Amir Khan makes his first defence of his WBA Light-Welterweight World Title against mandatory challenger Dmitriy Saltia at the Newcastle Metro Arena. On the undercard, Khan’s former nemesis Breidis Prescott faces Kevin Mitchell in a WBO Lightweight Title Contender Eliminator.
Welcome to our live coverage of Amir Khan’s first defence of his WBA Light-Welterweight Title against Dmitriy Saltia. I’ll be covering all the fights being carried live on Sky Box Office and we’re kicking things off with John Simpson defending his Commonwealth Featherweight Title against Steven Bell.
Commonwealth Featherweight Title Match: Steven Bell vs John Simpson (c)
Round One
Simpson is the favourite and is the naturally heavier boxer although Bell has the height and reach advantage. Tenative opening round as both boxers feeling each other out and content to settle for throwing the occassional jab. Given his natural reach advanatge the style better suited Bell.
Round Two
Simpson comes out much more aggressively in the second round and is closing the distance more effectively than in the first round. Lands some good combinations at the beginning of the round but Bell recovers and is again content to sit back and throw the occassional jab. Simpson finishes the stronger with some nice shots to the head and body.
Round Three
Simpson is again the more aggressive boxer with Bell working to keep the distance and avoiding being trappedin the corner. The limitations of his defensive style are increasingly evident as Simpson is landing more shots on Bell than in previous rounds, indeed Simpson gets a nice right hand through Bell’s defence. Simpson’s round.
Round Four
The start of the round is delayed due to problems with Bell’s cup. The round follows the same pattern as the last two, with Bell trying to use his reach advantage to hit at distance but Simpson being the aggressor and landing the better punches. Simpson almost traps Bell in the corner at the halfway mark but Bell classily escapes. Bell seems to be tiring towards the end of the round is caught with some hard shots to the head. Simpson’s round again and Bell needs to change his strategy.
Round Five
Another strong round for Simpson and Bell is certainly tiring. Simpson is aggressive and is now landing hard shots to the head and body due to Bell’s footwork becoming increasingly leaden. Really good stuff from the champion who is effectively closing the distance and imposing himself on the challenger.
Round Six
In the first five rounds Simpson has landed sixty-six punches to Bell’s thirty-seven. Simpson again pushes the actionf rom the start of the round and finally manages to trap the Bell in the corner for a prolonged period of time. Simpson lands multiple combinations to the head and body with some nice leaning punches and uppercuts. Bell seems to be trying to fight his way out of the corner (something he wasn’t doing earlier) but its to no avail. Overwhelming round for Simpson.
Amir Khan has arrived in the building to prepare for tonight’s main event.
Round Seven
Bell finally changes tack and starts coming forward in an attempt to put Simpson on the back foot. However he still looks uncomfortable and Simpson is getting shots through on the counter. A cut has opened up above Bell’s left eye. Referee stops it with a minute of the round left to go and he stops it! It wasn’t that bad a cut and we’ve all seen boxers carry on after worse but Bell was being outclassed and there was nothing for him to gain by carrying on. Good performance from John Simpson.
Six rounds Light-Welterweight Match: Frankie Gavin vs Samir Tergaoui
Round One
Taped footage coverage from an undercard fight pitting Britain’s Former (and only) World Amatuer World Champion Frankie Gavin takes on France’s Samir Tergaoui. In light of Tergaoui’s knockout record Gavin plays it cagey, feeling out his opponent and always keeping the distance. Pretty uneventful round.
Round Two
Much better round with both boxers coming forward at the bell. At the start Tergaoui is the aggressor with Gavin content to hit on the counter while keeping the distance. Gavin gets a firm left hand that momentuarily staggers Tergaoui. Gavin doesn’t captialise and both fighters land some punches towards the end.
Bizarre stuff from Sky who jump ahead to Round 5, which suggests that nothing was happening in the middle two rounds.
