Garcia stuns Khan with fourth-round TKO

Garcia, the WBC junior welterweight champion, knocked down Khan three times – twice in the fourth round – and took his WBA title with a fourth-round technical knockout in front of an announced crowd of 7,061 at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

“I feel great,” Garcia said. “I always knew I was going to win this fight. But I needed a great fighter in front of me to show how good a fighter I truly am.”

Garcia’s trainer and father, Angel, said: “I told you Danny was going to knock him out. Everyone said he was underrated, but he proved that he’s the true champion.”

Garcia (24-0, 15 knockouts), landed a flurry of shots, keyed by the left hook, in the opening seconds of the fourth round. Khan went down and beat referee Kenny Bayless’ count, but Garcia didn’t let him breathe.

He continued his assault, and after several near misses, Garcia finally dropped Khan with another left with 40 seconds remaining in the round.

“I hit him with the same shots I hit (Erik) Morales with,” said Garcia, who beat the Mexican star March 24 to win the WBC title. “It shows how great Morales is. He took those same shots all night long and Khan couldn’t.”

Khan got up before Bayless reached the count of 10, but he couldn’t continue and Bayless stopped the fight at 2:28.

“It just wasn’t my night,” Khan said. “I was a little surprised the referee stopped it. I thought my legs were OK and my mind was clear. But I respect his decision. Maybe they made the right call.”

Khan (26-3) was a minus-700 betting favorite at the opening bell, while Garcia was 8-1 to win by knockout. But he put himself in a new light by beating one of the sport’s elite fighters.

The way the fight began, it appeared as if Khan was going to have an easy time. He came out winging and nailed Garcia time after time.

Garcia hit Khan low late in the first round, and though Khan didn’t need an inordinate amount of time to recover, he was clearly affected by the shot.

In round two, Khan landed several lefts and opened up a cut over Garcia’s right eye. But the cut never became a serious issue, as Garcia turned the fight around in stunning fashion when he dropped Khan with a left hook with 34 seconds remaining in the third round.

“We knew Khan was going to come out fast because he didn’t think I had the power to beat him,” Garcia said. “But I stepped up and used my speed and power, and it worked.”

Khan’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said his fighter, who was taken to University Medical Center after the bout to get checked out, was never the same after the third-round knockdown.

“He wasn’t right,” Roach said. “I was concerned when he was on the stool before the fourth round, but he told me he was OK. But he clearly wasn’t.”

In the fourth round, Garcia maintained control. He kept landing the left hook, which turned out to be a lethal weapon.

“I was going to fight to the death,” Garcia said. “I knew I had him in trouble, and I just wanted to finish him, which I did.”

Khan said he got a little sloppy and it cost him the fight.

“I dropped my hands, and Danny took advantage,” Khan said. “He was countering well. I got a little complacent, and he took advantage and caught me.”

Roach said Khan’s decision to fight with his heart instead of his head ultimately did his fighter in.

“I think Danny’s father got under Amir’s skin,” Roach said, referring to Angel Garcia’s prefight trash talk. “He wanted to knock him out. I told him to slow down, use the jab. It was the safe way, and I wish we had kept doing it.

“But his head got in the way, and we were fighting a good fighter. In boxing, you never know.”

Indeed. And Garcia was glad he didn’t let the chance get away from him.

“I knew I was built for this,” Garcia said. “I just needed the opportunity to show everyone I belonged on the big stage.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.