Khan clambers up to lift title
Amir Khan climbed off the canvas to claim the Commonwealth lightweight title with a stop-page victory over defending champion Willie Limond on Saturday night.
Limond failed to emerge for the ninth round with a broken jaw and his corner had do option but to pull him out of a brutal contest at the O2 arena. A stream of quickfire combinations from Khan overwhelmed his opponent in the seventh and eigth rounds. But the 20-year-old from Bolton had to survive the first major scare of his professional career, which now reads 13 straight victories, when he was knocked down in the sixth round and weathered a major pummelling. The standard of Khan's previous 12 opponents had drawn criticism, but there could be no doubting Limond's pedigree. Onle one defeat sustained the Glaswegian's 29-fight record and that was against world title contender Alex Arthur in 2003. The 28-year-old, a durable opponent with a solid chin, presented a significant step up in class and gave Khan a real test.
Looking significantly bigger than his opponent, Khan started the fight on the back foot and connected with a series of lefts and rights. A grin greeted an accurate flurry from Limond, with Khan eager to show that he had not been hurt by the ever-aggresive Scot, but the Bolton favourite knew that he was in a real fight. He consistently landed with straight, combinations in the fourth, but he staggered slightly after a right hand from Limond connected cleanly in a warning that he could not lose concentrationagainst the cagey Scot. Khan threw a series of rapid combinations in the sixth, but the tables turned dramatically in a thrilling round that brought the O2 arena to its feet. Two right hands and a left hook sent Khan sprawling and Limond continued to batter his opponent as he fell towards the canvas. The count was completed and he continued to pile on the pressure, chasing him around the ring as the Scot looked to finish the fight early. But Khan held on and began unleashing some telling shots of his own.
The seventh was far more one-sided, however, as Khan backed Limond against the ropes with more hurtful combinations and the champion went down himself. It was Limond who was in full retreatnow, with his bloody face eviident of Khan's handiwork. By the eighth round, Limond was in trouble, but the brave Scot refused to give in and had to be withdrawn by his corner, handing Khan the toughest victory of his career.
Limond failed to emerge for the ninth round with a broken jaw and his corner had do option but to pull him out of a brutal contest at the O2 arena. A stream of quickfire combinations from Khan overwhelmed his opponent in the seventh and eigth rounds. But the 20-year-old from Bolton had to survive the first major scare of his professional career, which now reads 13 straight victories, when he was knocked down in the sixth round and weathered a major pummelling. The standard of Khan's previous 12 opponents had drawn criticism, but there could be no doubting Limond's pedigree. Onle one defeat sustained the Glaswegian's 29-fight record and that was against world title contender Alex Arthur in 2003. The 28-year-old, a durable opponent with a solid chin, presented a significant step up in class and gave Khan a real test.
Looking significantly bigger than his opponent, Khan started the fight on the back foot and connected with a series of lefts and rights. A grin greeted an accurate flurry from Limond, with Khan eager to show that he had not been hurt by the ever-aggresive Scot, but the Bolton favourite knew that he was in a real fight. He consistently landed with straight, combinations in the fourth, but he staggered slightly after a right hand from Limond connected cleanly in a warning that he could not lose concentrationagainst the cagey Scot. Khan threw a series of rapid combinations in the sixth, but the tables turned dramatically in a thrilling round that brought the O2 arena to its feet. Two right hands and a left hook sent Khan sprawling and Limond continued to batter his opponent as he fell towards the canvas. The count was completed and he continued to pile on the pressure, chasing him around the ring as the Scot looked to finish the fight early. But Khan held on and began unleashing some telling shots of his own.
The seventh was far more one-sided, however, as Khan backed Limond against the ropes with more hurtful combinations and the champion went down himself. It was Limond who was in full retreatnow, with his bloody face eviident of Khan's handiwork. By the eighth round, Limond was in trouble, but the brave Scot refused to give in and had to be withdrawn by his corner, handing Khan the toughest victory of his career.
posted by Robert Halter at 3:05 PM
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