AMIR KHAN BLOODY HERO

Brit king cuts up rough on Mexican legend Barrera

From STEVE LILLIS at the MEN Arena, 14/03/2009

AMIR KHAN proved he's the real deal for a world title shot after a brutal and bloody destruction of ring legend Marco Antonio Barrera.

Britain's lightweight superstar won a unanimous technical points decision after the doctor stopped the fight 2mins 36sec into round five with blood gushing from a huge two-inch gash in the Mexican's forehead.

Click here to see more pictures of Amir Khan's amazing win over Marco Antonio Barrera

Barrera accused Khan of causing the injury with a deliberate headbutt in the first round, but his wound came as a result of an accidental clash of heads.

And as the blood spurted all over Barrera's face, Khan began a textbook demolition of the seven-time world champion to exorcise the memory of his only defeat to Breidis Prescott.

Khan, 22, lifted the vacant WBO intercontinental lightweight title and retained his own WBA international title in front of a jubilant Manchester crowd.

Beautiful

He said: "If I had lost you could have forgotten all about Amir Khan, but tonight I answered all my critics. It was a make or break fight for me. Defeat would have meant forgetting about a world title shot.

"But I felt so completely easy and caught him with jabs. I felt like I was on a better level than him. I felt so strong and you could see the difference. I made some mistakes in the past and I'm not going to make them again."

New trainer Freddie Roach had certainly improved Khan's defence, which had come under so much attack following his 54-second defeat by Breidis.

Roach insisted: "We had a gameplan. It was beautiful, Amir worked to it so well. He will be my next world champion for sure."

Barrera's cornermen worked flat out to stem the flow of blood at the end of each round.

Hurtful

Referee Dave Parris interrupted the fourth round to have Barrera's cut looked at by the ringside doctor and despite the severity of the injury, the fight carried on. Had it been stopped then, the bout would have been declared a no contest. Barrera insisted: "The fight should have been stopped in the first round when he headbutted me."

However when the doctor asked him if he wanted to carry on in round four Barrera was heard to say "Yes".

Khan's skilful counter-punching was breaking Barrera's heart, evading the Mexican's attacks and landing hurtful left hooks and straight rights.

Parris looked at the cut again in the fifth and this time, with blood coursing down Barrera's face, the end came.

The cut was ruled an accidental clash so the fight went to the scorecards, with Khan winning by 50-44 and 50-45 twice.

Your comments

This article has 12 comments

Breidis Prescott's time will come, Boxing is no longer the same as it was before.
All boxers are used as money earners so criticising the chin is pointless. The kid can fight and every single one of you know that. A boxer with no talent could not have boxed they way he did against barrera even when barrerra had a deep cut. Before barrerra got cut you could sense the improvment in khan.
As a boxing fan I did want Barrerra to win (Hes a true Legend) at the same time I respect Khan's courage to take this fight and prove a lot of people wrong
If Khan lost people would have said he was all hype but because he won they are saying its a fix. Come on either you dont see the talent or you dont want to accept the talent.

By D Newton.. Posted March 17 2009 at 1:21 PM.

That clash of heads was accidental and the fight should never have gone beyond the 1st round because clearly Barrera's vision was obstructed by the blood. Anywhere in the world the referee would have at least looked at the cut in round 1. The rules state that the decision goes to points if the fight goes beyond round 4 so Khan was clearly told to hit and run to accumulate points. THAT WAS A FIX. If Khan thinks he's a great boxer why doesnt he have a rematch with Prescott who put him to bed in 54 seconds and set the record straight.

By mkuleko.. Posted March 15 2009 at 9:33 PM.

Fiona, love, stick to scrubbing the potatoes and washing the clothes leave the boxing well alone as you clearly no nothing about it. It's farsical to suggest Khan benefited from a fight stops by an accidental clash of heads against a Don King fighter on a Don King co-promoted fight.

Seriously, quit embarrassing yourself and get my work shoes shined.

By Fiona's husband.. Posted March 15 2009 at 7:56 PM.

Yet anutha fix 4 khan the only khan fite not a fix was wen he fought prescott if ppl didnt doubt khan b4 his berarra fite then im sure they will now

By Fiona .. Posted March 15 2009 at 12:01 PM.

It was great performance from Khan, who is still relatively unexperienced in boxing terms. Lets stop criticising and enjoy the talent. He did a great job on a much more experienced fighter. Luved it!!!!

By Nas.. Posted March 15 2009 at 2:25 PM.

No impressing some people!! The lad was top notch and demolished a legend...i would have thought that was sufficient to shut up the critics...

By f.kahn .. Posted March 15 2009 at 12:35 PM.

If Khan is truthful to himself he will realise it was the clash of heads beat Barrera not any of his empty punches, although i'm no mexican, barrera sounded coherrent after the fight and i think would have been a different opponent with both eyes on the target, why isn't Khan chasing Prescott to prove he is worthy of a title shot, another fighter where the hype is more entertaining than the fist.

By andrew.. Posted March 15 2009 at 12:33 PM.

shame it ended the way it did, maybe another couple of fights against top contenders to make any judgement. agree with dom philips reguarding iffy chin, lets just see. dissagree though about nasseem hamed, he had us all glued to our seats up to meeting barrera. maybe its his misdemeaners since then is why we tend not to see him as such a hero

By rowland parkin.. Posted March 15 2009 at 12:49 PM.

Should have stopped the fight in the first round (Dave Paris) referee knows this but its pay4 view so i guess he let the fight carry on there should be a re-match but i cant see this happening but credit to khan he was technically sound movement speed timing Barrera could not find an answer,but ? don't forget this is not Barrera natural fighting weight he started of at bantam weight so the question is can Khan do it with bigger fighters i think with roach he can but time will tell..

By Tye.. Posted March 15 2009 at 1:47 PM.

it's a shame for barrera that the fight was ended because of a headbutt be it accidental or not.
I'd like to have seen who'd have won had it not been for that technical stoppage.

By james g.. Posted March 15 2009 at 10:48 AM.

I think its a great victory for Khan and will take him a long way in boosting his confidence. If Khan is such a big deal they should make him fight a genuine contender before a title shot so he is properly prepared.

South Africa's Ali Funeka who recently lost a close challenge to overweight former champ Nate Campbell comes to mind. Let Khan face a genuine adversary and lets face it Barerra is just a name but too small for the weight.

The cut on Barerra due to a clash of heads deprived us of a great fight and we wont know what he had in store for us. One thing for sure he was NOT beaten. This is in fact a NO CONTEST.

Breidis Prescott may be also a good opponent so as to lay that ghost to rest. I am still to be impressed!

By Welile Mguli.. Posted March 15 2009 at 10:12 AM.

What ever happens Khan will never be a true champion. Glass chins and boxing do not go I am afraid. With out doubt he is a great boxer but now he has been exposed to not being able to take a punch he is certainly not the real deal. Champions have great skill and if they don’t they have one other thing and its a good chin, he reminds me of that little joker hamid and look what happened to him. Amir seems like a nice guy though and certainly not like that waste of space Nasim hammered ;) and I do wish him luck because he will need it to succeed.

By Dom Philips.. Posted March 15 2009 at 9:15 AM.

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