BO’s hit late-night boxing series features a heated battle between superpowers when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: AMIR KHAN VS. PAULIE MALIGNAGGI AND NATE CAMPBELL VS. VICTOR ORTIZ is presented SATURDAY, MAY 15 at 9:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa and Max Kellerman will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino..
Super lightweight titleholder Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KOs), of Bolton, England sets sail across the Atlantic for his first contest on U.S. shores, defending his crown against Brooklyn native Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KOs) in a 12-round showdown. Khan, 23, displays a combination of dazzling speed and remarkable timing, and is coming off a 76-second knockout of Dmitriy Salita. Loquacious former titleholder Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi, one of the sport’s toughest outs, is prepared to shut the door on Khan’s American dream. The 29-year-old Malignaggi used his great agility and determination to defeat Juan Diaz in December, and will have lots of hometown support when he returns home to fight in The Garden.
In the evening’s opening bout, former lightweight champion Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KOs) of Jacksonville, Fla. takes on Kansas-born Victor Ortiz (26-2-1, 21 KOs), now of Oxnard, Cal., in an electrifying ten-round super lightweight contest. Unbeaten since 2006, the 38-year-old Campbell has an impressive resume, gritty demeanor and artistic boxing style, boasting a level of experience and resiliency the young Ortiz has not encountered in previous opponents. Coming off victories over Hector Alatorre and Antonio Diaz, the fast-rising 23-year-old Ortiz looks to counter Campbell with devastating knockout power.
The executive producer of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Mike Sheehan.
® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
BRITISH PAIR BOTH FAVOURITES IN KNOCKOUT NIGHT OF BOXING
Khan and Mitchell odds-on this weekend
BRITISH boxers Amir Khan and Kevin Mitchell are both odds-on favourites on Betfair to win their respective bouts on Saturday night.
Bolton-born Khan, making his US fight debut, is just 1-5 to defeat Paulie Malignaggi and retain his WBA light welterweight title. The rising star of UK boxing is 8-5 to defeat his opponent by knockout.
New York native Paulie Malignaggi is not fancied to cause an upset (odds 5-1) despite fighting in front of a home crowd at the legendary Madison Square Garden.
Kevin Mitchell will be counting on home support to carry him over the line (odds 4-6) when he clashes with Michael Katsidis at Upton Park, London. Unbeaten Mitchell is 41-1 to defeat his opponent in the first round.
Katsidis is currently 6-4 to overcome Mitchell on Saturday night and 31-1 to end the bout in the first three minutes.
Betfair spokesman Alex Bake said: “Khan and Mitchell are coming of age and Saturday presents a stern test for them both.
“But the Betfair punters clearly feel the duo are up to scratch and able to deliver a knockout blow on Saturday night.”
Betfair bet: 1-5 Amir Khan, 5-1 Paulie Malignaggi, 64-1 draw
Betfair bet: 8-5 Khan by TKO, 11-8 Khan by decision, 9-1 Malignaggi by TKO, 9-1 Malignaggi by decision
Betfair bet: 4-6 Kevin Mitchell, 6-4 Michael Katsidis, 41-1 draw