By Rick Reeno, Lem Satterfield
The next challenge for Amir Khan is already being lined up. The WBA junior welterweight champion retained his title with a dominating eleven round stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday night at New York's Madison Square Garden. The fight was Khan's first on American soil.
In the post-fight, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told BoxingScene.com that Khan is likely to return in the month of July in England, and then come back in the fall on HBO. Schaefer said the date of July 31 is being discussed.
Following the Malignaggi win, Khan called out another Golden Boy promoted fighter, Marcos Maidana. The fight might be harder to make than most people think. Maidana was scheduled to fight WBO champion Timothy Bradley on July 17 in California. He withdrew, for the second time, with a lingering back injury. The fight had previously been scheduled for June 26 and pushed back to July to provide enough time for Maidana to recover.
Bradley's promoter Gary Shaw does not believe Maidana's injury is legit because he was never provided with any medical documentation or treatment records to confirm the injury. He plans to keep Maidana in the Bradley deal by involving the California State Athletic Commission.
"I'm going to get with Amir Khan and with Freddie and see what they want to do next. What they've indicated to me is that they want to fight again, possibly, on July 31 in England, and then, back here on HBO in the fall."
