I'll say right off I have never been a big Victor Ortiz fan. I always liked watching him fight, because the "Vicious" nickname was earned. The guy came to knock people out, had a ferociousness about him.

But like a captive lion that could roar on demand in a performance, Ortiz whimpered when met with opposition that fought back last year in the form of Marcos Maidana. After plowing through easy marks, he was set up with what was thought to be a cruel brawler, just another stepping stone en route to the new Golden Boy "Golden Boy" making his name among boxing's elite.

From a marketing standpoint, I get it with Ortiz. He's a handsome kid, has a good punch, a backstory that makes you root for him, and he loves to smile and crack a joke. His personality came off almost Bill and Ted-like at points. He was a nice guy, a carefree spirit, almost flippant at times. He seemed, after his easy demolitions of overmatched foes, to not have a care in the world. Boxing was his job, and he was good at it. He was mowing people down and being told by his bosses and TV people he'd be one of the next big things.

Maidana kicked his ass, and though Ortiz probably has more boxing talent, he didn't have the guts to carry on in that fight. I'm not trying to call him a coward or anything intense like that. When I say he didn't have the guts, I mean in relation to other, tougher boxers. All boxers are some level of tough that I'm not.

But we saw Ortiz crumble mentally more than physically. Yes, Maidana had torn him up, busted open cuts and given him a healthy amount of swelling around the eyes. More than the physical damage was the fact that Ortiz could see when he hit Maidana with his best shots, even if Maidana went down, he kept coming back. He wasn't Jeffrey Resto, he wasn't Mike Arnaoutis, he wasn't Carlos Maussa. Maidana was there to shake things up and win.

Tonight, we got to see Victor Ortiz in his third fight since the Maidana loss. In fight one, he was tentative against Antonio Diaz, but those two are also friendly outside the ring, and I've always kept that in the back of my head. Against Hector Alatorre, Ortiz carried a completely overmatched fighter who had no business in the same ring as Victor, before getting the stoppage in the final round, which ate up some good TV time for Fight Night Club.

This time out, he faced Nate Campbell. I picked Campbell (and Paul Malignaggi) while knowing I'd likely be wrong. I'll even say that while I think Ortiz is talented, something about him bugs me. Something always bugged me about Oscar de la Hoya, too. I'm a fan, and some guys rub me the wrong way. Campbell, on the other hand, is one of my favorite fighters. He'll say what's on his mind, whether he should say it or not, and there's just not an ounce of bullshit in Nate Campbell. Sure, he's a talker and a charmer, as Max Kellerman noted on tonight's broadcast, but I find I've almost always naturally agreed with what Nate was saying. He didn't have to talk something up to get me to change my mind, I just usually felt he was right. He's a straight shooter and a good dude.

Ortiz dominated him. Nate Campbell is 38 years old, lost a year of his career to other peoples' mistakes, and is fighting in a weight class where he doesn't really belong. Campbell probably won't retire, because the man has bills to pay and it wasn't that long ago that he had to file for bankruptcy while holding three lightweight titles. He'll fight on. He might not be more than a gatekeeper at 140, but he'll fight. I think Campbell, like Stevie Johnston or Steve Forbes, is one of those guys who's just going to keep boxing until it's beyond clear he should stop. He's that kind of guy. I don't think he's too concerned with how many Ls wind up on his final record. Boxing's a business and Nate Campbell is a guy who's never been shy about saying he wants to make money.

He did look shot last night. He didn't look good at all against Tim Bradley last August, but that was three rounds, and Campbell's eye was legitimately screwed up in that fight. I think now and thought then that Bradley likely won the fight going away even without the eye injury, and tonight seems to indicate that that's probably true. Ortiz had an easy night at the office.

What bothered me was I think it was too easy.

Look, Ortiz can't help that Nate Campbell is 38 and faded, that Campbell isn't the fighter he used to be. Campbell was universally still ranked in the top 10 at 140, where Ortiz was not entering this fight. Campbell is still Ortiz's best win. But Ortiz was clearly going to win this fight once it was about three rounds old. So why go on cruise control?

Maybe it's a tactical decision. Maybe instead of being the bash 'em up slugger he used to be, Ortiz's team looked at their fighter after the Maidana fight and said, "We need to box more." That would be wise. Ortiz didn't give a great account of himself in a slugfest. Yeah, he was ahead on the cards, but nobody on earth thinks he was going to win that fight if he hadn't pulled out. Maidana was moments away from finishing Ortiz off in brutal fashion.

But Campbell clearly had nothing in there, and Ortiz showed no desire to go for the finish at any point. Campbell was slow, had no zip on his punches, and Ortiz was landing good, clean, hard shots throughout the fight. Nate landed maybe a handful of good punches, and they didn't really seem to have any effect on Ortiz, save for one body shot in the middle of the fight.

