English boxer Amir Khan suffered a devastating second successive Las Vegas defeat to American boxer Danny Garcia at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. After being knocked to his feet three times the fight was stopped by the referee in the 4th round.
(July 15, 2012 – Source: PacificCoastNews.com)

(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — A new American star, it seems, was born Saturday night. And an international star was left more than a little tarnished.

In a stunning turn of events, Danny “Swift” Garcia, the 24-year-old rising star from Philadelphia, whose father and trainer had made insensitive remarks about Amir Khan during the buildup to the fight, came back from a slow start to drop Khan three times before referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight at 2:28 of the fourth round.

The victory, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, kept Garcia undefeated and unified Khan’s interim WBA and his own WBC 140-pound titles, as well as the Ring Magazine title, signifying the division’s lineal champion.

Khan, a 6-1 favorite from Bolton, England, came out blazing in the first round, looking much quicker than his opponent, and connected early and often to Garcia’s face, opening up a cut over Garcia’s right eye in the second round. He outlanded Garcia in punches, 26-6 in the first round.

But near the end of the third round, Garcia (24-0, 15 KOs) caught Khan behind the ear with a counter left hook, and Khan went down. He looked like he was going to have trouble even getting up on wobbly legs, but he did and finished the round.

“We knew he was going to come out fast,” Garcia said. “I landed a good shot and it changed the momentum of the fight.”

In the fourth round, Garcia attacked the British fighter from the outset and knocked him down two more times before referee Kenny Bayless finally stopped it after giving Khan plenty of time to prove he could still fight.

“I always knew I had it in me, I just needed a great fighter in front of me,” a jubilant Garcia said. “I feel the great fighters bring out the best in me. Amir Khan is a great fighter and I knew if I fought him it would bring the best out of me.

“I’ve always been overlooked. Maybe its the green eyes and the light skin. I look like a pretty boy, but I’m a killer, baby, and I’ll fight anybody anywhere and any place.”

Khan, whose right eye was bruised and swollen, said: “It just wasn’t my night. Made a few mistakes in there. and I must have got caught with the left hook.

“I went in there with the hands low a little bit and I paid the price. Lot of respect to Danny Garcia for the way he came back, and the way he countered against the mistakes I was making.

“Danny Garcia caught me with a blind shot, but that’s boxing. One punch can change the fight, and the way he came back was brilliant.”

Khan (26-3, 18 KOs) said he was sticking to the gameplan his trainer, Freddie Roach, had drawn up for him, “but we got complacent, and when we did, we paid for that.”

Khan said he was unsure why Bayless stopped the fight when he did, but Khan’s legs were wobbling. “My mind was clear and I don’t know why the referee stopped the fight,” he said. “But I respect the referee and the commission and the judges, maybe they made the right choice.”

Khan had not fought since his controversial loss to Lamont Peterson in December. The rematch, scheduled for May, was canceled after Peterson tested positive for synthetic testosterone. Garcia was Peterson’s replacement.

Garcia’s father, and trainer, Angel, said last week that he had never met a Pakistani who could fight, and said of Khan, who is Muslim, “His God is punishing, my God is loving.”

Khan said he was going to simply knock Garcia out.

“He let Danny’s dad get under his skin and he wanted to KO Danny,” said Roach. “But Garcia can punch.

“Amir needed to fight with his head instead of his heart. That’s where he lost the fight.”

Asked who was next, Danny Garcia said whomever his manager, Al Haymon, and promoter, Golden Boy, wanted him to fight. “I want to fight the best, and whoever’s out there, I just want to fight the best.”

Roach, meanwhile, said Khan will be back, and hopefully Garcia would go to England for a rematch.

Rockhold retains Strikeforce middlweight title; Marquardt wins welterweight belt

(PhatzRadio / MMA) — Maybe now Luke Rockhold will get the respect he’s been looking for.

The Strikeforce middleweight champion on Saturday defended his title for the second time with a unanimous decision win over Tim Kennedy at Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore.

Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 9-0 SF) had several moments in the fight where he was close to putting Kennedy (14-4 MMA, 5-2 SF) away, but had to settle for the nod from the judges, who all three scored the five-round title fight 49-46, giving Rockhold four rounds to Kennedy’s one.

“Five-round wars — those suck. But hard work pays off,” said Rockhold, who has bemoaned a perceived lack of respect for Strikeforce champs compared to their counterparts in the UFC. “I controlled the pace, I think. I stalked him most of the time and made him back up. I defended all the takedowns, for the most part, and got a couple of my own.”

Kennedy, a U.S. Army Bronze Star winner, proved a far more game opponent for Rockhold than his first title defense, an easy win over Keith Jardine in January. Kennedy even found himself in several dominant positions in the fight – though he couldn’t hold them long, and Rockhold used a size advantage to get back to his feet and stay busy.

“I think I could’ve let some combinations go,” Rockhold said. “I loaded up a lot and I tried to head hunt, but he’s got some funky strikes. He’s unorthodox and hard to read sometimes when you don’t know if he’s going to shoot (for a takedown). (Wrestling) was one of the main focuses in this camp.

“What he lacks in technique, he makes up for in heart and desire. He just keeps coming and I couldn’t get stale for a second.”

In the co-main event, Strikeforce finally crowned a welterweight champion for the first time in more than two years. The promotion’s 170-pound title had been vacant since Jake Shields left in July 2010 to eventually sign with the UFC.

Nate Marquardt (32-10-2 MMA, 1-0 SF) put the belt around his waist after stopping Tyron Woodley (10-1 MMA, 8-1 SF) with a brutal five-strike knockout 1:39 into the fourth round.

“This feels great – it’s truly a dream come true,” Marquardt said. “He was throwing a lot of hard shots, but I was just weathering the storm because I thought I could get him to wear himself out. Experience was definitely the difference in this fight.”

Marquardt, a former middleweight title challenger in the UFC, was fighting for the first time in 16 months. In June 2011, he was publicly fired from the UFC after failing to get medical clearance for a main event – the day before the fight. Marquardt later admitted to being on doctor-prescribed testosterone treatment, causing a spike in his levels.

But his signing earlier this year with Strikeforce paid quick dividends for both Marquardt and the promotion.

Marquardt and Woodley battled back and forth into the fourth round, trading momentum with highlight-reel strikes. But after getting Woodley backed into the cage, Marquardt unleashed with three straight elbows, followed by a left hand and a right uppercut that put Woodley on the canvas.

Earlier on the Showtime-broadcast main card, Roger Gracie dominated Jardine, bloodying up the former UFC light heavyweight with big elbows on the ground – though the grandson of jiu-jitsu legend Carlson Gracie couldn’t get the finish. And Lorenz Larkin, fighting at middleweight for the first time after dropping from light heavyweight, outboxed feared striker Robbie Lawler to win a unanimous decision.

Strikeforce and Showtime on Saturday also announced a Sept. 29 card in Sacramento, which is expected to be headlined by heavyweight tournament winner Daniel Cormier, though his opponent was not named.