Khan confirms bout with Paulie

T-K-O

Khans toughest opponent to date. I think Paulie is a big test for Amir, what do you guys think.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/8557297.stm

walshb

Feather fists Malignaggi?

No way. If Khan cannot get by Paulie, then Khan should hang em up.

T-K-O

walshb wrote: »

Feather fists Malignaggi?

No way. If Khan cannot get by Paulie, then Khan should hang em up.

Feather fisted he may be, but he has a decent chin and fast enough hands to cause Amir some trouble.

Depending on how Amir deal with Paulie it will tell us a lot about this career.

walshb

Well, I could be wrong, but if Paulie can out box Khan, then that really is something.
Khan we all know is vulnerable, but I think he is safe here and I would be very very
surprised if Paulie can out box him. The problem is that Paulie just ain't busy
enough or skillful enough to beat a lightning fast and fit Khan.

Size wise too, Khan has all the advantages.

walshb

BTW, this could be stylistically a horrible fight. Pauile has a weird defensive style, similar to Floyd's. I can see many many shots flying over shoulders

T-K-O

walshb wrote: »

Well, I could be wrong, but if Paulie can out box Khan, then that really is something.
Khan we all know is vulnerable, but I think he is safe here and I would be very very
surprised if Paulie can out box him. The problem is that Paulie just ain't busy
enough or skillful enough to beat a lightning fast and fit Khan.

Size wise too, Khan has all the advantages.

Pualie will still go after Khan in the later rounds, that is unknown territory for Amir. It will be interesting!

walshb

T-K-O wrote: »

Pualie will still go after Khan in the later rounds, that is unknown territory for Amir. It will be interesting!

Unknown territory? Well, Kotelnik went after him too and it didn't work. Khan has been 12 rds before.

T-K-O

walshb wrote: »

Unknown territory? Well, Kotelnik went after him too and it didn't work. Khan has been 12 rds before.

Kotelnik was no danger for Khan in the later rounds, none.

walshb

T-K-O wrote: »

Kotelnik was no danger for Khan in the later rounds, none.

C'mon T-K-O, and Pauile will be? Jeez, Kotelnik ain't great, but he did try his ass off
vs Khan and was still winging shots into the 12th rd.

Kotelnik is a better hitter than Paulie in my opinion, that includes in rd 1 right thru to rd 12.

T-K-O

walshb wrote: »

C'mon T-K-O, and Pauile will be? Jeez, Kotelnik ain't great, but he did try his ass off
vs Khan and was still winging shots into the 12th rd.

Kotelnik is a better hitter than Paulie in my opinion, that includes in rd 1 right thru to rd 12.

I think Paulie will be more of a 'live wire' in the later rounds. I never for a second thought Amir was in danger watching the Kotelnik fight. It's not like Khan will walk Paulie down ala Hatton. As I said I think this will be an interesting test for Amir.

walshb

T-K-O wrote: »

I think Paulie will be more of a 'live wire' in the later rounds. I never for a second thought Amir was in danger watching the Kotelnik fight. It's not like Khan will walk Paulie down ala Hatton. As I said I think this will be an interesting test for Amir.

Agree, because Khan and Hatton are poles apart, obviously. I see Khan staying a step ahead throughout with the speed and reach being the key. But, as you say, interesting test, and style

JacksonHeightsOwn

a rather uninteresting fight imo

i wont take Khan seriously until they put him up against a fighter with genuine ko power

talk about never testing his chin, ridiculous

T-K-O

chrisbonnie wrote: »

a rather uninteresting fight imo

i wont take Khan seriously until they put him up against a fighter with genuine ko power

talk about never testing his chin, ridiculous

I disagree, I think this fight is a step in the right direction for Khan. You guys are underestimating Paulie.

jjm

When you look at it first its easy to say Paulies an easy option but I wouldn't be surprised if Paulie won this.

Just looking at his last couple of fight - even though Juan Diaz is a LW, I thought Paulie beat him the first time and then he schooled him in the rematch. Paulie is ain't no slouch when it comes to handspeed, he pretty damn fast, dont know if hes as fast as Kahn but he certainly will catch him. Paulie's got a good jaw - Cotto landed some serious bombs on him. I think pre-Margarito Cotto would hit harder than Kahn. Hatton also couldn't put him away - I didnt think McGurk should have pulled him, I also think Hatton would hit harder than Kahn.