The fight told me that when Victor Ortiz eventually has to face a guy who will offer not just resistance, but pressure, Ortiz will again fold. I don't say that meaning to "hate on" Ortiz, or to be a jerk. I just get that feeling. I don't think he ever beats Marcos Maidana, not because he couldn't outbox Maidana, but because I don't think he can stand up to him over 10-to-12 rounds. I don't think he can handle a guy like Timothy Bradley, because Bradley attacks. And as dodgy as Amir Khan's chin is, I don't think Ortiz can beat him either, because Ortiz showed too much willingness to be tentative, and Khan's speed is such that he can get Victor thinking way too much to even get his own shots off. Devon Alexander is too much for Ortiz, too, in my view.

So what's the ceiling? Ortiz could pick up a title belt at some point. Hell, almost anyone worth half a damn wins a belt nowadays, and it isn't talent that Ortiz lacks.

But if he couldn't do more against a smaller, older, weaker, cooked Nate Campbell, what's he going to do against determined young guys who still have more than their heart going for them? Nate Campbell did not lack for guts in this fight, he just didn't have it physically, and he posed no threat to Ortiz at any point.

Those still hoping for Victor Ortiz to be one of the flag bearers of boxing's next generation of stars are holding on to a shred of hope at this point, and I feel that more after this shutout win than I did after he quit against Maidana. There's just that x-factor, whatever it is, that Victor Ortiz doesn't have. Boxing has, in my opinion, a terrific young crop of fighters out there, who largely seem like they're willing to take challenges. I just can't see talking about Ortiz alongside guys like Bradley, Ward, Alexander, etc., as one of the truly standout young guns in the sport. He just doesn't show those same qualities.

But I'm still interested to see where he goes. Maybe he surprises me. Maybe it really is just a new style they're working with, one they feel he's better suited for. And if so, they just might be 100% right. We'll find out the next time he's in the ring with a guy who has more than Nate Campbell had left.

Amir Khan put a thorough beating on Paulie Malignaggi, and Victor Ortiz cruised to a virtual shutout win over Nate Campbell tonight on HBO Boxing After Dark in New York.

Khan (23-1, 17 KO) was simply too fast, too big, and too good for Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KO), stopping him in the 11th round when referee Steve Smoger decided enough was enough. It was a fine stoppage, as Malignaggi had no hope of winning and Khan was pitching a shutout. Malignaggi's face had swollen badly and he just wasn't able to do anything against Khan.

I had in the past said Khan had top five handspeed across the entire sport, but before this fight I considered that statement and wondered if his speed would still look quite as fast against the quick Malignaggi. Well, it did, and it took about one minute total to see that Amir Khan has elite handspeed. That kid is fast.

This was a class performance by Khan, who I had up 100-90 at the time of stoppage. He made his American debut with a very impressive performance, more aggressive than he was against Andriy Kotelnik and just as dominant. The question now is what's next. Max Kellerman mentioned Marcos Maidana, the hard-punching Argentinean, after the fight, and Khan said he'd "love" to fight Maidana next. Khan even proposed he'll face Maidana, and Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander should fight each other, and the winners could meet up after that.

For Paulie Malignaggi, this was a bad loss. Malignaggi made no excuses, and just gave Khan credit. He was very honest about his own performance. He'll go on. There are a lot of guys he can beat still, and he did his best tonight. He just wasn't good enough to beat Khan.

In the co-feature, Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KO) won an easy decision over a very faded Nate Campbell (33-6-1, 25 KO). We'll have a lot more on this fight in a full breakdown later tonight, because I have a lot of thoughts on both fighters coming out of this one. Ortiz on on scores of 100-89 (twice) and 99-90. Bad Left Hook scored it 99-90.

Tonight at 9:45pm EDT on HBO, Amir Khan's first fight on U.S. soil comes when he faces the always-colorful Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden. In the co-feature, veteran Nate Campbell and Victor Ortiz meet in a fight both need badly to win. We'll have live, round-by-round coverage, scoring and analysis of both fights, so join us then!

AMIR KHAN "King Khan"		PAULIE MALIGNAGGI "The Magic Man"
	Main Event

Mitchell ready for big time (Sky Sports)
Kevin Mitchell believes today's the day he joins the world's elite boxers. He says of Katsidis: "He's strong and is a tough man but that will be his downfall. I'll walk through him."

Best of British ready to rule the world (The Mirror)
Barry McGuigan says it could be a great night for British boxing if Kevin Mitchell and Amir Khan are both successful, and picks both to win.