Round Five
Gavin is playing it safe at the beginning of the round using his amatuer skills to land scoring punches and keep the points ticking over. The commentators start criticising Gavin for not being aggressive enough and being too content to play it safe. As if he hears them, Gavin kicks it up a notch towards the end of the round and finishes the round really imposing himself on Tergaoui who is caught on the ropes.
Round Six
Gavin maintains the intensity that he discovered towards the end of the previous round, and drops Tergaoui with a nice left hand at the start of the round. Although Tergaoui breaks the count, he is now on the back foot with Gavin becoming more aggressive with some meaty combinations and hard shots to the head and body. Tergaoui is again caught on the ropes and Gavin is looking to finish it and the referee stops the fight with eleven second left. Well that was a bad call. Tergaoui was still alert and able to intelligently defend himself. Very bad call indeed.
Kevin Mitchell vs Breidis Prescott in a WBO Lightweight Title Contender Eliminator Match is next.
Twelve Rounds WBO Lightweight Contender Eliminator Match: Kevin Mitchell vs Breidis Prescott
Sky is busy hyping the fight based on Prescott’s infamous (and much replayed) 53second blowout of Amir Khan fifteen months ago. This fight is also for the WBO Intercontential Lightweight Title…umm, yeah whatever. Prescott makes it clear to everyone that he’s the bad guy with his ‘entrance video’ starting with clips of his knockout of Amir Khan. Crowd doesn’t like that, and is much happier to see Kevin Mitchell enter. Mitchell was previously a Super-Featherweight, and in many ways this is his debut at lightweight. Prescott has all the physical advantages being the more natural fighter at this weight and having the height and reach advantage. The bookies can’t seperate them with both being 10/11 but you’d be a fool to bet on this fight going the distance with Mitchell having a KO percentage of 76% and Prescott having one of 82%. Should be a good one.
Round One
Mitchell is the significantly smaller fighter despite the just one-pound difference at yesterday’s weigh-in. Not many punches landed in the first round as Mitchell is content to keep moving and feel Prescott out. Prescott looks aggressive and lands the best punch of the round, with a superb jab that lands square on Mitchell’s chin. Good round for Prescott but Mitchell has the right strategy – wear the Colombian down, then let your hands go.
Round Two
More of the same in Round Two, with Prescott pushing the action while Mitchell tries to maintain distance and wear down his opponent. More punches landed in the second round though, with Mitchell getting a nice shot on Prescott’s chin at the beginning of the round and Prescott putting some good combinations together towards the end of the round. Prescott is getting more frustrated with the cagey tactics of Mitchell.
Round Three
Odd round as both fighters seem to drop down a level with Mitchell getting caught by Prescott and almost gets trapped on the ropes. However Prescott’s frustration with the ‘cat and mouse’ tactics of the Brit is starting to boil over, with Prescott twice being reprimanded by the referee and throwing increasingly wild punches.
Round Four
Better round from Mitchell who while still boxing within himself and on the counter, is using his superior hand speed to land some tight combinations and hard shots. Prescott’s responses are increasingly wild and often missing, indeed he’s landing significantly more punches than Mitchell his accuracy is half that of Mitchell.
Round Five
Again Mitchell is being more positive, as although he begins the round still fighting on the counter he’s getting the offence in with some nice counter-punches in. A cut has opened up above Prescott’s left eye. Mitchell takes it up a level and starts imposing himself on Prescott with some disciplined offensive boxing. Prescott can only respond with big, wild punches that are too often missing to be impressive. Round ends with a sense that the momentum is shifting towards the more skilled, home fighter.
Round Six
Another good round from Mitchell who is successfully wearing down Prescott and is increasingly taking advantage of the holes that in the Colombian’s game. Prescott’s frustration seems to be getting the better of him and Mitchell takes advantage in the final minute, pushing foward and imposing himself on Prescott. Good round for Mitchell, who is surely ahead on the scorecard now.
Round Seven
Prescott is visibly tiring with is footwork and breathing getting heavy. Mitchell is becoming confident, pushing forward more and landing harder shots. Indeed midway through the round Mitchell gets a hard punch through that staggers Prescotts. Another good round from Mitchell who has established genuine control over this fight.
