American Terence Crawford retained his WBO welterweight title Saturday, stopping Amir Khan in the sixth round when the Englishman was unable to continue because of an accidental low blow. Crawford, who was making the second defense of his title, had little trouble controlling the fight and winning by a technical knockout against the overmatched Khan.
Crawford has now won nine of his last 11 fights by stoppage and Saturday's surprise ending happened after he hit Khan with a hard left to the groin 47 seconds into the sixth round at Madison Square Garden in New York. Khan buckled and was in obvious pain as he went over to his corner. During the injury stoppage, Khan's trainer Virgil Hunter asked his boxer if he wanted to continue and Khan said no. Khan could have taken a five-minute break to regain his composure but chose not to.
Crawford denied it was a low blow but the referee saw it differently. "It wasn't a low blow," Crawford said. "I was rushing a little. Trying to box more and catch him in the trenches."
Three division world champion Crawford improved to 35 wins and no losses. Crawford, who is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, sent Khan to the canvas in the first round with an overhand right followed by a left to the temple. He delivered a similar overhand punch in the last 10 seconds of the round which wobbled Khan's legs again.
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