A few weeks ago things seemed up in the air for WBA Jr. Welterweight champion Amir Khan. Scheduled to fight former champion Paulie Malignaggi at the theatre in Madison Square Garden this Saturday night, Khan was stuck in Vancouver, Canda waiting on a US Visa and many wondered what the immediate future would hold.
The good news is that Khan was granted his visa and is currently in New York City participating in the pre-fight festivities related to his fight with the ultra-confident Malignaggi. When taking a closer look at Khan?s career it is obvious that he is on the verge of a breakthrough and his first fight on American soil is strikingly similar to that of another flashy fighter in recent years.
Khan went 18-0 with 13 knockouts while registering star status in his native United Kingdom while under the promotional backing of Frank Warren. Khan was young, flashy, marketable, and seemed to have the world at his fingers before seeing it all come crashing down in September of 2008. On that night Khan was shockingly starched in the first round by Breidis Prescott and went from a can?t-miss prospect to a fighter with a shaky chin and an uncertain future.
Showing tremendous resilience, Khan has regrouped and gone 4-0 following the Prescott blowout. Along the way he captured the WBA belt with a decision over Andriy Kotelnik and recently could be found starching previously unbeaten Dmitriy Salita in the first. Having aligned himself with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, Khan has made great strides as is hoping for a coming out party with his first HBO showcase against Malignaggi. But if history has shown us anything, it is that moments of celebration don?t often come easy.
In December of 1997 another champion with huge stock from overseas looked to make his mark with an American debut at Madison Square Garden as WBO featherweight king Prince Naseem Hamed tangled with dangerous veteran Kevin Kelley from Queens. At the time Hamed was an enigma in the sport and despite his undeniable power he was known more for his charisma and outlandish personality. A bout with the former champion Kelley wasn?t looked at as a serious make or break affair by everyone going in but the fight certainly delivered in terms of excitement.
For four high-pitched rounds Hamed and Kelley bated one another and traded fierce bombs. The crowd was on its feet as the two men countered each other with stunning knockdowns and the fight seemed up in the air throughout. Hamed would end up pulling the victory out of the fire by landing a crashing left that floored Kelley and ended his night and while his American debut wasn?t a walk in the park it certainly answered some questions that many were having of the British fighter.
Over twelve years later Khan finds himself in a similar predicament as he will be testing his skills against a tough New York veteran in Malignaggi. Heading into the contest Malignaggi has had a career revival himself and is coming off of a dominant twelve round decision over Juan Diaz this past December in Chicago, Illinois. While Paulie doesn?t have a huge punch he does have proven toughness and a great boxing acumen that could give Khan some trouble.
Any fighter looking to truly stamp themselves in the sport will one day have to make the trek to the States at some point in time. While there is something to be said about building your fan base on your native soil, there is nothing like boxing in America and over the years many champions from foreign territory have left lasting impressions. Khan is hoping to produce that same kind of excitement and he seems to have his work cut out for him this weekend.
