Crawford wins by TKO when Khan doesn’t go on after low blow

NEW YORK (AP) — Terence Crawford retained his welterweight title by technical knockout Saturday night when Amir Khan wasn’t able to continue after being hit with a low blow in the sixth round.

Crawford threw a left hand that hit Khan on his right hip and Khan retreated toward his corner in pain. After taking a couple minutes trying to shake off the pain, his corner told the referee that Khan couldn’t continue.

Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs) had knocked Khan down in the first round, but the final couple rounds had been competitive, with both fighters throwing hard shots from close range.

Referee David Fields didn’t appear to see the final one that hit Khan (33-5) low. Khan could have taken five minutes trying to recover, but his trainer Virgil Hunter made the decision before then that Khan was finished.