A low blow brought a confusing end to Crawford vs. Khan on Saturday night. As a result, Terence Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs) retained his welterweight title. But the fight isn’t coming without controversy.
During the sixth round, Crawford delivered a left uppercut which appeared to land below the belt, and sent Amir Khan (33-5, 20 KOs) spinning toward the ropes. Khan began taking his allotted five minutes, but after the referee checked in with Khan and his trainer Virgil Hunter, the match ended in a TKO. The official ruling was that Hunter ended the fight.
Here’s a look at the punch that ended the match, which allowed Crawford to keep his WBO Title.
Khan discussed the low shot at length at a post-fight press conference.
“I was hit below the belt and I can feel it in my stomach and I can’t continue,” Khan said. “I have never been hit below the belt before. I’m a warrior [but] I could feel it in my stomach. My legs kind of seized. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t continue. I’m not one to give up in any fight. I’ll fight to the end and you have to knock me out in any fight. I’m not one of those fighters [who gives up].”
During that same press conference, Crawford interrupted Khan, who was discussing the below-the-belt shot. The fighters tried to sort out the unfortunate finish to the match.
“You didn’t quit?” Crawford asked Khan, via a video from The Guardian.
“I was hit with a low shot, man,” Khan said.
“In the leg? You quit with a low shot in the leg?” Crawford said.
“In the leg? You hit me in the balls,” Khan said. “I have not seen the video, but it was a low blow. … If you guys think I quit, no problem. I’ll never quit from a fight. 100 percent. Look, he’s a great fighter. He beat me tonight.”
On Twitter, Khan further explained the extent of how he was impacted by the low hit, and suggested that his trainer called the fight for him. He also said that the punch left him “peeing blood.”
