DiBella: “Paulie is Not Just an Opponent!”

Jerry Glick reporting: According to Lou DiBella, head man at DiBella Entertainment, if Amir Khan has any thoughts of treating Paulie Malignaggi as an “opponent” he had better listen to US boxing fans.

DiBella talked to secondsout about the situation as it stands now, concerning a proposed showdown between Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi and WBA Junior-Welterweight Champion Amir Khan.

“I made it clear to Golden Boy that the fight could be in Vegas but I’m holding May 15th at the Theater at the Garden,” said DiBella. “It seems that Amir is willing to do that.”

Another possibility would be to move up to 147 and challenge Andre’ Berto for his WBC belt.

“Paul was going to fight Berto, so I’ll have to furnish a deal for Berto to fight someone else,” said Lou. “Whether or not they are fighting each other, both Paulie and Berto will be in a big fight.”

DiBella does not see Khan, whose career is marred by one devastating defeat at the hands of a Colombian, living in Miami, Florida, Breidis Prescott, via a one round blowout in the UK, as the superstar that he is being touted to be, especially in the US.

“I’m puzzled by one thing, Amir is a good prospect, but he got knocked out in one round by a journeyman,” explained DiBella. “But he’s being brought here on a red carpet and offered millions of dollars. I’m willing to sign a deal that’s fair for Paulie. If Paulie gets the right amount of money, we could make a deal even if Khan gets more money. But I wonder why Amir Khan should make more of US money. It makes no sense to me that Amir Khan should do better out of American money when Paul Malignaggi is a much bigger name, and more established as a fighter, certainly in the US than Amir Khan is.”

DiBella believes that Khan is well known in the US only to “hardcore nerdy, internet fans and some writers” but not the casual fans who buy tickets.

“I’m not denigrating Amir Khan,” added DiBella. “I think he’s a very great fighter and a good boxer.”

What DiBella has a problem with is giving more money to a new face in a US boxing ring while someone who has been in the public eye and fought the best on American soil should be treated as an ordinary opponent.

Golden Boy represents Khan and DiBella Entertainment does the same for Malignaggi, but this is not the first time that DiBella represented Malignaggi in negotiating for a fight with a Golden Boy fighter. In Malignaggi’s last two outings he faced Juan Diaz, another Golden Boy boxer. At times talks got so difficult between the two promotional groups for the rematch that the fight appeared to be dead. They finally came to together on terms and Diaz lost to Malignaggi after winning a controversial decision in their first meeting. Did that have an affect on the present situation?

“At first I was a little chippy with them, and it wasn’t really their fault, but they came to me a while back and offered a big deal from HBO,” said DiBella. “And when they came I got the impression that they wanted to treat Paulie like he was Amir’s opponent. I reacted very strongly and said no I’m not interested. Now the Marquez fight fell through, and Amir needed someone to fight in America. Now there’s more of a need to make a Paulie fight and it’s the right fight for both.” DiBella is waiting to see if they’re going to share HBO’s offer fairly. “Paulie is not Amir’s opponent.”

DiBella pointed out that not only is Malignaggi an ex-world champion, but he has established himself as a star on HBO as well. He fought Juan Diaz in two fights on the HBO network that put him very much in the public eye, according to DiBella.

“He (Malignaggi) has been in scores of big fights,” DiBella pointed out. “He’s been in many championship fights. A lot of US premium cable fights, and he’s a much, much bigger name in American rings than Amir Khan. So I’m just waiting to see what kind of money is going to be put on the table and we will decide if it’s fair or not. If we can’t make a deal, Paulie will fight Berto. HBO is interested in Paulie and Berto, but with Khan needing an opponent we had to move things around, but Berto has to be taken care of.”

A Berto fight means a higher weight for Malignaggi, “I would prefer to get a fair deal with Amir Khan at 140,” said DiBella.

Sort of like a game of poker, it’s who has the bigger “draw” from the deck of fans.

February 12, 2010