Paulie maybe featherfister but hes got good speed, a big heart and the experience - he has proven himself against some tough lads. I dont think this is gonna be a walkover for Kahn. I just wonder what happens to Kahn if he is outpointed by Paulie

colly10

Khan will destroy him, the only thing that will keep Paulie in there is his chin. Khan is the faster, more skillful fighter and Malignaggi doesn't have power either to make up for his other disadvantages.
The only way Malignaggi can win this fight is outbox Khan and win on points and as said Khan can forget about a career in boxing if that happens

megadodge

I agree.

The things Paulie usually has in his favour are negated here as Khan is faster and more skilful and there's absolutely nothing wrong with his stamina.

I can't see any way Malignaggi can win this bout, because even though Khan's chin is terrible Paulie has no pop whatsoever.

Straightforward wide points win or maybe even late stoppage for Khan.

clubwelly

Gota agree with megadodge. Its def a name for Khan to take him onto the American scene

mark renton

Will be interested to see if bookies overprice Khan in this fight (v unlikely), no way does Paulie win - I would argue Khan has more power than Hatton and he managed to stop Paulie

Paulie is surely not as fast and cannot hurt Khan - cannot see any positives for him at all

Khan is up on speed, power and skill in this one

Jaysoose

Khan by ko...Mallinagi is the perfect oppo for him and you know that the new yorker will do all the promo work by running his mouth so hopefully we might be spared a few segments with khan sitting on the edge of the ring looking sheepish.

bamboozler

dont like khan but still think he'll win easy, tko or ko, paulie jus doesnt have any power

sweetswing

paulie has a big heart,he is as game as they come,if his punch was as good as strong as his chin we would have a good match.
but unfortunatly that is not the case ,this one is one way traffic for kahn, he has all the tools to do a job on paulie, ill be looking for a ko from the 8th onwards.

digme

Whatever brings in the money I suppose...

Johner

This is a joke of a fight imo, there is no risk of Khan losing, Paulie is a very very good fighter but poses no threat to Khan who's major weakness is his glass chin, Paulie just doesn't have the power to trouble that glass chin.

walshb

Johner wrote: »

This is a joke of a fight imo, there is no risk of Khan losing, Paulie is a very very good fighter but poses no threat to Khan who's major weakness is his glass chin, Paulie just doesn't have the power to trouble that glass chin.

But, if it really is glass, does it take so much to break it?

I am aware that Khan's chin is vulnerable, but it's been 18 months now, he's bigger, stronger and more mature than the LW he was, a LW that was probably struggling to make 135 lbs.

I am going to wait and see, and hopefully the maturity, experience and weight will
help Khan a little bit in the chin and recuperative phase of his game.

digme

Khan won't be getting hit hard.

walshb

digme wrote: »

Khan won't be getting hit hard.

Maybe not, but nor will he be tickled....

nacho libre

he might as well be for the effect Malignaggi's punches will have on him. It truly will be a shock if Khan is hurt by Paulie's punches.

colly10

walshb wrote: »

But, if it really is glass, does it take so much to break it?

Alot more than Pauli has anyway, just looking over malignaggi's record, in his last 27 fights he has only managed to stop 2 fighters, he has stopped noone in his last 16.
3 of his 5 stoppage wins were his first 3 fights so I can only assume that those guys were local taxi drivers.

I never bet on boxing because its too unpredictable and ye rarely get decent odds but im looking at sticking down alot on Khan for this one

Big Ears

colly10 wrote: »

Alot more than Pauli has anyway, just looking over malignaggi's record, in his last 27 fights he has only managed to stop 2 fighters, he has stopped noone in his last 16.
3 of his 5 stoppage wins were his first 3 fights so I can only assume that those guys were local taxi drivers.

I never bet on boxing because its too unpredictable and ye rarely get decent odds but im looking at sticking down alot on Khan for this one

Actually that's largeably attributable to being before Paulie badly broke his right hand(in his 5th fight I think), and since then he's had a plate in it and broken it regularly in fights. He probably wouldn't be the biggest puncher anyway, but with his hand problems it's made even worse.