Speed Chess: Khan v Malignaggi Preview & Prediction (Safe Side of the Ropes)
Andrew Harrison previews the Khan-Malignaggi bout.

Earl fears for Mitchell (Sky Sports)
Graham Earl, who has felt Katsidis' power and had his career functionally ended by the Aussie, is a friend of both fighters. And he believes Mitchell may be taking the step up too soon.

Kevin Mitchell claims Amir Khan is scared of him (The Mirror)
Mitchell: "Amir doesn't want to fight anyone who can punch."

Amir: I Khan mix it with the best (The Sun)
The Sun has great titles.

Malignaggi Laughs at Khan's Mayweather, Pacquiao Dreams (BoxingScene.com)
Malignaggi: "[Khan] really believes his own hype. ... [H]e doesn't understand where he's at."

Khan entering choppy waters (BBC Sport)
There are many differences between the UK and US. Subtle differences, but differences. For instance, American Teddy Atlas has deep waters. Ben Dirs of BBC Sport has choppy waters. Color, colour.

On Saturday, two televised shows feature four fights we'll preview in this one post. Nothing is three.

Let's just get to it.

Lightweights: Michael Katsidis v. Kevin Mitchell (12 Rounds, Interim WBO Title, Sky Sports)

This fight could go a couple ways. It could be a war, a thriller with Katsidis attempting to impose his will on Mitchell. If he succeeds in imposing his will, that's what type of fight it will be, and it will favor Katsidis.

The other one is not quite as promising. Mitchell is no dummy in the ring. He knows what Katsidis is and what he isn't. He knew exactly what Breidis Prescott wasn't, and he used that for a routine 12-round decision win. He never let Prescott do much of anything. If Mitchell doesn't get caught up in the heat of the moment, that's what type of fight this will be, and it will favor Mitchell.

Kevin Mitchell almost became something of a forgotten young UK fighter. As Amir Khan rose, Mitchell got hurt and sat out a year, then returned with two gimme fights before delighting the people who still thought Prescott could fight with his "surprisingly" easy win over the Colombian.

This fight has Mitchell in the broad spotlight for the first time. He's main eventing on West Ham's football grounds, against a known international fighter who gave UK fans quite a show a few years ago when he put an effective end to Graham Earl's career in London.

Katsidis (26-2, 21 KO) and Mitchell (31-0, 23 KO) are both riding win streaks. Mitchell's, obviously, is at 31 and counting, while Katsidis has come back well with three straight victories since back-to-back losses to Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz. But if Katsidis had fought Mitchell's 31 opponents, he'd be 31-0, too. If Mitchell had fought Katsidis' 28, I'm not so sure he'd be 26-2, let alone 28-0.

Mitchell is a good fighter, though, a top ten guy at lightweight along with Katsidis. What's bothersome is that the 25-year-old Dagenham native is taking a major step up in class. I know Katsidis is no exemplary practitioner of the sweet science, but what he does well, he does very well. He can take shots with the best of them -- he was caught cold and jumpy in the first against Casamayor, and wide open in the 10th. He's learned from that. He took hard, clean shots from Vicente Escobedo without taking a step back in his last fight, and Escobedo is a lot better than he's given credit for when it comes to this fight.

It's a toss-up fight, which is why it's a good matchup. The man who executes his plan best (if it's the right plan) will win this fight, most likely. The backup is the comeback ability. If Katsidis is executing his plan well, can Mitchell still win? If Mitchell is boxing Katsidis' ears off, can Katsidis still win? Mitchell would have to outbrawl Katsidis and perhaps hope for a cut stoppage. Katsidis would just have to be Michael Katsidis and look for the home run, or at least an accumulation of doubles that score enough runs for a mercy ruling.

I slightly favor the Aussie in this one. Katsidis TKO-11

Heavyweights: Danny Williams v. Derek Chisora (12 Rounds, British Title, Sky Sports)

The main co-feature to Katsidis-Mitchell will be the mildly-anticipated fight for the British heavyweight strap between veteran Danny Williams and upstart villain Derek Chisora. This was supposed to be (again) Williams against Sam Sexton, but Sexton pulled out. Williams (41-8, 31 KO) hasn't fought since losing a three-rounder in Prizefighter against Carl Baker last October, a fight he likely would have won over a longer distance, given Baker's general fitness level. But Williams went down twice in the opening round of that fight, and really can't blame anyone but himself.

