Amir Khan Dominates Devon Alexander in Las Vegas...
-Will the Brit Now Go On to Face Floyd Mayweather?
- Amir Khan was a class above Devon Alexander with a dominant showing
- The Bolton welterweight won almost every round at the MGM Grand
- Alexander had no answer to his opponent's speed and skill
- Khan will now hope to face Floyd Mayweather in May back in Las Vegas
Daily Mail UK, 14 December 2014
The hottest property in the hardest game today is the young man from Bolton, England who was the poster boy for British Olympics ten years ago.
Amir Khan out-shone the neon glare of the fabled Las Vegas Strip on Saturday night.
So brilliantly did he bedazzle the much-respected three-time world champion Devon Alexander that this neon city which craves thrills and excitement is clamouring to see his name back in lights here soon.
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Amir Khan (left) throws a punch on his way to victory against Devon Alexander in Las Vegas on Saturday
Khan never looked in trouble and kept Alexander on the back foot with a punches in bunches
Khan celebrated at the final bell but Alexander knew he was a beaten man after the 12 rounds
Quote:
JEFF POWELL'S SCORECARD
Khan.. Alexander
Round 10 TOTALs
120.............109
|
The billion dollar question is whether the next time his fresh face appears on those giant electronic screens it will be alongside the glowering features of Floyd Mayweather.
There was no dissenting, not even by the most chauvinistic Americans, that the statement Khan delivered, as promised, was powerful enough to merit a mega-fight with the pound-for-pound king of the ring next year.
Even without the exclamation mark of a knock-out.
Khan’s up-and-down journey from a silver medal in Athens to a performance in Vegas as golden as those preposterous shorts he wore in the MGM Grand Garden has burnished a new crown jewel in British boxing.
The time has come for the nation to unite behind his utterly valid claim for a shot at ultimate glory.
Amir Khan, in the week of his 28th birthday, has grown into a cause for patriotic celebration.
He has catapulted himself into the elite company of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao at the summit of the most talent-packed division in boxing.
To be a welterweight at this point in fistic history is to be confronted by a veritable host of world-class fighters, if they will meet your challenge.
That has to be put to Mayweather if he retracts this weekend’s promise to give Pacquiao and the world the mega-fight after which they have been hungering for years.
If he is not the first alternate for Mayweather’s next fight, then Khan must assume that his performance damaged his own chances as drastically as it hurt Alexander’s fighting pride.
Khan lands a left hand square on Alexander's chin on his way to a dominant performance
Khan's speed was once again his biggest asset as he left the former world champion dazed and confused
Alexander lands a rare shot on Khan during a fight he struggled to show his attacking prowess
Khan and Alexander go head to head early in the fight but only one man would go on to take control
Jeff Powell: Mayweather will be scared watching Khan's victory
Quote:
PUNCH STATS
Khan................................Alexander
563 Total punches thrown 461
243 Total punches connected 91
43 Percentage connected 20
|
Mayweather reneged on a promise made a year ago to engage with Khan, whose legendary promoter Oscar De La Hoya said:
‘Now I can understand why Floyd doesn’t want to fight Amir. I wouldn’t have wanted to fight him after watching this.’
In unison with the other 7,767 in the arena, De La Hoya was on his feet not only cheering Khan but standing to applaud a virtuoso with his talents in full artistic flow.
The speed has always been phenomenal. Now the ring-craft has been perfected by long hours in the gym with his latest trainer, Virgil Hunter.
The balance – not only of feet and movement but in understanding when to attack without unnecessary risk – has been drilled into the completion of the gladiator package.
De La Hoya said:
‘Not only did he win virtually every round against a highly technical southpaw boxer – which is very complicated to achieve – but he showed why he would be big trouble for Floyd.’
For the record I gave Alexander only a sympathetic share of the eighth round, his best and in which he managed to land three or four solid left hooks.
That was the one occasion Khan wavered from the game plan devised by Hunter, who said:
‘ He was great and he corrected that mistake almost at once but it marks him down to 9.9 out of ten for briefly losing focus.’
Alexander was berated in his corner but the truth was he had no solution to the puzzle posed by Khan
Khan lands a right hand on Alexander and celebrates with promoter Oscar de la Hoya
Time and time again, Khan was first with the jab as he opened up a healthy lead over Alexander
Khan showed a new-found patience as he timed his shots to perfection to bewilder Alexander
Khan pictured at the post fight press conference after his emphatic win over Alexander in Las Vegas
The three official judgements varied narrowly either side of my 120-109 score-card.
Alexander was beaten beyond a quibble, saying:
‘I couldn’t get my punches off. I couldn’t land on him. I couldn’t do all the things we had worked on in training camp. He is very fast.’
So quick that when he really accelerated into lightning combinations from all angles the punches were a blur in the eyes of those at ringside. Alexander did not detect them at all until they thundered against each side of his head.
All that prevented a stoppage was Alexander’s courageous willingness to keep taking those blows – and the embarrassment to himself that came with them.
Alexander was previously a two-weight world champion but Khan made him look ordinary in Las Vegas
Khan lands a right hand on the button as the Brit showed why he is one of the best in the world
Khan celebrates his victory which earned him the WBC Silver welterweight title (right)
Fundamental to Hunter’s blueprint was the left hook off Khan’s jab, over Alexander’s right lead. Such was the precision as well as speed of Khan’s punching that those hooks landed with what must have been sickening monotony.
There were Khan converts all around the Grand Garden. They believed when he said:
‘I’m getting better as I get older. And wiser. And my best years are still ahead of me'.
Suddenly, those of us who have been saying for some time that he has real chance of inflicting Mayweather’s first defeat found allies in abundance.
Whisper it, please, in case Mr Money is eves-dropping.
If Mayweather was watching, as he said he would, he will have had plenty of food for thought as he went off to his favourite burger bar on the Strip.
King Khan is on his way to greatness. All aboard the roller-coaster – even the naysayers who have been reluctant to forgive him being stopped by Danny Garcia – ‘I’d love to avenge that defeat if I get the chance’ - and who still want to see Kell Brook knock him out, if that fight happens in Britain.
Love him or not,the tickets are worth every dime. Because with this young man it is a ride with never a dull moment.
Amir Khan: Hype about my Chin is BS
Jeff Powell: Mayweather Will be Scared Watching Khan's Victory
Amir Khan: "Beating Alexander Proves I'm Ready to Fight Mayweather"
- AMIR KHAN PLANS TO SEND A STATEMENT TO FLOYD MAYWEATHER in HIS HOME AT MGM