Amir Khan survived a second-round
knockdown to maintain momentum in his comeback to the sport with a
unanimous points win over Samuel Vargas.
The Briton, 31, floored
his rival with a straight right in the second round but took an overhand
right to go down and stun those at Arena Birmingham.
The bell arrived to save Khan, who scored another knockdown in the third before the pace gradually slowed.
He maintained control late on for a 119-108 119-109 118-110 victory.
- How Khan beat Vargas
'I want Manny over Kell'
After his 39-second demolition of Phil Lo Greco
in April, this proved a far stiffer test for Khan, who showed his
trademark hand speed early on. But, as has been the case in the past,
the vulnerability of his chin remains a question mark.
Only
seconds of the second round remained when he quickly stood back up after
the knockdown, and in the 10th round he was again tagged heavily with a
right hand moments before the bell.
This is his second bout since
his 23-month break from the sport, and it was watched closely at
ringside by Kell Brook, who remains keen on facing Khan and says he will
drop down to the 147lbs welterweight division to secure a bout.
"The
only fight that works for me over Kell Brook is Manny Pacquiao," Khan
said after the fight. "I want him. He is my number one pick. If not, we
go back to the drawing board and if it's Kell Brook it's Kell Brook."
Eddie
Hearn - who promotes both Brook and Khan - said the domestic bout
between his fighters "has to happen next or it never will".
Brook responded: "He hasn't got the greatest chin. I wouldn't have let him off the hook and he would have stayed on the floor."
Khan has little time for improvement
Seven years have passed since Khan held two world titles at super-lightweight.
He
had not been taken 12 rounds since a points win over Chris Algieri in
May 2015. Since then, he has suffered a brutal knockdown at the hands of
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, spent time in the jungle on a reality TV series
and then outclassed Lo Greco.
Toronto-based Vargas - who now has
four defeats in 35 bouts - was undoubtedly more game, but he was visibly
thrown by Khan's hand speed early on. The Colombian-born fighter
repeatedly ducked after throwing shots, making himself a static target
and his nose quickly displayed heavy damage.
Khan - working with
trainer Joe Goossen for the second time - seemed to engage with more
caution after the third round, when Vargas, 29, protested that his
second knockdown of the night came after he was hit on the back of the
head.
And late on, Khan sensibly moved away from trouble, boxing
close to the ropes and thrusting himself into sporadic attacks, notably
finding his target when a right hand sent Vargas back to the ropes in
the ninth.
There was a scare late in the 10th but again Khan only
needed to survive for seconds before the bell and the victory at least
afforded him valuable ring time.
Goossen will surely look to
bolster his fighter's defence before any meeting with Brook or Pacquiao
and with Khan intent on competing again this year, time for preparing
for such a step up in opponent is minimal.
Eggington stunned, Welborn defends title
Elsewhere on the card, former European welterweight champion Sam Eggington fell to a shock defeat to Tanzania fighter Hassan Mwakinyo.
Eggington
had been eyeing a place on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's bout with
Alexander Povetkin on 22 September but was stopped under heavy attack by
a fighter who took the contest at short notice.
Jason Welborn won an enthralling rematch with fellow Midlands fighter Tommy Langford to defend his British middleweight title in a split-decision on the cards.
Welborn,
who took the title from Langford in May, put his rival down twice early
on but a gutsy comeback saw the challenger finish with momentum.
Newcastle's unbeaten lightweight Lewis Ritson
continued his preparation for a European title shot in his home city
against Francesco Pantera on 13 October with an early stoppage of Oscar
Amador.