Amir Khan has confirmed his hopes of making his US debut against Paulie Malignaggi and Sky Bet make the Bolton fighter 1/4 favourite for the bout, which is likely to take place on May 15.

Sky Bet go 9/1 for Khan to make a dream debut Stateside by knocking out the ‘Magic Man’ in his home town of New York.

Juan Manuel Marquez had been mooted as a potential opponent for Khan but is believed to have turned down the fight, leaving Malignaggi as Khan’s prime target. The American is 3/1 to beat Khan and it’s 20/1 for him to be beaten in the 11th round, as he was by Ricky Hatton in November 2008.

Sky Bet’s boxing betting spokesman Scott Springgay said: “Malignaggi should be the perfect opponent for Khan, who is a relatively big name in America but doesn’t carry any sort of punching power so shouldn’t threaten Khan’s chin.

“However, Khan will be looking to better Hatton’s eleventh round stoppage of Malignaggi in order to show the American public what he is made of and make his name as the latest British boxing superstar.”

Khan joined forces with Golden Boy promoters in January fuelling speculation that an all-British superfight against Ricky Hatton could take place later this year. Sky Bet make Khan 4/7 favourite to beat ‘The Hitman’ (5/4), with a drawn fight a 33/1 chance.

Khan A v Malignaggi P
Fight Outright 
Khan A 1/4   Draw 33/1   Malignaggi P 3/1 

Fight Outcome 
Khan A in Rnds 1-12 (any method) 21/10       Draw 33/1       Malignaggi P in Rnds 1-12 (any method) 12/1 
Khan A on Pts (after 12 rnds) 5/6                                           Malignaggi P on pts (after 12 rnds) 7/2 

Exact Method of Victory 
Note: KO=Knockout, TKO=Technical Knockout, RTD=Opponent Retired, UD=Unanimous Decision 
Khan A wins by KO 9/1           Draw 33/1       Malignaggi P wins by KO 28/1 
Khan A wins by TKO 11/4                                Malignaggi P wins by TKO 20/1 
Khan A wins by RTD 22/1                                Malignaggi P wins by RTD 80/1 
Khan A wins by TD 50/1                                  Malignaggi P wins by TD 150/1 
Khan A wins by UD 5/4                                   Malignaggi P wins by UD 9/1 
Khan A wins by SD 5/1                                    Malignaggi P wins by SD 11/2 
Khan A wins by MD 20/1                                 Malignaggi P wins by MD 40/1 
Khan A wins by DISQ 50/1                              Malignaggi P wins by DISQ 150/1 

Fight Outright 
Khan A 4/7   Draw 33/1   Hatton R 5/4