Khan, Malignaggi talk trash before title fight

Amir Khan finally made it to New York on Saturday, after an unexpected, 12-day detour to Vancouver because of a visa problem.

But he's here, at last, to defend his WBA super-lightweight title against Brooklyn's brash Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

So Wednesday, at the final prefight news conference, the two men were face to face - and the mouths were roaring. Even that of Khan, who said he couldn't resist returning some of the overwhelming fire that Malignaggi has been delivering for weeks.

"Paulie needs shutting up and I think I'm the only one who can shut him up properly," Khan said. "He won't think about coming back, because this is the only last chance he's going to get."

The difference in the two men was stark as they stood nose to nose, jawing while posing for pictures: Khan, with a tailored vest over dress slacks and a custom-made shirt, and Malignaggi in jeans, a backward cap and a T-shirt with a picture of the Garden and "The House That Malignaggi Built" in block letters underneath.

Khan was sent to Vancouver by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security while en route to train in Los Angeles with Freddie Roach, reportedly because of traffic violations Khan incurred in England and nothing to do with his Pakistani heritage.

No one in Khan's camp said the stay in Vancouver will hurt his preparation for Saturday night.

"The ring's the same size," Roach said. "We just made do with what we had. We're not going to win or lose this fight because of Vancouver."

That's what Malignaggi wants to hear, too. "When I win, I don't want to hear Amir Khan was overrated, I don't want to hear Amir Khan had to go to Vancouver," Malignaggi said. "This is redemption for me, because no one thought I'd be back in a world title fight."

As if Khan's U.S. debut hasn't taken enough twists and turns, promoter Lou DiBella decided to add Breidis Prescott to the undercard.

Prescott is the only fighter to defeat Khan, having knocked out the current champion just 54 seconds into their fight in Manchester on Sept. 6, 2008.

DiBella had Prescott address the news conference audience Wednesday, even though the Colombian-born Prescott speaks no English.

"I like the psychological warfare, putting Prescott on the card," Roach said. "That's very good."

But Khan isn't fazed by anything that's happened so far. He says he won't even be bothered by the New York crowd that, presumably, will be very much in Malignaggi's corner.

"Honestly, I think I'll have more people rooting for me than for him," Khan said. "Everywhere I've gone so far in New York, people have been saying, 'Knock him out, champ.' And these are New Yorkers."