On this day in 2009, Amir Khan retained his WBA light-welterweight title.
Khan made a hugely successful first defence of his WBA light-welterweight title with a first-round blow-out victory against the previously unbeaten Dmitriy Salita in Newcastle.
The then 22-year-old from Bolton had won the title with victory over Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik that July, less than a year after his shocking first-round defeat by unknown Colombian Breidis Prescott.
And he defended it in style, flooring Ukraine-born New Yorker Salita – who had a record of 30 wins and a draw heading into the contest – in the first few seconds and battering him to defeat in barely a minute.
Salita had been expected to at least make a fight of it at the then Metro Radio Arena and threw the opening few shots, albeit hitting only fresh air.
Khan responded in kind and floored his man barely 10 seconds into the contest, landing a hard left and crushing right to send Salita spiralling to the canvas.
A further flurry bludgeoned the American onto one knee, and a further assault with the right hand had Salita unsteady against the ropes when Puerto Rican referee Luis Pavon stepped in and ended it with one minute and 16 seconds gone.
Khan immediately targeted a trip to the US, saying: “It’s everyone’s dream to go over to Vegas.
“After that reception, you don’t want to leave England. I’d like to fight in England and keep fighting here.
“But, definitely, in the next year sometime, I think it would be a good move to go to the States. I train over there and I love it there.”
The boxer himself took to Instagram to reshare a post about the historic moment for his own career.
Khan announced that he was “hanging up his gloves” and retiring in May.
Looking back over his career, he paid tribute to his Bolton roots that gave him a solid foundation and grounding to take on the challenges he has faced since beginning his boxing career all those years ago.
Khan’s professional boxing record stands at 40 fights of which he has won 34 and lost just six.
READ MORE:
Met Office says temperatures set to dip below freezing
Peter Kay makes request to fans at Manchester show
A Christmas Carol at Octagon Bolton is festive treat
Of his 34 wins, 21 were won by knockout and 13 on points decisions.
Over the course of a glittering career, Khan was crowned an Olympic Silver Medallist at the 2004 games in Greece.
He was also awarded a gold medal at the Junior Olympic Games just one year earlier in 2003.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel