A FEW seconds, a handful of punches and a brief display of blinding hand-speed was all Amir Khan took to retain his World Boxing Association world light-welterweight title in Newcastle last night.
One detonation, after 10 seconds of the first round, reduced the challenger, Dmitriy Salita, from Brooklyn, New York, to a state of hopelessness. Just over a minute later, and after further visits to the canvas, with Khan's blows raining in from all angles, and hardly one of them missing the target, the referee intervened.
Salita was the mandatory challenger and was unbeaten after 31 professional fights but he was completely outclassed. After the two men, one an orthodox Jew, the other a devout Muslim, had prayed to their respective Gods in their corners as the first bell sounded, there was no more than 10 seconds of exploration. Salita pawed out a jab and moved confidently. Khan watched for a moment, then unleashed a sharp combination, left hand and then right catching Salita's face.
While they were fast punches, their effect was a stunning surprise. Salita fell, his legs unable to support him, his eyes glazed. If the referee, Luis Pabon of Puerto Rico, had ended the affair then, there could have been no complaints. But after a count of eight he gave Salita another chance. He could have done without it, for Khan was merciless in his pursuit, catching Salita with further savage blows before trapping him in a neutral corner where a succession of blurring punches - further evidence of Khan's astonishing speed - forced the referee to count to eight again as Salita crouched in pain.
Once more the fight continued, but not for long. Khan's next assault was a single left hook that caught Salita once more on the chin. He slumped against the ropes and slid down again as the referee waved his arms to conclude the contest.
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Although Khan was not tested and Salita may have been caught cold, it was the kind of explosive demonstration that will further raise Khan's stock in the boxing world. His ambition is to fight in the most alluring and lucrative venues in the United States and that would appear to be his most likely next step.
Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, has long preached that speed is the key to the science of boxing and Khan has that in abundance. Like Salita, he can be suddenly undone by a knockout blow, but under Roach he has learnt to avoid obvious trouble and to get in first.
In the eagerly awaited chief supporting contest, Kevin Mitchell, from Dagenham, Essex, comprehensively outboxed and outpointed Breidis Prescott of Colombia over 12 rounds at lightweight. Prescott is the man who knocked out Khan so sensationally last year and since Mitchell is also a noted puncher, an explosive and brief encounter was generally predicted. In the event, Mitchell decided not to take risks and stayed out of range of Prescott's bombs for the first few rounds. That took nerve and discipline, but Mitchell stuck to his plan, making Prescott miss with most of his punches, slipping away with great skill.
Prescott's frustration was plain and his boxing became more ragged after four rounds. That allowed Mitchell to turn defence into attack and he was able to catch Prescott with clean punches, especially left hooks, before moving away.
Mitchell was a fine prospect four years ago before his ascent was interrupted by a wrist injury. Beating Prescott has brought him once again to wide notice and a world-title chance should not be far away. In time, he may move up another weight division to challenge Khan.
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John Simpson retained his Commonwealth featherweight title by stopping Stevie Bell in the seventh round. At the end Simpson's face was virtually unmarked; Bell's a bruised and reddened mess.