Chisora (12-0, 7 KO) has been mowing through opposition, including Sexton and, in his last fight, Baker, whom he stopped in two rounds. Every time I fully count out Danny Williams, he surprises me. So I don't think he has no shot. But I'm going with the younger, more determined, more ferocious Chisora. Williams in interviews sounds like he's already retired for all intents and purposes, planning his post-boxing career and saying this is his last fight. Chisora's going to hit him, and I don't know that Danny has much left to fight back when it gets going the wrong way. I could see Williams sparking Chisora early in this fight and winning that way, but that's about it. Chisora TKO-6

Dave Oakes at The Boxing Bulletin has a more extensive preview of the full Katsidis-Mitchell undercard, too. And you should read his in-depth preview of Katsidis-Mitchell as well.

Editor's Note: Danny Williams weighed in at 275 pounds, so make it Chisora TKO-4.

Junior Welterweights: Amir Khan v. Paulie Malignaggi (12 Rounds, WBA Title, HBO)

In all the talk of this fight and what favors which man, and the back-and-forth in the press, and Paulie playing the "overlooked" card again, and Khan being a guy who sends his schlong to models via text message (allegedly), I'm most interested to see something that hasn't come up much.

I think the biggest test for Khan (22-1, 16 KO) in this fight is going to be his speed. He's got fast hands, but those fast hands have been shown against Andriy Kotelnik, Oisin Fagan, Marco Antonio Barrera, Graham Earl, Dmitriy Salita, Martin Kristjansen, Gairy St. Clair, Willie Limond, etc.

In short, not a bunch of speed merchants or guys who truly specialize in the defensive side of the game.

Paul Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO) might not be among the very fastest guys in the sport, but he's got some speed, and when he's focused, he's really good defensively. Khan's closest career comparable is Kotelnik. (Say that sentence out loud, it's fun.)

Kotelnik, while intelligent and technically sound, is not as good as Malignaggi is when Malignaggi is at his best, and there is no reason to believe that Paulie isn't coming to put on the best performance of his career. Let's face it, if Malignaggi beats Khan, he's in line for another money fight. His career seemed possibly OUT of money fights after the Hatton drubbing, when everyone went, "He's good, but there's only so much he can do, and I think we've seen it all." The Juan Diaz fights rescued his career from the brink. A win over Khan, which would ruin big Golden Boy and HBO plans, would be huge for him. He'd then be in line to fight guys like Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander (where Paulie would be the drawing card), and even continue to have that outside shot at a REALLY big fight.

On the other hand for Malignaggi, a convincing loss to a young kid with an already infamously weak chin would hurt a lot. He has a lot to gain and lose on Saturday. So does Khan, of course, but Khan's weaknesses are not really something he has full control over. Malignaggi has only looked iffy in fights when it seems like it was something mental more than physical, or he was just beaten by better fighters like Cotto and Hatton.

So, speed. I don't doubt that Khan is faster than Paulie, but I do wonder if he's so much faster that Malignaggi can't handle it. Paulie has a really good chin and is not going to be afraid to get hit by Khan, I don't think. Really, I could see this turn into quite a spirited battle, if something of a pillow fight. Malignaggi's good chin negates some of Khan's power, I believe, and Paulie's fragile hands and complete lack of power do negate Khan's awful chin to some degree.

I really think the outcome of this fight depends mostly on Malignaggi. If he puts on a great performance within his known limits of performance, he's going to win. Khan isn't going to blast him out in one or two rounds, and Malignaggi isn't going to give up like Kotelnik more or less eventually did. So Khan is more likely to have to dig truly deep than Paulie is. But if Paulie isn't at his best, Khan will win decisively in a dull fight. I just have a feeling the Amir Khan train stalls out again, but I think this will be an entertaining tactical fight. Malignaggi UD-12

Junior Welterweights: Nate Campbell v. Victor Ortiz (12 Rounds, HBO)

This isn't even really a crossroads fight. This is two guys on the brink who need something impressive, and bad. Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KO) is 38 years old and looked slow and old up at 140 last time out. Victor Ortiz (26-2-1, 21 KO) is 23 years old and has major questions about his guts after the Maidana fight last year.

A lot of folks think Campbell is going to take Ortiz to school, and I can see why. He did it to Juan Diaz, and Ortiz has those fortitude issues lingering. But I hesitate to compare those fights for a few reasons:

1. Campbell is older now and has been pretty inactive since that fight.
2. Diaz can't punch. Ortiz can.
3. Campbell doesn't punch like Maidana.

Part of me thinks Ortiz could overwhelm Campbell early with his strength. At 140, Ortiz is very powerful, and you can't ignore that. He also punches with pretty good accuracy and is a southpaw. But I hesitate there because:

1. Campbell is tougher than hell and really hard to keep down.
2. Campbell has been around the block and knows Ortiz is strong.
3. Campbell won't let this turn into a brawl early if he can do anything to help it.

