It was a masterful display of speed and power as WBA jr. welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KOs) successfully defended his title with a dominant performance, stopping Dmitriy Salita (30-1-1, 16 KOs) in the 1st round moments ago at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England. With the impressive win, Khan now sets his sights on conquering the US and looks forward to bigger fighters in the near future.
PREFIGHT Both fighters looked confident and focused when they came out to the ring. Salita just smiled as the crowd rained down a chorus of boos during his introduction. On the other hand, it was an enormous turnout for Khan.
ROUND 1 Both men came out firing their jabs. BIG right hand from Khan IMMEDIATELY floored Khan. He got up, but he looked extremely shaky on his legs. Khan quickly jumped on him and landed a series of shots that forced Salita to hold on. Another BIG right hand would have Salita slumping in the corner. Another barrage of punches would drop him. He’d get up again and take the count. Khan jumped on him again and landed a blistering combination. Another DEVASTATING left hook from Khan floored Salita again and that’s it. The ref calls a halt to the action.
KHAN TKO1
THE WINNER BY WAY OF STOPPAGE AT 1:16 OF ROUND 1…AND STILL WBA JR. WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION…AMIR KHAN
POSTFIGHT “Today’s performance was a great performance. Me and Alex Ariza and Freddie Roach worked on power…I wanted to show them that Amir Khan is not finished…hopefully the new year is going to hold a lot of great fights for me,” Khan stated about his performance and his future plans. “We’re going to show the Americans out there how good we are…2010 is going to hold some big things for me,” he continued. “He can take the world…We fear nobody out there…whoever wants to step up and fight, we’re ready,” trainer Freddie Roach reiterated.
