Floyd Weathers Alvarez Bout

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Floyd Mayweather says he suffered a suspected dislocated elbow halfway through his one-sided defeat of Saul Alvarez in Las Vegas.

The five-weight world champion, 36, secured the WBC and WBA light-middleweight titles and stretched his unbeaten professional run to 45 fights.

"I think I dislocated my elbow. I looked at my children and thought 'I can't give it up'," the American said.

Coach Floyd Mayweather Senior wants his son to fight Britain's Amir Khan next.

The fight, which the judges scored 114-114, 116-112 and 117-111, saw Mayweather pocket upwards of £21.6m - a world record purse. 

"My dad said 'Go out there and do what you do best. You go for this'." said the American.

"When I came back to the corner he said 'You are fighting a little tight, loosen up a little bit'."

"I started throwing combinations a little bit more and then we bumped arms. That's when I dislocated my left elbow, so for the sixth and and seventh round I was pawing with the jab.

"When I came back to the corner I looked at my family and thought 'I have to use it, because I have got the will to win'. I was born to win and am going to die to win."

Many tipped the previously unbeaten Alvarez, 23, to cause his opponent problems and, despite the ease of victory, Mayweather believes the Mexican will progress to be a "great" of the sport.

He said: "I want to commend this young, strong champion because he will carry the torch. Tonight experience played a major key. He has got everything it takes to be a legend in the sport, tonight was just my night.

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“Training camp used to be 'go to the gym, go shopping, go to the club, go to the strip club'. Now I am more of a homebody”

"It was an up-and-coming champion versus a legendary champion. Some day he will go down in the hall of fame, some day I will go down in the hall of fame.

"When I was young I beat all these fighters and I was partying every night and beating world champions. But it was around 2007 when I fought Oscar De La Hoya and started staying in the house a lot and concentrated more on my job, which was boxing.

"Normally training camp was 'we go to the gym, we go shopping, we go to the club, we go to the strip club'.

"That was when I was young. Now I am older things change. I am more of a homebody."

Mayweather has four fights remaining in a reported $200m (£126m) contract he signed with US network Showtime in February.

In two fights in 2013, he has now earned $73m (£46m), making him the highest-paid athlete in the world for a second successive year.

Although his father called for former world champion Khan, 26, to be his next opponent, Mayweather insisted he was keeping his options open.

"I don't know what the future holds," he said. "I look to fight in May and again in September and then again May and September.

"I need a vacation. I haven't taken a vacation in four or five years.

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Khan Believes Appeal Has Chance

Amir Khan believes he has a chance of having his defeat by Lamont Peterson overturned on appeal.

The 25-year-old lost his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles on Saturday night as Peterson won a narrow points decision in Washington D.C.

Khan crucially had two points deducted by referee Joseph Cooper for pushing and insists the decision was unfair.

He said: "We have appealed. In the next seven to 10 days we should find out and it could be overturned."

Khan had Peterson on the canvas twice in the opening round - although only one was counted - and his two-point penalty proved costly after judges scored the fight at 113-112, 113-112, 111-114 in favour of the local fighter.

The Bolton-born fighter is adamant that he won the fight and will fight Peterson again next year regardless of the outcome of the appeal.

Although it is rare to have decisions overturned, WBC light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins has been successful in having October's fight against Chad Dawson changed from a loss to a technical draw.

Khan said: "I was treated unfairly during the fight. Lamont Peterson's coach even said to me that he knows how it feels to be robbed.

"The referee was from Washington so he was always going to favour the home fighter. He walks the streets of DC so if he was fair and took points off Peterson he'd be hated in Washington.

"My titles were snatched off me unfairly. I don't think he'll be refereeing a big fight again.

"I want a rematch in a neutral place with a neutral referee and neutral judges. Not Washington or the UK, somewhere like Las Vegas would be fine."