I do expect Ortiz will come out full of piss and vinegar despite his tentative nature against Antonio Diaz and that joke of a fight with Hector Alatorre. But I also expect Campbell to do everything he can to disrupt Ortiz, even if he has to make it ugly and hold a lot. If Campbell can get Ortiz to expend too much energy looking for the early KO, look for the veteran to start leaning on Ortiz and banging to the body.

If the fight doesn't go how I think it might, and Ortiz comes out unsure of himself, Campbell will just win. It's actually my head telling me not to bet on old man Campbell here, that Ortiz is too young and has too many skills, and that he hits too hard for this fading version of "The Galaxxy Warrior" to handle. And it's my heart telling me that Ortiz has pretty much always been overhyped, a talented boxer whose heart might not really be in it enough when the smiling and the goofy quotes fade, and he's up against a man who isn't going to roll over the way guys like Jeff Resto and Mike Arnaoutis did. I'm going with heart, 'cause f**k it. Campbell TKO-9

Normally we don't do undercards or co-features with a last five fights, but both of these guys are on the brink tomorrow night in the Khan-Malignaggi co-feature. Nate Campbell is getting old, and Victor Ortiz has a lot of people doubting his resolve. They've each had some tell-tale signs in their last five, so let's look back.

We'll start with the veteran.

Fight 1: Ricky Quiles (W-UD-12 / March 2, 2007)

Since his second loss to Robbie Peden in 2005 (not the famous one), Nate Campbell had started to show further signs of life. Sure, he'd gone just 4-2 in the six fights since, but the two losses to Francisco Lorenzo and Isaac Hlatshwayo were debatable split decisions, and he had demolished Almazbaek Raiymkulov (Kid Diamond) and Matt Zegan in that stretch, too. The fight with Hlatshwayo was an IBF eliminator for the #2 spot, so naturally the IBF concluded that Campbell's next fight (perhaps in a bit of poetic justice) should be with Zegan for ... the IBF eliminator. Right.

But Campbell won that and was rewarded not with a shot at Julio Diaz's belt, but with a fight against Ricky Quiles in ... an IBF eliminator. Quiles had just lost very wide (108-120, 110-118, 109-119) to Diaz for the interim belt in May 2006, and while a decent fighter, was also just shy of his 37th birthday.

Quiles took a vicious beating in a fight not soon forgotten by any who saw it live. Campbell was on the warpath in there, and Quiles really had no answer. By the middle rounds, Quiles looked like he was in pretty bad trouble, and you could argue that the fight should have been stopped then. By the ninth or so, it was clear it should have been stopped. Quiles' corner and referee Jorge Alonso did nothing. In the 12th round, ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas, who was ringside calling the action for Friday Night Fights, was screaming for the fight to be stopped. That was legit, not like the recent HBO hen convention during Caballero-Yordan. Quiles took a bad beating and has not fought since.

Fight 2: Wilson Alcorro (W-TKO-6 / July 6, 2007)

With Julio Diaz not committing to fight Campbell, Nate was matched with Wilson Alcorro in what basically amounted to a stay-busy fight. Alcorro was a Colombian who didn't quite cut it outside of his home country, though he did take Jorge Solis to a draw once (Solis won a rematch). Campbell put the hurt on him. After Campbell, Alcorro fought five times, going 1-4. His losses were to Urbano Antillon, Mickey Bey Jr., Hector Sanchez and Victor Cayo, and his win burst the bubble of Juan Carlos Batista (18-0 coming in). Alcorro last fought in March '09.

Fight 3: Juan Diaz (W-SD-12 / March 8, 2008)

After Juan Diaz dominated Julio Diaz to unify three lightweight title belts, the Texan was up for the challenge and decided to give Campbell his long overdue title shot. It didn't hurt that Don King, at the time, promoted both men (who are now both promoted by Golden Boy). Diaz-Campbell was the HBO co-feature in Cancun beneath the Oleg Maskaev-Samuel Peter heavyweight title fight.

Campbell's mission was clear early: shake the kid up, rough the kid up, get in his head. Diaz, 24 years old and 33-0 at the time, had really met little resistance. Jose Miguel Cotto gave him a bit of a fight in 2006, but ran through Randy Suico, Fernando Angulo, a faded version of Acelino "Popo" Freitas who held his own and himself gave up when the going got rough, and Julio Diaz, who was stunningly out of his league against Juan and hasn't looked good in the two and a half years since.

Campbell did what nobody had before. He stayed in tight with the "Baby Bull," told him his body work wasn't going to break him down like it had Freitas, Diaz, etc., and even flat-out said right in Diaz's face: "All day!"