Malignaggi hasn't a chance here, his footspeed is too slow to deal with Khan and was badly shown up when he was outboxed by Hatton. His handspeed is quite a bit slower than Khan's aswell and generally the advantages Paulie often has just aren't here in this fight. His chances of a knockout are very slim, it's really a question of whether Khan wins within the distance or by decision.

Great opponent for Khan in terms of protecting him while still getting him a decent opponent, and he'll probably learn quite a bit from fighting a guy as good as Malignaggi. The things Khan does wrong he won't be punished for here.

FunnyStuff

walshb wrote: »

But, if it really is glass, does it take so much to break it?

I am aware that Khan's chin is vulnerable, but it's been 18 months now, he's bigger, stronger and more mature than the LW he was, a LW that was probably struggling to make 135 lbs.

I am going to wait and see, and hopefully the maturity, experience and weight will
help Khan a little bit in the chin and recuperative phase of his game.

He can do all the training and weight building he wants, but the end result will be the same. You cannot put muscle on yr chin, glass chin before, glass chin now. Only matter of time before someone with half decent power and ability catches him.

Big Ears

FunnyStuff wrote: »

He can do all the training and weight building he wants, but the end result will be the same. You cannot put muscle on yr chin, glass chin before, glass chin now. Only matter of time before someone with half decent power and ability catches him.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle imo, while Khan does did exhibit a fragile chin at Lightweight and to some extent probably will throughout his career you can indeed improve punch resistance.

You can't put muscles on your chin, but you can increase the size of your trapezius and neck muscles, lessening angular acceleration of the brain when a force is exerted on the head. Essentially your brain doesn't bump around as much.

If a fighter is drained at a weight there is less fluid protecting his brain from his skull. These increases angular acceleration of the brain and thus a fighter will be more stunned or uncoordinated from the effect of punches. See Miguel Cotto's improvement in chin from late in his Light-Welterweight career to his Welterweight career.

Fighters can increase leg muscle mass which helps them remain balanced and coordinated while hurt, and also the fighter is less likely to give away signs that they have been hurt(shaky legs etc).

Finally sometime that doesn't affect chin directly, but majorly effects it indirectly is defence. The better the defence the less the chin will have to withstand. Khan has certainly dramatically improved his defence and this has stood to him so far.

I think his punch resistance has improved anyway, the few punches he took off Kotelnik would have had him in trouble back down at Lightweight imo.
How much his chin has improved we're yet to see. It's likely imo that he's always gonna be a little chinny, but the move up in weight, and not hanging his chin out on a platter means we're much less likely to see him spanked Prescott style in the near future.

walshb

FunnyStuff wrote: »

He can do all the training and weight building he wants, but the end result will be the same. You cannot put muscle on yr chin, glass chin before, glass chin now. Only matter of time before someone with half decent power and ability catches him.

I won't add much to what Big Ears has already said. If you note in my post, I never said miracles will happen. I said that time, maturity and weight may help him a little. He is bigger, stronger and more experienced. This can, and has in the past helped fighters take shots that little bit better.

Now, it doesn't mean that a glass chinned fighter suddenly gets a steel chin. I am not saying this. I am simply saying that there are things that can happen and there are things that can be done to help a fighter, that is all

mr.mayo

I'm actually really looking forward to this fight, very interesting bout. We all know about Khan, he's quick, has good power, has one of the best trainers around and seems to be improving every time he steps into the ring. We're also well aware of his glass chin but I can't see that being too much of an issue against Paulie, if he was fighting Maidana however, it would be a different story.
Anyway, not as many people know about Paulie, he's brash, arrogant and cocky but he is a very skilled fighter. He went off the boil for a year or two but he's back to his best now and is coming off the back of an impressive win over Diaz, avenging his "defeat", but we all know he was robbed. He has virtually no power, he is purely a technician. He has good footwork and movement, he has a very strong chin, he lasted 12 rounds with a prime Miguel Cotto, needless to say that is not easily done and it's a pretty safe assumption to make that Khan would have been down on the canvas if he was in that type of situation.

