BROOKLYN – ? British welterweight contender Amir Khan kept his hopes of a fight with Floyd Mayweather alive Friday night at Barclays Center, but he had to hold off the charge of a fired-up Chris Algieri to do it, taking a unanimous decision that some ringside observers believed could have gone the other way.
Scores were 115-113 and 117-111 twice in a fight that was a lot closer than the latter two scores would indicate, with Algieri putting together a stellar effort in his first bout since a lopsided loss to Manny Pacquiao last November.
There was plenty of solid action in the opening frame, though it was surprising to see Algieri ? who was in his first fight with new trainer John David Jackson – try to take the fight to Khan at close range, given his height and reach advantages. This sat just fine with Khan, and though Algieri may have landed the best punch of the round when he scored with a hard right, it was Khan who delivered the combinations back that showed the Brit to be unbothered by the blow.
The stalking Algieri continued to have success against Khan in the second, with the Bolton native?s work rate steadily dropping as the round progressed, and while the New Yorker kept impressing in the third, Khan was getting in more than his share of shots, with a couple of the head-snapping variety drawing a roar from the crowd.
The fourth was all Algieri, with several hard shots tagging Khan, who was increasingly doing more moving than sticking. Khan settled down in rounds five and six, tagging Algieri with several hard blows, and in the seventh he began potshotting the Long Islander and even had success at close quarters against the ropes as Algieri?s workrate slipped.
Algieri got Khan?s attention early in round eight with a flush right hand that sent sweat flying into the crowd, but the Brit took it well, and the rest of the frame was tough to call, with both fighters getting in their share of hard blows. The ninth was close as well, Algieri being busier but Khan rallying down the stretch.
Khan had an impressive tenth round, drilling Algieri, whose left eye was closing, with flush shots both at long range and in the trenches, but the gritty New Yorker wasn?t giving in, as he put together a solid final two rounds that left Khan knowing that he was in a fight.
With the win, Khan improves to 31-3 with 19 KOs; Algieri falls to 20-2 with 8 KOs.