KHAN'S RECENT FIGHT HISTORY

Career record: 26 wins, two losses

Defeats Marco Antonia Barrera in March, 2009 by a technical decision

In July, 2009 Khan moves up to light-welterweight and beats Andreas Kotelnik by unanimous decision

In December, 2009 Khan defeats Dmitry Salita by technical knockout in the first round

Khan fights in the USA for the first time in May, 2010 and beats Paulie Malignaggi in the 11th round

Khan defeats Marcos Maidana in December, 2010

In April, 2011 Khan wins against Paul McCloskey by a technical decision

Khan defeats Zab Judah in Las Vegas in July, 2011

In December, 2011 Khan loses his titles to American Lamont Peterson by split decision

Split Decision Ends King Khan Plans

Amir Khan's ambitious plans for 2012 suffered a massive blow after he lost his light-welterweight titles on a split decision to Lamont Peterson in Washington DC. Khan was deducted two points in the fight which proved crucial as he lost by just a point on two of the judges' scorecards.

The Bolton fighter will no doubt insist on a rematch due to the controversial refereeing of Joseph Cooper, but few would deny Peterson his moment of glory after a career-defining performance and a fairytale end to his life on the DC streets.

It could all have been so different for Khan after he produced a dramatic start to the fight. In trademark style he wasted little time in landing spiteful shots and had Peterson hurt within the first two minutes. He punched his way out of an early clinch and landed a fast combination that forced the challenger to the canvas, but referee Cooper called a slip.

If Khan was denied his first knockdown another was not long to come as again his blurring hands caught Peterson and dumped him to the floor. There were echoes of Khan's victory over Dimitry Salita but Peterson showed great character to cover up and fight back.

It was more of the same in round two with Khan dominating the centre of the ring and punishing Peterson every time he got in range and tried to land shots. There seemed to be no way back into the fight for the challenger with Khan seemingly on the cusp of another early stoppage win.

But everything changed in the minute interval before round three. Peterson's trainer and mentor Barry Hunter gave his man an impassioned speech as he stood in the corner and got just the response he was looking for.

Straight away the Washington fighter was on the front foot throwing right hands and a big hook had Khan in real trouble. Roared on by the crowd Peterson poured on the pressure and it looked for a moment like Khan would suffer a knockdown of his own. The champion summoned up all his experience to keep his distance and stay out of harms way.

hurtful

The fight continued to swing Peterson's way in round four as he gained success to the body with hurtful shots under Khan's elbows. The Bolton fighter had to do something quickly to regain control and to his credit he fought back with crisp jabs and combinations to keep the American off balance.

Khan seemed to have taken the sting out of the Peterson attack and in round five the challenger looked more sluggish and flat-footed, trudging into the champion's counters and taking unnecessary punishment.

By the middle rounds Khan had changed strategy, he appeared to be trying to tire out his opponent by using the whole of the ring and fighting on the retreat. He was having the final say in all the exchanges until another turning point came in round seven.

Referee Cooper had been on Khan's case from the outset for repeated pushing but lost his patience in the seventh taking a point. Suddenly a round that Peterson might have edged, looked 10/8 in his favour, and the knockdown from the first was evened up.

This gave Peterson all the encouragement he needed and suddenly he was making Khan fight his fight on the inside. Reacting once again to the fiercely patriotic crowd, Peterson forced Khan back to the ropes and unleashed sustained barrages at anything he could put a glove on.

The action reached a crescendo in round nine, which will go down as one of the most entertaining in 2011. Peterson bullied the champion around the ring until seemingly running out of steam. Khan then responded brilliantly with a huge right hand that had the American on the brink of going down. Suddenly it was Khan's turn to pursue the challenger who was a lucky man to hear the bell.

As the fight reached the later stages Peterson continued to dictate the pace with Khan just edging the quality of punches. But it was a risky tactic in America where the aggressor is often favoured, particularly when a fight is close on the cards.

If it was hard to divide the two fighters leading into the twelfth it was even tougher afterwards with more drama from the man in the middle Cooper. Khan looked to be in control with Peterson winging away wildly and getting tagged whenever he stumbled into range. But just when the champion seemed to be saving his title on cards, Cooper stepped in once again and took another point off Khan for pushing.

