By Ziggy Shah – Now that the sand has settled and both fighters are once again on social terms, questions in the US will surely be asked about Amir Khan’s latest performance against the Magic Man, Paulie Malignaggi. Is Khan as good as what many pundits said or was it just the British once again beefing up a mediocre boxer? But following his superb American debut at the Garden against the slick New Yorker, there can surely only be one conclusion.
Obviously ‘King’ Khan has a long way to go before he can rank himself as a true great, but following his ‘systematically beating’ of the Magic Man, the foundations seem to be set for him to reach that height.. He is young, determined, and skilful and has in his corner perhaps the best trainer in the world, Freddie Roach. Also with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions now behind him, there will be no shortage of tough fights ahead for the Bolton wonder kid.
Sounds like a good set up, but why then does doubt creep up in many people’s minds about whether or not he can be great …two words! Breidis Prescott. It is a fight that some fans will not forget or maybe they don’t want to forget. It is why after every impressive performance since that defeat, the words ‘Hand picked’ tend to be used to describe his defeated foes.
Even Malignaggi, who despite being a former IBF Champion, and going the full 12 rounds with Miguel Cotto, and twice the distance against Juan Diaz, was not spared as his attributes to the boxing game were overshadowed by his lack of KO power, as one respected writer put it,.. “Paulie could not smash an egg with his fists”.
Little was written about his slick boxing skills and his unbelievable resistance to soak up clean, heavy shots that would have any other boxer at his weight counting the bulbs that light up the Madison Square canvas.
Now that Khan has made his long awaited debut in the States, it will be interesting to see what the fight fans of the USA think about Amir Khan. Is he just all hype with a magical promotional team behind him or is he indeed, the beginning of a global superstar who will finally put the British boxing scene on the map.