What started as a back and forth affair on twitter has now erupted into a full blown war of words between Freddie Roach and Paulie Malignaggi.
The fight between Amir Khan and Paulie Malignaggi looked to be in trouble because HBO were offering a limited license fee for the fight, and Khan is guaranteed $1 million per fight with his Golden Boy deal.
Those issues seem to be resolved now though, and the fight is tentatively scheduled for May 15th.
Undoubtedly Khan is one of the best prospects in boxing today, although some are resentful that he’s already being treated as a major star.
Malignaggi eventually said it had crossed his mind that Khan was using performance enhancing drugs because he trained at the Wild Card, which obviously infuriated Freddie Roach.
Most of this can be linked back to the accusations leveled at Manny Pacquiao by Floyd Mayweather et al but former Wild Card fighter James Toney testing positive for steroids didn’t help either.
An infuriated Roach then said he might ‘smack’ Paulie the next time he sees him, which Malignaggi responded by asking when Freddie Roach suddenly became a tough guy. Speaking to BoxingScene, Paulie had this to say:
“When did Freddie Roach become a tough guy? Do I have to watch my back in the streets?”
“Why didn’t he challenge Roger Mayweather when they were both there as trainers for De La Hoya-Mayweather?”
For someone who fought so many times he now has Parkinsons, I don’t think Roach’s toughness should be called into question. Roach is now 50 years old, and Malignaggi thinks he should actually start challenging these people and trying to fight them?
Unfortunately for Paulie, as much as he might like the idea of fighting Roach, it’s Roach’s newest protege Amir Khan who he will be meeting in the ring. Other than toughness, there doesn’t seem to be much that Paulie has over Khan at this point either.
Paul Bloxham, Bolton England: “Malignaggi is all mouth and no trousers. Khan is going to merk him just like Ricky Hatton did, and I bet roach still hits harder than Paulie and his 5 knockouts.”
Ben Davis, Pittsburgh PA: “They should call Khan vs. Malignaggi the unknown vs the unwanted”
Perhaps a little harsh Ben, people in England have heard of Khan. I do think Khan will probably beat Malignaggi easily though. Paulie usually relies on his skill and speed, but in this case Khan is just as fast and skillful, and he has a much bigger punch.
James Kepkee, Pittsburgh PA: “Roach needs to stop talking likes he’s 25 years old. Some days he can’t even hold up the pads at the gym and now he’s going to go around smacking people? Roger Mayweather would waste him”