It would prove to be the deciding moment in the fight with Peterson awarded just a one point win on two of the judges' cards in a 111-114, 113-112, 113-112 split decision.

Report Sky Sports

Amir Khan Has No Weight Choice

Amir Khan says he will have no choice but to move up to welterweight if he successfully defends his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles against Lamont Peterson.

Khan has been unable to secure bouts with WBO title holder Erik Morales or WBC champion Timothy Bradley.

"Maybe they're scared. I don't know," said the 25-year-old.

"There is unfinished business but I can't wait around because I've got other ambitions in my career."

The Bolton fighter added: "I want to unify the belts and become undisputed, unified light-welterweight champion.

"I've tried but they just won't take the fights. You can't force them. At the end of the day I'd like to fight them and prove I'm the best.

"I think that's the reason they've moved me to number one in the rankings, because they know that I'm the one who wants to fight but these guys don't want to face me."

A move to welterweight could see Khan meet the winner of a long-rumoured fight between WBO champion Manny Pacquiao and WBC belt holder Floyd Mayweather, which could finally happen next spring.

Prior to that, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz and Sheffield boxer Kell Brook may be targets for Khan.

"There are some real super-fights for me in that [welterweight] division that people will want to see," said the former Olympic silver medallist, who weighed in at 9st 13lbs for his fight with Peterson in Washington DC.

"There are big names in the welterweight division and I can work my way towards those big super-fights against the likes of Floyd Mayweather and also Shane Mosley, who is in that division and someone I could probably face.

"We've offered the fight to Mayweather's team and they are interested in the fight. I think that fight could happen in the next six to nine months, maybe even sooner. It depends how we come through this fight against Peterson.

"I want to take away that pound-for-pound world title from him and be known as the best fighter in the world. When the time is right, within the next six to nine months, we'll jump on that and take the fight against him."

Khan has stressed he will not underestimate his current challenger but Terry Edwards, Khan's cornerman when he won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, believes Peterson will find it difficult against the Briton.

"[Peterson] has stopped almost 50% of his opponents, quite a few in the first round, so the early rounds could be difficult, but he's stepping up a league with Amir, who I think is at the top of his game," Edwards told BBC Radio 5 live.

Asked about Khan's ability to take a punch, Edwards, now Head of Boxing Operations for the London Olympics, said: "I think he's got a very strong chin. I was in Vegas when he boxed, [and beat, Marcos] Maidana and that was a coming of age for him - it dispelled all the hype about whether he's got a chin.

"With [Breidis] Prescott [when Khan lost in the first round] in the earlier days there was maybe a bit of complacency and I think he' learned from that and gone forward."

Peterson, who grew up in Washington, weighed in on the 140lbs limit for the fight that will take place in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time.

"If I want to match his hand speed then I will," said the American.

"If I don't, then there are other ways around it. If the fastest man always wins the fight then Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and fighters like that would have never lost. Roberto Duran wasn't the fastest guy but he beat Leonard. That's boxing.

"Speed is just one attribute. It means nothing to me. I'll do whatever I have to do to win."

Khan Believes Pacman Was Fortunate

Manny Pacquiao should consider calling time on his career sooner rather than later following his controversial victory in Las Vegas, says British boxer Amir Khan.

Khan, Britain’s reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation light-welterweight world champion, believes Juan Manuel Márquez edged Pacquiao by “one or two rounds”.

Pacquiao retained his World ­Boxing Organisation welterweight title with a majority decision victory, the judges scoring it 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112 in the Filipino’s favour.

However, despite being a regular sparring partner of Pacquiao – both men are trained by Freddie Roach – Khan had the Mexican ahead after the final round.

“It was a close fight,” the Bolton fighter said. “You could see Márquez had done his homework and knew what he needed to do. When they went into the last round, I thought Márquez was going to win and ­Manny’s trainer Freddie Roach thought the same.

