The 24-year-old from Philadelphia is now the unified light welterweight champion, disposing of the 25-year-old Pakistani from Bolton, England, who was considered the best in the division coming into the fight. Garcia also took TheRing magazine belt, signifying the division's best boxer, the lineal champion.
With one counter left hook that caught Amir Khan behind the right ear late in the third round of their 140-pound title unification fight, Danny "Swift" Garcia lived up to his nickname by swiftly becoming the hottest commodity in boxing
Khan went to the hospital to get checked out and missed the post-fight news conference, but trainer Freddie Roach said his fighter would like to have a rematch against Garcia, this time in England instead of at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay, where they fought Saturday night.
Angel Garcia, Garcia's father and trainer, all but laughed that off.
"Why give him a rematch?" the father said. "He disrespected Danny. He treated him like a pushover. We're not giving him a rematch.
"Why are we going to fight somebody we just beat? That's the past. We're going to look at the future. (Khan is) done. He's over. He's the ex-champion. A three-time ex-champion."
It took another round after Garcia's devastating hook left Khan seemingly disoriented and on wobbly legs. Khan never regained his composure, though he fought on. Two knockdowns in the fourth round were enough for referee Kenny Bayless, who stopped the fight at 2:28 to put Garcia's record to 24-0 with 15 KOs.
After disposing of two champions in a row, Mexican legend Erik Morales and Khan (26-3, 18 KOs), Garcia, who came into the fight as much as an 8-1 underdog, likely will have his pick of opponents down the road and the promise of bigger paydays to come.
Will Seeing what Garcia did to Khan suggest that maybe Eric Morales that he lost to one of the recent Top fighters and maybe one more fight isn't a bad Idea?
"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."
Khan said afterward that he got complacent and went in with his hands too low. "I paid the price," Khan said. "Lots of respect to Danny Garcia for the way he came back and the way he countered against the mistakes I was making. He caught me with a blind shot, but that's boxing. One punch can change the fight, and the way he came back was brilliant."
Danny Garcia swiftly ascends to top of boxing world – USATODAY.com
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