Brit Muslim boxer Amir Khan defends WBA light-welterweight title

New York, May 17 (ANI): Brit Muslim pugilist Amir Khan stopped his New York challenger Paulie Maligaggi in the eleventh round to retain his WBA light welterweight title on Sunday.

According to The Telegraph, Khan's performance was certainly an impressive, as he mesmerized his opponent with his hand speed.

The paper said that he never let up and even fared better with the efficiency of his punches when the tempo slowed.

"I'm making 140lb easy, I feel strong. I'm not leaving 140lb until I unify the title. When I'm number one I'll leave this division, but not until then. We stuck to the game plan, we knew Paulie is a very awkward fighter, he's a great boxer, great at moving," he was quoted, as saying.

"We had to break him down slowly, we didn't want to run in there trying to knock him out because we would have got caught with shots. I knew in the last few rounds I was hurting him and all I had to do was put the pressure on him," he added.

"Amir just came and fought a very good fight, very busy, a lot of angles. He kept me at distance. When I turned pro I had a very similar style to Amir and I ran into a clone of myself, he was stronger, bigger and faster. He was very busy, I couldn't keep up with him I guess, I couldn't get the distance right," Maligaggi said after his defeat.

In defending his WBA light welterweight title for a second time, the proud Khan showed great heart.

Khan has made a statement on his US debut, but there are still questions to be answered. It was fought at a frenetic pace, Khan's greatest successes coming when he measured himself more arefully. (ANI)