Enough of that, time for predictions. What makes this fight so interesting to me is the unpredictability of it, they're very evenly matched and it should be a great fight. I do think that Malignaggi is the more skilled boxer but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to win. It's very unlikely that he'll KO Khan and with his chin, I find it hard to imagine that Khan will KO him either. That brings is to a decision, don't forget that this fight is in MSG, New York is Paulie's hometown. Hometown fighters usually have an advantage when it comes to the scorecards and after being robbed against Diaz, there is absolutely zero chance of Paulie being done again, Khan however is fair game to the judges. If the fight is a fairly close encounter, Paulie will get the decision, that means Khan has to absolutely dominate the Magic Man right from the off. I'm still unsure as to whether Khan is capable of doing that, maybe he is, maybe he isn't, we'll just have to wait and see. For the time being though, with hometown advantage, Paulie is the slight favourite

colly10

mr.mayo wrote: »

For the time being though, with hometown advantage, Paulie is the slight favourite

Should get down the bookies then cause Pauli is 7/2, I really feel this is an ideal match for Khan though and khan can forget about boxing if he looses

mark renton

mr.mayo wrote: »

Enough of that, time for predictions. What makes this fight so interesting to me is the unpredictability of it

unpredictability?? aint no way Paulie wins this fight or even comes close, Khan has him beaten in all departments, speed, power, skill etc - Khans only real weakness cannot even be exploited by Paulie

this my friend is VERY Predictable

walshb

john47832 wrote: »

unpredictability?? aint no way Paulie wins this fight or even comes close, Khan has him beaten in all departments, speed, power, skill etc - Khans only real weakness cannot even be exploited by Paulie

this my friend is VERY Predictable

This is the way I see it too; and should Paulie beat Khan fair and square, then I see no reason for Khan to continue, unless it's just to pass time.

mr.mayo

walshb wrote: »

This is the way I see it too; and should Paulie beat Khan fair and square, then I see no reason for Khan to continue, unless it's just to pass time.

You guys are really underrating Malignaggi, sure he's not the best fighter in the world but neither is Khan.
I'll admit that Paulie is a better fight for Khan than Maidana would have been, Paulie doesn't have enough power to test his chin but he still shouldn't be taken lightly. Paulie is a different kind of fighter, technically very gifted, more so than Khan imo. Khan still hasn't really proven anything, the only big win of his career was against 35 year old has been. For all we know, he could turn out to be the next Audley Harrison. I'm going to need more convincing before jumping on the Khan bandwagon, a win against Paulie is a must for him but it's not a forgone conclusion by any means

Anyway, none of these arguments ever achieve anything, there's no use in fighting over it,we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out:)

mark renton

IMO Khan wins and wins well, the interesting thing in this fight is that it will give us a marker for Khan, paulie has fought some top class fighters, Khan has a real chance to show his stuff here and if he beats Paulie well, like 5/6/7 stoppage then it sends out a major statement

digme

Id go as far as to say, I'd bet my house on khan winning this.
It's beyond retarded to think otherwise lol.

walshb

mr.mayo wrote: »

You guys are really underrating Malignaggi, sure he's not the best fighter in the world but neither is Khan.
I'll admit that Paulie is a better fight for Khan than Maidana would have been, Paulie doesn't have enough power to test his chin but he still shouldn't be taken lightly. Paulie is a different kind of fighter, technically very gifted, more so than Khan imo. Khan still hasn't really proven anything, the only big win of his career was against 35 year old has been. For all we know, he could turn out to be the next Audley Harrison. I'm going to need more convincing before jumping on the Khan bandwagon, a win against Paulie is a must for him but it's not a forgone conclusion by any means

Anyway, none of these arguments ever achieve anything, there's no use in fighting over it,we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out:)

I have watched a fair bit of both, and I fail to see how anyone can say that Paulie
is more skilled than Khan. He is not. He doesn't hit as hard, as fast, nor is he near as busy. His balance is very good, he spoils, ducks, dives and holds. If this is what floats your boat, so be it. It is a subjective topic.

On a pure boxer level, I don't think Paulie is as good, and not near as good.

BTW, Khan's best win was over Kotelnik I say; Kotelnik is a tougher foe than
MAB and Malignaggi IMO.