MANCHESTER – Briton Amir Khan retained his WBA world light welterweight title amid controversy on Saturday after the fight was stopped in the sixth round when challenger Paul McCloskey sustained a cut in a clash of heads.
Khan took the bout against the Northern Irishman on points but the unsatisfactory end was in keeping with a fight which had been dogged by problems throughout the build-up.
A row over TV coverage led Khan’s stable to fall out with Sky after they wanted to switch the fight from pay-per-view and considerably cut the champion’s purse.
The former Olympic silver medallist struggled to come to terms with the awkward style of unbeaten southpaw McCloskey, the 31-year-old European champion, in the early stages.
Khan, though, was still the more attacking fighter and his quick hands were putting him gradually in control when, after an accidental clash of heads, the referee summoned the doctor who ruled a cut above the challenger’s left eye was too bad to continue.
That meant the decision went to the judges, who unanimously had Khan ahead.
There was widespread booing from many in the 16,000 MEN Arena crowd, while McCloskey’s manager Barry Hearn condemned the decision as “unprofessional” and said he would lodge a complaint with the British Boxing Board of Control.
Khan, however, was unconcerned.
“He was very tricky, his head was low but I caught him with a clean shot in the fifth round and his legs went so any minute he was going to go,” he told the BBC.
Khan said he did not want a re-match because he was interested in “bigger things” and hoped his next fight would be against American WBC and WBO champion Tim Bradley.
