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Khan v Malignaggi weigh in kicks off!!
From Ian McNeilly in New York: There were scenes of absolute chaos at this afternoon’s weigh in for tomorrow night’s WBA light-welterweight clash between champion Amir Khan and hometown favourite Paulie Malignaggi.
Potential trouble had been brewing for half an hour at the Essex House hotel as twenty or so Khan fans, bedecked in black hooded tops emblazoned with ‘Khan’s Army’ across the back (incredibly naïve in the current climate over here) had been posturing for the cameras and chanting for their man.
When Malignaggi entered stage right, loud booing and the standard ‘Who are yer?’ chants accompanied him. ‘Magic Man’, unfazed and looking in fabulous nick, weighed in at 139lbs and responded with a throat-slitting gesture.
Khan took the stage, looking a little nervous but in similarly good fettle, and weighed in at 139 ½ lbs.
It was during the customary eye-to-eye photo call that the brewing threat of mischief spilled over into physical argy-bargy. Malignaggi and Khan got a little heated and when the Brooklyn man shoved his head towards the Bolton man, some of Khan’s Army decided to intervene on his behalf.
A huge melee was sparked with around fifty people on the stage dragging each other around. This was definitely above and beyond the normal shenanigans and Team Malignaggi were outraged; their understandable perception was that their turf had been invaded by a group deliberately looking for trouble and one can certainly have sympathy with their point. It did at one point look as if it was going to turn very nasty.
No one was more enraged that well known US promoter and head of Team Malignaggi, Lou Di Bella. Most of the aggro had subsided and I followed bear-like Di Bella into the Malignaggi room. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so angry and I feared for the room’s furniture.
“F**k them! F**k them!” he roared. “If there’s one more breach of security, my guy is out of the fight! I f**king mean it – one more thing goes wrong and I’m pulling my guy!”
Ten minutes later, Di Bella was slightly calmer but no less resolute. “Hey, I’ll tell you what – I’m not convinced about the security at the venueon the night either and that’s for the record. One more security breach and my man is out – you can take that to the bank.”
He was particularly scathing about Khan’s travelling support.
“How do they think that Khan is going to be popular in this country? It’s harmful. They come over here with their ‘Khan Army’ and invade the stage? Let me tell you what – if it was the other way round, there would be a civil rights investigation.”
A member of Malignaggi’s camp laid the blame firmly at the feet of Khan’s fans. “Listen, I’ve been to a million fights and the fighters getting together like that is always going to happen. But I’ve never seen fans do that. We were told we were allowed five guys up there with Paulie and they had like twenty.
“I don’t blame Khan. Just the retards who are following him. They don’t understand what they’re doing.”
Khan’s manager Asif Vali said, “They’re saying that the weigh in should have been closed but has anyone got that in writing? I haven’t seen it. As far as I know, the weigh in was always going to be public.”
It was put to Vali that Khan was looking nervous. “That’s absolute nonsense,” he countered. “He’s upstairs now, calm as anything. He’s getting dressed and getting ready to go to the mosque.”
I met four members of ‘Khan’s Army’ in my hotel lobby this morning and had a bit of craic with them. They seemed like lovely lads and when I had a quick word with one after the melee, he simply said, “Publicity, publicity.”
The thing is, it’s the wrong kind of publicity. Although perhaps not the ‘retards’ they were labelled as being by a member of the opposition camp, they have almost certainly failed to grasp the wider context of what is going on in America at the moment and in particular, New York. In Times Square a few days ago – ten minutes walk away from Central Park South where today’s weigh in took place – a car laden with explosives was left, presumably with the intention of causing death and mayhem once again.
The lead story on the news this morning was that Police have arrested another three men suspected of helping the Pakistani citizen who is thought to have left the car bomb.
This is quite literally not the place to be walking round with menacing looking tops emblazoned with Pakistani (and UK) flags underscored with militaristic references.
The four lads I met walked down 7th Avenue this morning, before the unfortunate events of the weigh in, seemingly unaware of the inflammatory nature of what they no doubt view as a message supporting their man.
I sincerely hope ‘Khan’s Army’ makes it home in one piece
Absolute bedlam mars Khan v Malignaggi weigh in | news.boxrec.com
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Originally Posted by ono
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