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Boxing

Khan makes successful defence

07/10/2007

Amir Khan defended his commonwealth lightweight title for the first time after beating Scott Lawton by technical knockout in the fourth round of their fight at the Nottingham arena.

The referee was forced to step in to protect Lawton as Khan landed a barrage of punches to the 31-year-old's head at the start of the fourth round.

Khan dominated the fight, using his superior hand speed to breach Lawton's defences. The Stoke fighter did manage to counterpunch on occasion but Khan's defences were much improved since his last bout with Willie Limond.

The former Olympic silver medallist looked composed throughout, even when his corner forgot to put his gumshield in before the start of the contest, he showed good awareness and kept his opponent on the back foot.

Khan caught Lawton with a strong uppercut in the second round but he demonstrated resilience by fighting back against his younger opponent.

The third round was a cagier affair as Khan looked to pick his punches, tellingly catching Lawton with some excellent body shots.

Khan caught Lawton with a left hook early in the fourth round, causing him to rock back onto the ropes where Khan then unleashed what was to be the winning flurry.

After the bout the Bolton-born fighter claimed he feels he is on the right track to becoming a world champion sooner rather than later.

He said: "I had a lot of critics from the last fight - but that's boxing. It's a learning curve. I proved a lot of my critics wrong.

"I'm learning a lot from these fights. Before you know it, my time will come. My strength's awesome now - I feel so powerful."