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Coverage of the fight from The Bolton News

AMIR Khan's quest for a world title is just around the corner.

The Bolton boxing sensation will not settle until he has a world championship belt around his waist but, although his dream is now within touching distance, he will have to be patient a little while longer.

The seven-round demolition of the durable Dane Martin Kristjansen at Bolton Arena on Saturday elevated Khan to the number one contender slot for the WBO lightweight crown.

Only the political infighting at the WBO now stands in the way of a world title shot later this year.

The WBO have a champion in Nate Campbell and an interim champion in Joel Casamayor and, until their destinies are decided, then Khan will have to wait in the wings.

That should not be for long, however, and a world title fight looks a formality in two or three fights time.

As Khan admitted after another impressive display saw him lift the WBO inter-continental title and stretch his unbeaten run to 17 fights: "I have a path to become world champion and no doubt this year I will become world champion. It is only round the corner for me and I can see it."

There is no doubting the 21-year-old's ability and he is clearly improving with every fight, but as his shrewd manager, Frank Warren, admitted, he will be better prepared after another couple of contests.

He said: "I would like to see him here in another fight before then, I would be a liar if I said I didn't. The more fights he has the more experience he is going to get."

Khan dominated throughout the seven rounds, caught on just a handful of occasions, while he metered out a punishing array of shots which would have floored many opponents much earlier.

The Dane, never stopped in his previous 23 fights, showed why, soaking up punishment without taking a backward step, and his clever and awkward style posed a few questions to Khan.

But the Olympic silver medallist won every round by a country mile and, as the fight progressed, it became clear that Kristjansen would find it difficult to withstand the unrelenting onslaught.

So it proved in the seventh round when Khan scented the whiff of victory in his nostrils and a frenzied attack was finally called to a halt by the referee in the dying seconds of the round as the Dane went down for the third time.

Khan had been warned for continuing to punch Kristjansen when he was down the first time, but he defended his actions saying: "I carried on punching because I thought he was on the ropes and his hands were still on guard when I caught him.

"I'm a nice guy outside the ring but not when I am in it. My job is to go in there and beat people up. You can be friends outside but as soon as you step inside it is business. I am going to achieve things in boxing so I can't give anyone a chance.

"Fights like these are what I need. They make me a better fighter as I gain more experience. He made me think what I had to do.

"They are what I need to become world champion. I think it was brilliant to have someone who took shots like that. I hit him with some big shots but he had a good guard, a typical European style and I had to work him out. It was like in the amateur days when you had to break your opponent down and that was what I did.

"He had never been stopped and had a good chin, but I could see in his eyes in the later rounds that he was getting tired and my shots were going through.

"It was very technical in there. He had a good defence, which prevented me from getting my punches going. He had good movement and I had to break him down.

"I had fitness in the tank and you saw the way I stopped him that I was fresh. I could have done that all the way but I was not going to make myself look stupid and do it when he is fresh. I waited until he was tired and couldn't take the shots."

Warren was impressed with the way his fighter handled a tough opponent, who he knew would not pose a threat.

"Before we make any fight we look at all the videos and this guy was a tough guy," he said. "It was never going to be a walkover. He is a proud fighter who has never been stopped.

"This was a guy who is very confident and been in there with competent and clever fighters.

"It was never going to be a one or two rounder. He was somebody whose defence Amir would have to unlock and he did it.

"In the end he did what he had to do. He stepped it up in the seventh round and threw more upper cuts."

Another magnificent seven from Khan, who now has the world at his feet.

12:23pm Monday 7th April 2008

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