NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Amir Khan of Britain retained his WBA super lightweight title on Saturday in a one-sided beating of New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi when the referee stopped the bout in the 11th round at Madison Square Garden.
The 23-year-old Briton (23-1) pounded Malignaggi (27-4) from the opening round, matching the New Yorker’s renowned quickness but hitting with far more power and accuracy.
Khan, making his U.S. ring debut, won every round on all three scorecards.
“I was a little nervous because it was my first fight away from home,” Khan told reporters.
“When I was walking in I could hear a lot of boos but at the end of the fight all the crowd were cheering for Amir Khan because I know I have the style that is going to make all the fans love me.”
Khan quieted chants of “Paulie, Paulie” and “USA, USA” from Malignaggi’s hometown crowd at the Theater at the Garden with his virtuoso display.
Landing stinging jabs, crunching left hooks and bristling combinations, Khan caused swelling around the challenger’s left eye, a welt under his right and red marks on his forehead and cheeks although there were no knockdowns in the bout.
Action was also fierce among the crowd of 4,500 where partisans got into scuffles that kept security guards busy, much like the fracas that erupted during the boxers weigh-in.
The ring doctor checked on Malignaggi after the 10th round but the challenger was allowed to continue fighting.
With Khan swarming all over Malignaggi on the ropes, referee Steve Smoger stopped the scheduled 12-rounder at one minute, 25 seconds of the 11th.
“I’m explosive, I’m exciting to watch, I’ve got speed and I’ve got power and now there’s going to be more people interested in Amir Khan.”
Malignaggi saluted Khan after the bout.
“I ran into a clone of myself when I was younger,” said the 29-year-old former IBF junior welterweight champion.
“He’s better than Ricky Hatton was,” added Malignaggi, who was also stopped in the 11th round of an IBO junior welterweight title bout against Britain’s Hatton in 2008.
