling Malignaggi for much of the fight before referee Steve Smoger stopped it at 1:25 of the 11th round, giving Khan a TKO before 4,412 fans.
With the victory, Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) made a successful and impressive U.S. debut and retained his WBA super lightweight title.
"Me and (trainer) Freddie (Roach) stuck to the game plan. Paulie is a very awkward fighter. We had to break him down slowly," Khan said. "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."
Not only did he surprise Malignaggi, but he overwhelmed him with his speed and power.
"I ran into a clone of myself of when I was younger. But he was faster and stronger," Malignaggi said. "He's bigger and stronger. But I gave it all I had."
It was the first time that Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KOs) was back at the Garden since his loss to Miguel Cotto in the big room in 2006. Even though Malignaggi lost a 12-round unanimous decision and suffered a fractured eye socket, it was a fight that proved that he was not just a flamboyant trash talker from Coney Island.
Malignaggi thought that battle against Cotto would carry him over Khan, whose only blemish on his record was a first-round KO by Breidis Prescott in 2008. He was wrong.
Khan, 23, was looking to cash in on his British-built fame like other English imports such as Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis.
Khan had the looks, but the question for the U.S. fans who filled the arena Saturday night was can he fight?
Khan displayed blazingly fast hands, coupled with pinpoint accuracy on his punches. He hit Malignaggi with a three-punch combination in the second round that appeared to land in the blink of an eye. By the third round, there was significant swelling around Malignaggi's left eye, all courtesy of Khan's powerful right hand. Malignaggi, who isn't a slouch in the speed department himself, had little defense against that right hand.
Midway through the fight, Khan began to work his jab, and that spelled the end of any threat that Malignaggi, never a KO guy, could muster.
The pre-fight buildup had been marred by trash talk from both sides. Khan said he had sparring partners who were tougher than Malignaggi. Malignaggi said Khan was a creation of the European press and was "a step above a bum." The nastiness spilled over at the weigh-in on Friday when Malignaggi and Khan got into a shoving match during the stare-down and Khan's supporters rushed the stage.
At the fight Saturday night, someone sent an anonymous e-mail to Lou DiBella, Malignaggi's promoter, that they were going to throw something in the ring to try to hit Malignaggi during the fight. DiBella alerted Garden security.
There were a few minor skirmishes in the stands, but it was nothing compared to the punishment that Malignaggi took from Khan, who obviously was benefiting from the schooling from Roach, the renowned trainer of Manny Pacquiao.
After the eighth round, a small chant of "Paulie (stinks)!" went up from the crowd as the Khan supporters could sense the fight was slowly turning into a mismatch.
Before the start of the 11th, Malignaggi was pleading with ringside physician Ostrick King not to stop the fight. "Give me one more! Give me one more!" he cried out.
It didn't matter. As Malignaggi was getting pummeled on the ropes, Smoger stepped in and halted the bout. There was no protest from Malignaggi this time.
Khan now wants to take on the other 140-pound champions - Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley.
"I'm not going to leave the 140 pound division until I unify the titles," Khan said.
Source: nydailynews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment