Classy Khan dominates Devon Alexander
Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) defeated former two division world champion Devon Alexander (26-3, 14 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The British fighter utilised his superior speed and footwork while dominating the American and took a unanimous points win with scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 120-108.
In the opening round, Khan established his jab and quickly gained Alexander’s attention with a flurry of punches. But the St Louis man stood firm and answered with a stiff left hand, before clipping his foe around the back of the head.
Khan unloaded lightning-fast combinations in the second and he remained in control in the third as he darted in with more crisp combinations. A bemused Alexander was looking for opportunities to counter as Khan was landing more punches while using a lot of movement.
Alexander tried to force the fight in the fifth and landed a decent left, but Khan maintained his discipline and answered with flurries before creating a safe distance again when not working.
As the rounds wore on, Khan appeared in total command but Alexander offered a reminder of his threat with two right hands in the eighth. But whereas Alexander landed a punch or two at a time, Khan landed several in succession, every time.
After passionate pleas in his corner, Alexander marched out for the 10th, but only walked onto precise punches and appeared a beaten man as he was tagged from all angles in the 11th.
Alexander came out for the 12th with more urgency in trying to land several power shots, but Khan withstood the punches to earn the runaway victory on the judges’ scorecards.
The victory puts Khan in prime position to land a meeting with Floyd Mayweather Jr in the spring, provided a long-awaited superfight between the undefeated American and Manny Pacquiao is unable to be made.
"I really believe I've earned my shot against the best boxer in the world and that's Mayweather," said Khan.
"He is the ideal fight for me. It would be a game of chess, but I would be too skilful. I have the skill and movement to beat him. He will not be able to hurt me.
"I feel better now than I did when I was 25. I'm dedicated to the sport and I know there's a few years left in me. I'm going to try and force that fight with Mayweather."
Also on the card, WBA interim welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs) retained his title with a 12 round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Leonard Bundu (31-1-2, 11 KOs).
Thurman dropped the 40-year-old Bundu in the first 30 seconds of round one with a left hook. After that the American settled into a long technical fight, going on the back foot for the majority of the bout to outlast the tough Italian by shutout scores of 120-107 on all three cards.
Former three division world champion Abner Mares (28-1-1, 14 KOs) stopped fellow Mexican featherweight Jose Ramirez (25-5, 15 KOs). Mares dropped Ramirez in rounds one, three and five, and Ramirez’ corner halted the bout after the fifth round.
Other results on the card:
Jermall Charlo W Lenny Bottai KO 3
Victor Ortiz W Manuel Perez TKO 3
Jermell Charlo W Mario Alberto Lozano UD 10
Beibut Shumenov W Bobby Thomas Jr RTD 5
Errol Spence W Javier Castro TKO 5
Yoshihiro Kamegai W Oscar Godoy TKO 4