Their war of words has captivated the boxing world, but this Saturday, May 15, the time for talk will be over when two of the brightest stars in the super lightweight division -- WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan and former world title holder Paulie ‘The Magic Man’ Malignaggi -- finally settle their score at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The bout, which will be televised live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark in the United States, also marks Khan’s United States debut which will be taking place in the back yard of Brooklyn’s Malignaggi.
“Paulie Malignaggi did a great job of talking his way into this fight and I commend him for that,” said Khan. “But on May 15he’ll have to pay for the things he’s said about me and I will have no problem teaching him a lesson in his own hometown. I’m excited for my United States debut and plan on giving the great fans of New York an exciting show on May 15.”
“I’m the best fighter Amir Khan has ever fought, bar none. I’m going to make sure this is a one and done deal for this poor bloke,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “When I’m done with this guy, he’ll never want to come to the U.S. again, not even on ‘holiday.’ It’s a good thing he agreed to fight in New York rather than Vegas, this way he saved himself five extra hours of flight time agony thinking about the loss on his way back to England!”
One of England’s biggest sports stars, Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) of Bolton, Lancashire, United Kingdom, captured the imagination of a nation when, at just 17-years-old, he took home a Silver Medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (as the sole member from the British boxing team). In 2005, he turned professional and has since won 22 of 23 pro bouts, including four in a row. In July of 2009, the 23-year-old -- who holds a win over the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera -- captured his first World Title when he decisioned Andreas Kotelnik for the WBA 140-pound belt. In his first defense last December, he needed just 76 seconds to take out the previously unbeaten Dmitriy Salita. On May 15, he will attempt to defeat his second straight New Yorker, but this time on foreign soil in his opponent’s hometown.
Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO’s) has made plenty of headlines with his mouth, but it’s his fists and his fighting spirit that have gained him respect throughout the boxing world. A slick boxer with speed and a rapid-fire jab, Malignaggi first won a world title in 2007 when he defeated Lovemore N’dou for the IBF Junior Welterweight crown. Since then, Malignaggi has continued to fight the best, including Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz (twice), Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton and Herman Ngoudjo. In his most recent bout, Malignaggi put on a show in defeating Diaz over 12 rounds last December. Now he’s ready to do the same thing against Khan in front of his hometown fans this spring.
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