When Amir "King" Khan (22-1, 16 KOs) makes his American debut at Madison Square Garden this Saturday against one of Brooklyn’s 
finest pure boxers Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KOs), it reminds me of Prince Naseem Hamed’s triumphant journey to the Big Apple’s core in 1997 against one of Queens’ finest boxer-punchers — Kevin "the Flushing Flash" Kelley.
I’m know I’m dating myself with the Hamed-Kelley reference, but the similarities are pretty interesting.
Amir Khan is being billed as the next big thing out of great Britain. And like Naseem Hamed, he has Middle Eastern roots. Stylistically, no one mirrors the enigma that was Hamed, but Khan has two things in common with him: power and speed.
On the American side of the pond, enter Paulie Malignaggi. Like Kevin Kelley before him, the "Magic Man" can run his mouth with the best of them. He may not pack a wallop like the "Flushing Flash" but he has fast feet like the Flash of Marvel Comics lore.
Who do I think is going to win?
On the surface, this fight is the first stop on Amir Khan’s American tour. Paulie Malignaggi plays the veteran gatekeeper who will either a) expose Khan or b) jump-start his career.
I am going with option A, in a huge upset. Buoyed by the New York City crowd, his fast legs and his resolute chin, I am picking Paulie Malignaggi to win a narrow, split decision.
Kevin Kelley would be proud.
Hmmmm… Khan is a very young fighter with only 23 fights As compared to paulie’s 30 fights. But he sure can punch and fight 69% of his fights comes from Ko’s, I think the difference is that Khan has Freddie roach in his corner,that guy sees things that can turn the match around.on the other hand khan hasn’t really been tested , maybe the biggest fight was that with salita ? The hard hitting statistics Is what everybody knows, the challenge is to put aside all these statistics and to make a prediction on this fight, it’s a tough one to call.
Indeed, my gut tells me it will be Khan, but my data inputs (competition, defense, fight locale, foot speed, hand speed) tip the scale in Paulie’s favor. However, Khan is probably the more well-rounded boxer, and obviously has much more pop on his punches, and isn’t that far behind (if it all) in the speed department. Hey, I’ve had a nice prediction roll lately; I figure I can reach a little here.
Question: How educated and consistent is Khan’s jab in your opinion Alpha Dawg?
well the answer to that will be not educated and not consistent enough =\\ in my opinion… Hmm I realize that fighters under freddie roach ( paquiao, khan, Garcia etc) don’t really focus on their jabs. Instead they are all rounded, able to fight with both hands. Starting with their power hands.but these kind of fighters are those who knock the lights out of people… However, I think if khan fails to knock him out early, it will go into the late rounds where the jab will be the difference, considering that both parties are tired and the one with the better jab has the advantage. Considering the importance of this fight: “even if khan lost there won’t be much impact??paulie need this fight to jump start his career ” I am actually gonna have to agree to your prediction 🙂 the earlier rounds will be the decider .
Alpha, I also think a key will be how Khan responds if/when he catches Paulie clean and nothing happens or the converse, how will Paulie react after he feels Khan’s power — will he retreat like he did against Hatton?
retreat,retreat,retreat expect it! but also expect some nice in and out movement, quick little pot-shots until khan catches him. and catch him he will. i’m very pleased to see the resurgence of the “paulie machine” paulie’s certainly fun to watch when he’s in a a fight that’s right for him however, this one’s not it.
Wouldn’t Hamed Barerra be a better comparison if you like Malinaggi is going to win? I have been pretty impressed with Khan since that dibocle to prescott. I don’t know you can ever get that out of your head espcially if Paulie comes to punch. Khan has a suspect jaw. No question. I don’t much at all about Paulie but your picking a 5:1 underdog to win Ja. Thats nuts.
jabbo, you may be spot on…but i just think paulie has the beard to take his shot(s). my concern is how well and consistent khan is with his jab…if he is, that couldl spell doom for malignaggi’s upset chances for sure.
Jeff, cut me some slack my dude…I’ve been on a roll lately. Is it fun if I keep picking the big fights correctly? 🙂 Seriously, I totally understand where you are coming from. In fact, I OVERstand where you are coming from. lol I just think the Magic Man may be able to pull of a magic trick against the relatively untested Khan, especially because of Paulie’s chin (he went the distance against a prime Cotto at his prime weight and was only stopped by Hatton because the corner stopped it). He takes a pretty good punch. If he can use his speed advantage to dart in-and-out, I think he has a chance. And luckily for him, the fight is in NYC…so the hope/guess is that the scorecards will at least be fairly objective. 😉 We shall see…
Ja, You have god like status in my books when it comes to predictions. Is this honestly what you believe is going to happen, or just a bold stretch. Personally I think Paulie has 0 chance in winning this fight. You can through your home town audience out the window. Khan is just too good, too powerful. I am predicting Khan KO 5.
