Terrence 'Bud' Crawford retained his WBO welterweight title and his unbeaten record in controversial circumstances last night after Amir Khan's corner withdrew the former unified light-welterweight World Champ after he took a straight shot to the stones in the sixth.
In a fight largely dominated by the American who blended fierce body-to-head combos with a switch-hit style that the Brit never really looked comfortable in negotiating, the champ floored Khan with a thunderous right-hook in the first round.
The former Olympic silver medallist managed to hold out to the hear the bell toll and to his credit did feel his way into the contest in the second and third rounds, stealing shots on the Nebraskan with the aid of speed of hands that he still has the ability to display in flashes.
However, in all sincerity, the 'King' didn't possess the punching power to trouble Crawford and after a flurry of attacks to the body in a bid to expose Khan up high in the fourth and fifth, it looked inevitable that 'Bud' would eventually land with a game finishing punch to end matters.
The fight is stopped on a low blow from Crawford!
Crawford gets the TKO. He looked like the best in the world tonight.#CrawfordKhan pic.twitter.com/lSSnNUGr0r— On The Ropes (@OTRboxingshow) April 21, 2019
However, when the "game finisher" did land, it wasn't exactly what most observers had in mind.
47 seconds into the sixth round, what looked an innocuous tie-up centre-ring resulted in a doubled-over Khan reaching for the ropes. Replays were to show that Crawford had landed a shot to the right side of the Bolton man's groin, that referee David Fields adjudged to have been an accidental collision. In fairness, that was a dodgy enough call, but what happened next took the entirety of Madison Square Gardens by surprise.
Where that Terence Crawford punch landed on Amir Khan... #CrawfordKhan pic.twitter.com/T887iwL4sd
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 21, 2019
Offered five minutes to recover from the blow, Khan's corner decided they weren't for having it and instructed the match doctor that they wanted their man out of there.
Whilst it's far from a laughing matter, hearing Khan's trainer Virgil Hunter use the underappreciated word "testicles" is.
"He was hit in the testicles!"
Virgil Hunter explains his decision to pull Amir Khan out of the fight with Terence Crawford 👇 #CrawfordKhan pic.twitter.com/nWRoCrAFqb— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) April 21, 2019
Needless to say, there were a few who were less than impressed and Crawford didn't waste much time in the post-fight presser in telling his opponent exactly what he thought came to pass.
Khan: I would never quit. I would rather get knocked out. I one of them fights who’d rather get knocked out in fights. I have been knocked out because I’ve tried to win fights–
Crawford: You didn’t quit? Tell the truth.