A bad cut turned the tide of this fight when Diaz's corner had absolutely no clue how to work on the cut. It was appalling that Juan Diaz, regarded then as the No. 1 lightweight in the world and one of the brightest young stars in boxing, didn't have a cutman on hand who could at least manage the damn thing. Campbell took full advantage, wearing on the young man's psyche and beating him up. In the end, Campbell got his deserved victory, and just to note, the SD call was pretty weak. Ric Bays' 114-113 Diaz card was fairly crap.

What Didn't Happen: Nate Campbell was scheduled to fight Joan Guzman later in 2008. Guzman didn't make weight, wouldn't fight (his story is he was not allowed to, but Joan Guzman has lots of stories), and thus the fight was canceled. In the aftermath, Campbell went bankrupt while holding three lightweight titles, and feuded openly with promoter Don King.

Fight 4: Ali Funeka (W-MD-12 / February 14, 2009)

This was originally set to be the co-feature of the cursed Valentine's Day HBO triple-header, another grand King production of the modern era. Instead it wound up as the main event. Campbell didn't make weight, but did fight and eked out a hard-fought decision against the rangy Funeka in Funeka's U.S. debut. The difference came down to world-level experience. Campbell was just a better overall fighter than Funeka. After the fight, Campbell offered an apology for not making weight, and stated his plans to move to 140 pounds immediately.

Fight 5: Timothy Bradley (NC-3 / August 1, 2009)

Having shaken loose from King's stable, Campbell lined up a fight with top 140-pounder and titlist Timothy Bradley in August. Campbell looked every day of his 38 years against Bradley, who was just quicker and laying into the veteran throughout the short period of action we got to see. A headbutt from Bradley messed up Campbell's eye and forced him to pull out of the fight. It was originally ruled a TKO-3 for Bradley, but was rightly changed to a no-contest after at a hearing that nearly resulted in a streetfight between the hot-headed Campbell and Bradley.

Continue reading this post »

Saturday night's HBO Boxing After Dark main event between 140-pound titleholder Amir Khan and Paulie Malignaggi has seen its share and then some of trash talk between the two fighters, with Malignaggi his usual self and Khan apparently trying to seem like somebody American boxing fans should be interested in. It's the first trip to the States for a fight for young Khan, and Malignaggi has home court in New York.

We'll start with Khan's last five fights.

Fight 1: Breidis Prescott (L-KO-1 / September 6, 2008)

Oops, just not quite long enough ago to escape our view for this feature. Khan's 54-second loss to Prescott has more wrinkles than some would lead you to believe, but less than his fiercest defenders want to attribute. The facts are this: Khan's chin sucks. Prescott can punch, but Prescott also didn't even touch Kevin MItchell and barely made a dent on Miguel Vazquez or even Humberto Toledo. After the Khan fight, with Prescott being touted as a seek-and-destroy guy, he's looked exactly like he did before his name got into the high-rise, meaning he's plummeted back down to doorman outside of the building, which is far more realistic. Prescott is one of those guys who does have real power, but makes so many mistakes and is so ill-suited to the game once it becomes a boxing match that there's nothing much to him, really. He's got a big right hand. That about covers it.

It's not that this prove Khan has a china chin, it's his whole career. He's been parked on his seat by the likes of Willie Limond, for the love of Mike & Ike. There are ways to get around having a bad or even awful chin, and we'll get into that, because he and Freddie Roach are doing just that now.

And Roach is what changes here and after. After 18 pro fights, Khan fired his trainer, Oliver Harrison, and hired the famous Cuban amateur trainer, Jorge Rubio. Rubio remains on Khan's team, but he was replaced as lead trainer after this complete debacle. It was not Rubio's fault that Khan was iced by Prescott in less than a minute, but Khan can't fire himself, so Rubio had to be the one to take the fall. Freddie Roach was hired 16 days later.

Fight 2: Oisin Fagan (W-TKO-2 / December 6, 2008)

Roach trained Khan for this fight, but was not in his corner. He was a bit busy that night leading Manny Pacquiao to a demolition and retirement of Oscar de la Hoya. So Rubio served as lead man in the corner again, likely there to chirp out Freddie Roach instructions and keep Khan focused. Not that he was met with much opposition. Fagan is one of those tough, extremely limited guys who probably isn't even quite a gatekeeper. He has plenty of fighting spirit, as he proved in last year's war with Eddie Hyland in Dublin. But when you put him in with someone who has pure talent on Khan's level, it's not a contest. Khan walked through him.