Who do you pick in the Katsidis – Mitchell fight?
@Jeff, Thanks for the props, but I’m no god….more like an angel! lol I hear you – I am struggling mightily with this one, but many key factors point towards Paulie M here, but I think Khan has much more talent and punching accuracy/power. However, if Paulie’s in-shape (which he seems to be) and throws enough punches, it’ll be hard for Khan to catch him and put him to sleep (considering that he’s never taken a nap in the ring). In addition, and I hate to say it, I think there may be the backdrop of some US nationalism in the crowd that will make it a very hostile environment for Khan, but possibly on the scorecards (I hope not, but ya never know).
@EmE Mitchell by close, unanimous decision.
u know ja, i just don’t think we’re built like that, i think khan will get everything he earns here in th u.s. (texas not included ha,ha)! khan certainly is an opposing figure in this fight but paulie definitely will bring the’ noise, he’s slick, and can frustrate some lesser experienced fighters, problem is in this fight is that khan is peaking and is going to make a special delivery 2morrow nite. expect a stoppage!
@Ja Dawson:
ja, who do you think will win between Victor ortiz vs. Nate Campbell.tnx
@jabbo: i tend to agree with you BUT my issue is more that a seemingly hostile crowd can influence the judges (who, actually may not actually be American – if that’s what you meant when you referred to “we”). it’s not an indictment, but the fact remains that judges are human. but i could be wrong; khan may have a large contingent as well. we’ll see — i haven’t really followed the ticket sales, etc.
@david, in my humble opinion, nate campbell is a VERY live underdog. but i think ortiz will be mad focused and win a hard-earned decision (using his faster hands speed and fresher legs to snare the victory).
Lol, Andre Direll predicts Malanaggi to win as well. Then there are other people who believe Khan will easily win and this is hardley a contest. C’mon Ja. Change your prediction and keep that streak alive.
@Jeff, you know what they say on exams or tests? always stick with your first answer. =) dude, i was just going to change it too…but i’m comfortable enough to stick this one out…but i appreciate the support of ‘the streak.’ lol by the way, dirrell is being a biased, American boxer sympathizer. 🙂
“we” hmmm, that all powerful, inclusive, all encompassing words (and one of my personal favorites i must add) could refer to me as one of the judges, or perhaps as you rather cautiously assumed it to mean in this case, the American fight fans. In this case, I meant a little bit of both, although not a boxing official, I do consider myself like “most” of the folks who frequent this site a true boxing fan, and despite the actual discision of a bout, “we” truly determin who wins i.e. sergio/williams.Despite the possibility that a particular fighter may not get the “W” in the eyes of the judges, “we” decide who wins and therefore who we want to see that fighter face in the future, I sincerely believe that true boxing fans are more interested in what a guy can do in the ring than where he’s from. granted sometimes it may take a minute for fans to adjust, “true’ boxing (we) fans will get behind the guy with the skills to please us in the ring. .
@jabbo: you and i definitely fall into that category, but peep an earlier article that i wrote and let me know your thoughts…https://fightinsight.com/2007/10/27/is-rooting-for-boxers-based-on-nationality-wrong/
saw the article ja and i must say you certainly mirrored my perceptions on the topic it but for now, if i may borrow a phrase “lets get ready to rummmmble” and may the best man win! Oh yeah and i believe thats khan tonight.
@jabbo: as always, thanks for the comments…and to quote former ref Mills Lane…”let’s get it on.” I sense magic (man) in the air. =)
Wow the undercard was pretty painful to watch; safe fight for Ortiz but I have to say is the definition of ring generalship = generally running most of the time?
@Joseph Boylan: Yes, it was the classic, let me use my younger legs and faster hands and protect my chin. But it was a nice confidence-building fight. It looks like Malignaggi may get KTFO’d at this rate. I picked him to pull the upset, but should have known better. Maybe Khan gets tired. 🙂
this is like a cat fight with out the claws
Khan has claws. Paulie has heart but he was severely out-gunned…oh wellz…my prediction streak is dead…no more going out on limbs. 🙁 Did you ever get to watch Mayweather-Mosley Joe?
I will give you a mulligan on this one Ja. I seriously thought you were the one who was taking all those head shots with this predicition. It was what I expected. Hardly a contest. Paulie was tailor made for Khan. Amir has a very bright future especially under Freddy Roach.
Great use of the word mulligan. 🙂 But you are right and I knew better. I went with a hunch and it killed my sick prediction streak. Such is life. 🙂 Khan is very good and you can see the Roach impact for sure. He and Devon Alexander are the two top guns at 140. And of course, Timothy Bradley is in the mix as well. Great division. War 140!
i agree this is a hard fight to pick. after about 5 misses, i won a fight involving campbell.
dumb me , a soto fan, took the under. his move up in weight didn’t help. thought mag could go 11.5, but had kahn giving away about 20 points. hard to watch when you have both ‘sides’