Round Eight
Excellent round from Mitchell, showing good footwork and headwork to make Prescott miss and miss badly repeatedly. Despite earlier promises to stop Prescott in the eighth round, Mitchell is happy to keep everything ticking over by boxing at distance and only moving in when there’s an opening. Towards the end of the round Mitchell becomes more aggressive and lands several combinations on Prescott.
Round Nine
Not many punches landed this round with Prescott tiring and Mitchell boxing at distance. Mitchell really is putting together a disciplined, complete performance with good headwork, footwork and accurate hands.
Round Ten
Match is in danger of fizzling out, with Prescott frustrated, tired and unable to get any power or accruracy into his punches and Mitchell happy to keep everything ticking over by maintaining the distance, boxing on the counter and using his better technique to make Prescott miss. This looks like its going to go the distance unless Prescott dig dip and land something big.
Round Eleven
Mitchell is aware that its his match to throw away and so is refusing to engage with Prescott and so risk a KO. Prescott has flashes of menance but it looks like he’s too tired to maintain his discipline or apply any sustained pressure. Nothing round.
Round Twelve
Prescott is the aggressor in the round but he’s simply too tired to recapture the advantage he briefly had in the opening rounds. Prescott puts Mitchell in some dangerous positions but Mitchell is always able to escape without taking too much damage. Good match, even if it did fizzle out in the last few rounds with Prescott tiring and Mitchell happy to settle for a decision victory.
All three judges give the match to Kevin Mitchell, and he can be well please with a good victory based on a good strategy effectively implemented.
Amir Khan vs Dmitriy Saltia for the WBA Light-Welterweight Title is up next.
WBA Light-Welterweight Title Match: Dmitriy Saltia vs Amir Khan (c)
A lot at stake in this match. Khan (who as Sky is very keen to stress – already trains with Freddie Roach) has been openly talking about making a permanent move to America and has said that he wants his next match to take place in America. With rumours that HBO want to include him in a light-welterweight alternative to Showtime’s Super Six a victory would cement his position as a boxer on the way up. To do that he will have to make it past the undefeated Dmitriy Saltia. A remarkable man with an inspiring life story, the challenger will be the larger man against the former light-weight Khan although Khan will have the height and reach advantage. Expect the Saltia to look to test the suspect chin of Khan while the champion will try to use his reach and speed advantage to weardown the challenger by maintaining the distance and boxing on the counter.
Round One
Well ignore what I just wrote; Khan is intent on being aggressive and doing damage to Saltia. He drops him in the first ten seconds of the round with a hard punch to the head. Saltia barely breaks the count but is obviously hurting badly with a glassy look in his eyes and his legs have gone. Khan shows ruthlessness and hunts after Saltia to finish the match. Khan traps Saltia in the corner and after a flurry of punches knocks him down again. Saltia again breaks the count but its all over bar the shouting now. Khan stays on top of his man, and again drops him this time with a hard jab. And the match is over at 1:16 and Amir Khan is still the WBA Light-Welterweight Champion.
Simply an amazing performance from Amir Khan who showed really aggression and made good his promise to make a statement in this match. Khan is being interviewed now and he’s as gracious as always, citing the defeat to Prescott as the turning point in his career and a ‘blessing in disguise’. Interesting hint at the tension in his camp over his future career with trainer Roach confidently predicting that Khan will take over the world while his promoter Frank Warren dodges any talk of Khan fighting in America. That’ll be a story to watch over the next few months.
That concludes Sky Box Office’s live matches from Newcastle and seems a good place to end this Round By Round Coverage. Before I leave, its worth reflecting on what a fantastic few months its been for British boxing with Carl Froch, David Haye and now Amir Khan all winning high-profile World Title fights showing that there will be life after Hatton and Calzaghe. Thanks for joining us tonight for our coverage of what could be the last time Amir Khan fights in Britain for a long time.