Fight 3: Marco Antonio Barrera (W-TD-5 / March 14, 2009)

This is a fight that still gets me bubbling with anger. It's probably because although I'm an Erik Morales fan first, I have always liked Barrera, too. I think he's genuinely one of the meanest bastards to fight in recent memory, which can be both off-putting and exciting. Barrera is pretty much what you see, you get -- he was called "The Baby Faced Assassin" for a reason. Even now, he looks young, but he's a bad dude in the ring.

But this was a farce, and the promoters and UK press acted like it was something legitimate and worthy of the world stage. Khan was taking on a 35-year-old, blown-up Barrera. This was nothing close to a prime Barrera, who also was best at either 122 or 126 pounds, not 135. Khan, at 5'10", towered over Barrera, listed at 5'6". Freddie Roach in particular knew exactly what this fight was, and no doubt had a hand in picking the opponent, hoping to squeeze whatever rub out of Barrera there was left to give.

Barrera had retired after his second loss to Manny Pacquiao in October 2007. That fight is most notable for ending the Top Rank-Golden Boy cold war, because the "action" in the ring was all Pacquiao, as Barrera fought simply to survive and get a big paycheck, something you never want to say about someone as brave as Barrera has been over his career. He devised an ill-conceived comeback at lightweight starting in November 2008, beating Sammy Ventura. A fight with Khan was signed for March 2009, but Barrera for some reason fought in January 2009 anyway. Hey, what's the worst that could happen?

Barrera's opponent was replaced last minute by a guy named Freudis Rojas, who came in with a record of 1-7-1. Barrera shouldn't have even wasted his time, but he did. The crowd in Mexico chanted and booed in disapproval of the fight, and then Rojas headbutted the shit out of Barrera, opening an enormous gash and giving MAB a DQ in three.

After speculation, Barrera and new promoter Don King decided to go ahead with the fight in March anyway. It was clear to see when Barrera showed up in the ring that the wound had not properly healed, and it was just a matter of time. And of course, it was just a matter of time.

Khan physically overmatched Barrera in every way, but that's not the story of this fight. The cut opened up on a head clash in the first round. Khan could have wafted a mediocre fart over to Barrera's hairline and busted that thing open. And it was a bad cut, POURING blood immediately. Right into Barrera's eye.

But did the referee stop it immediately? Of course not. Did he stop it in the second when it was clear that the cut was not possibly going to improve? Of course not. The third round, then, when it was obvious it was hindering anything Barrera even MIGHT be able to do? Of course not. How about the fifth, when the fight can then go to the cards and give Khan a win that the Sky team said you couldn't "take the shine off of." My ass you can't. Nothing about this win was earned. It was a weasely cherry-picking of an opponent from the get-go, who then came in with a messed up face and was shafted out of a no-contest even. The fight sucked when it was signed, and then got worse.

But Khan won.

Fight 4: Andriy Kotelnik (W-UD-12 / July 18, 2009)

This was the best performance of young Khan's pro career. Kotelnik is no world-beater, granted, but he's a solid boxer who makes few mistakes and was, frankly, the right sort of opponent for this stage of Khan's career. Kotelnik is high European level, which by hype, talent and ambition is where Khan should have been fighting in July '09. That Kotelnik had a poachable title belt was a luxury and a bonus.

Khan pretty much shut Kotelnik out using his speed, his jab, and of course by staying away from Kotelnik, who while pretty feather-fisted is a dangerous enough puncher to worry you if you're devising Amir's game plan. Overall, Khan simply boxed his tail off in this one, never letting Kotelnik into the fight at all. Kotelnik's lack of killer instinct put him in a rough spot. He's not a knockout guy, but by round seven it was pretty clear that was his only shot to win the fight. He doesn't know how to do that, so he didn't. But I feel this win deserves more credit than it is sometimes given. Kotelnik is still top 10ish at 140, and Khan routed him. It was a good style matchup for Khan and he made the very best of it.

Fight 5: Dmitriy Salita (W-TKO-1 / December 5, 2009)

Brought over from New York as the invading American, Jewish Salita faced Muslim Khan and everyone went, "It's not about Jews and Muslims, but this guy's a Jew and this guy's a Muslim, and the Jew and Muslim fans in attendance..."

Salita's record (30-0-1 coming in) was enough for Sky to go bananas about his excellent standing in the boxing world, but Salita had never beaten nor impressed much of anyone in the States. Khan dropped him with the first real punch he threw, and got him out in 1:16.

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With the news yesterday that Lennox Lewis is out at HBO, a leading candidate is said to have emerged, and he could start as soon as June 5, when Yuri Foreman meets Miguel Cotto.

Paul Upham of Seconds Out reported that Freddie Roach, the three-time BWAA Trainer of the Year who has been given enormous credit for molding Manny Pacquiao into the fighter he is today, is in talks to join the network's boxing team for editions of Boxing After Dark, where Lewis had worked with Bob Papa and Max Kellerman.

