Amir Khan vs Paulie Malignaggi rematch possible if other fights can't be made

If other fights can't be made, it's possible that Amir Khan could rematch Paulie Malignaggi next year, according to Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer. Khan easily defeated Malignaggi in 2010, stopping him in the 11th round of a completely one-sided fight.

Schaefer says that the rematch has potential because of the paths the two fighters have taken since then. I feel like that may exaggerate what they've done since then -- good and bad -- but it's a fact that Malignaggi has gone 5-0 and won a title in a second weight class, while Khan has gone 4-2, albeit with one loss (to Lamont Peterson) that many feel has been essentially erased, and he's also fought better competition than Malignaggi has in that time.

What makes the fight somewhat appealing is the idea that it could prevent a Malignaggi-Shane Mosley debacle, but that's probably not in the card unless Showtime turns down the Malignaggi-Mosley proposal, or if Golden Boy thinks better of it due to some pretty heavy criticism of the matchup already.

Khan is slated to return in April, possibly against Josesito Lopez, and his target after that fight (or another April bout) is a rematch with Danny Garcia at 140 pounds, for the summer or early fall, most likely. Garcia has to get by Zab Judah first on February 9 for that to be what Khan wants it to be, but most expect Garcia will win.

It's all kind of a mish-mash at the moment. Most likely, I think you can expect Malignaggi-Mosley to happen, and Khan to also fight in April against Lopez or someone around that level, and then we see what shakes out and where Khan wants to go if he gets the W. He could stay at 140 for Garcia, or he could move up to 147 for Malignaggi or another title fight.