Roach would be used on June 5, of course, because Emanuel Steward is training Cotto. Steward is the usual "third man" in the booth for World Championship Boxing and HBO pay-per-view events, but with Lewis out of the picture, there's a hole. HBO likes to keep it simple: Play-by-Play Guy (Lampley/Papa), Bizarre Pseudo-Poetry Guy (Merchant/Kellerman), and Boxing Guy (Lewis/Steward). With Lewis out, Roach would be the new Boxing Guy.

To be honest, there are probably better options out there, but none with Roach's hot name. Shannon Briggs is a terrific commentator, and Roy Jones Jr. has worked with HBO in the past as well, and he's not exactly busy right now. Bernard Hopkins has shown a wonderful flair for the job on his appearances for ESPN2 over the years, too.

I guess this means Steward will work the May 15 fight between Amir Khan (a Roach fighter) and Paulie Malignaggi, too. And speaking of that fight, Roach is predicting a knockout within three for Khan, to which Paulie gloriously responded with this rant:

"I tried to be Mr. Nice Guy and respect Amir Khan and his perverted ways. But that is now out the window, like when round four comes and he hasn't knocked me out. Tell that pervert Amir Khan, to stick to sending photos to models, because this boxing game is a real sport."

Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com reports today that despite Amir Khan stating publicly that the fight was a done deal, the May 15 bout between the WBA junior welterweight titlist and Paulie Malignaggi has hit a big snag with HBO.

The problem is money, as you'd probably guess any time a fight starts going sour. HBO is simply not willing to pay enough to make Khan-Malignaggi and the co-feature (Nate Campbell-Victor Ortiz) feasible for everyone. Khan's guarantee is what's getting in the way. His deal with Golden Boy calls for a $1 million minimum in American TV money, which is exceptionally high, especially for someone whose American TV exposure is limited to a completely forgettable undercard bout on the Joe Calzaghe-Peter Manfredo show and that small PPV last year with Marco Antonio Barrera, two shows that generated zero buzz or hype in the States.

Any limited value that Khan has to the American public comes from the hardcore boxing fans, who aren't exactly the audience catered to all that often. Khan-Malignaggi is a good fight for both, but Malignaggi is the much bigger star in America, is being counted on to drive the gate, and will be counted on to make this a TV event, too.

Speaking of the gate, while this looked all but sure to be headed to Madison Square Garden (or at least the WaMu Theater at MSG), Reeno says "industry insiders" are now banking on this fight heading to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or another location where the money from the host will be better. They almost have to try for AC if that's the case, since Khan-Malignaggi in Vegas would be a complete dud and I'm assuming everyone involved knows it.

Golden Boy and Khan may be backing themselves into a corner and stunting Khan's ability to become an actual star if that minimum guarantee for TV money keeps getting in the way. If this fight gets made with that guarantee, it'll certainly be an issue again in the future. Khan might want to think of what's best long-term and defer that money, or waive the minimum this time, or do something. If he's going to go through with the move to the States and trying to become an international star, this is the sort of fight he needs.

From Amir Khan's Twitter:

Malignaggi hasn't said anything anywhere, but this makes it look like it's a go, which was pretty well expected anyway.

Khan (22-1, 16 KO) will defend his WBA junior welterweight title against Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO) at Madison Square Garden, which should do a pretty decent house with Paulie pulling most of the weight at the gate. It's an intriguing fight between a couple of guys with a lot of skill and a lot of speed, who both make the most of what they've got when they've got it all working. Malignaggi has looked like a reborn boxer since splitting with ex-trainer Buddy McGirt, putting in back-to-back performances against Juan Diaz that have been his best in a long time.

Khan is coming off of a 2009 that saw him beat Marco Antonio Barrera in a farce of a fight, then win the WBA belt from Andriy Kotelnik with a near-shutout decision. He also overwhelmed unqualified challenger Dmitriy Salita in December, putting the New Yorker away in the first round.

Paulie and Amir both have a lot to prove still, and are jockeying for position in a very competitive junior welterweight division. The winner of this fight has a good argument to be the guy calling at least some of the shots. With Paulie's history of big (or at least fairly big) fights, he's among the division's biggest stars at the cash register. No one ranks Paulie above Timothy Bradley at 140, but he's a bigger name, and there's no arguing that. Outside of Ricky Hatton, who is a bigger star?

It's a risky proposition for Khan, but that's what it has to be. He can't keep taking Salita-level fights, or else he's just going to meet backlash. Paulie is a legit contender who's gotten himself back in the race at 140 and earned his title shot.