“I thought Márquez won it by one or two rounds. But I’m pleased for Manny because he is a stablemate and a good friend.”

“But I’m going to tell Manny to consider retirement and not go on too long. He has some serious thinking to do – he was lucky and he got away with it against Márquez.

“Manny did [win it], but he doesn’t have to keep taking these fights. The more he fights, the more it might take some of the gloss off his great legacy as the best fighter in the world.”

Khan believes the demands on Pacquiao from the worlds of politics and business may be taking their toll. “Look, he has so much on his plate, and on the strength of this performance, he wouldn’t beat Floyd Mayweather Jnr. For his sake, we have to be honest. He is my friend.”

Khan believes that another fight with Márquez would put Pacquiao in jeopardy. “It’s never going to be an easy fight for him because of this guy’s style.”

However, Alex Ariza, the strength and conditioning coach who works with both Roach-trained boxers, revealed yesterday that the 32-year-old Pacquiao, the only boxer in ­history to win titles in eight weight divisions, told him that he wants a fourth bout with Márquez.

“Manny wants another fight with Márquez,” Ariza said. “He is very unhappy with his performance. We talked about it and the need to get back to basics, the things which made him great as a fighter.”

Khan was asked if he would now beat Pacquiao. “In our sparring lately, he’s not the one getting the better of it,” he said. Two weeks ago, The Daily Telegraph learnt that Pacquiao’s Filipino advisers had told him to stop sparring with Khan.

One of Khan’s 140lb rivals, Timothy Bradley, defended his WBO light-welterweight title on the undercard of Pacquiao’s fight, stopping 40-year-old Cuban Joel Casamayor after eight rounds.

“Grow some balls,” Khan had said to Bradley behind the stage after the weigh-in on Friday. “He said nothing back to me. He’s been avoiding me, and it’s time for us to fight.”

Bradley insisted he had been unable to take that fight this year because of contractual difficulties with his previous ­promoter. Bradley is now with Bob Arum’s Top Rank organisation.

As for Pacquiao, a potential fight with Mayweather had been mooted before this victory. Khan revealed that the fight is likely to happen before he gets the chance to step into the ring with the American.

On Dec 10, Khan will take on Lamont Peterson in Washington. The Briton then plans to join the welterweight ranks in 2012.

Khan Defends WBA and IBF Titles

Amir Khan will defend his WBA and IBF Light-Welterweight world titles against Lamont Peterson, live on Sky Sports on December 10th.

Khan will fight on Sky for the first time since he defeated Marcos Maidana in his Las Vegas debut in December last year in a clash that many in boxing called the fight of the year.

Live coverage of the Peterson showdown, from National Convention Center in Washington DC, will be the first of three fights featuring Khan to be shown as part of a new deal.

It will round off a sensational night of boxing on Sky Sports, that kicks off with Wladimir Klitschko defending his unified heavyweight world titles against Jean-Marc Mormeck in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The week before Sky Sports will show live coverage of Martin Murray's contest for the WBA Middleweight title against Felix Sturm in Mannheim, Germany.

Then the week after Khan's return, Carl Froch's Super Six final showdown with unbeaten Andre Ward in Atlantic City, where the WBC and WBA Super-Middleweight titles will be on the line.

That means three world title fights in as many weeks and Khan is delighted to be part of a bumper month of boxing.

"I'm delighted to be on Sky Sports," he said.

"They are dedicated to broadcasting the biggest fights, so I'm excited about working together again.

"Fighting in America can make it difficult for my British fans to see me live in action, but being on Sky Sports means they can cheer me on and enjoy the fight as it happens from home.

"I'm training harder than ever for this fight and I guarantee the fans won't want to miss it!"

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: "This is great news for Sky subscribers.

"We're pleased to welcome Amir back, and delighted to be showing his next three fights on Sky Sports.

"Khan v Peterson follows a great autumn of boxing on Sky Sports and this fight will be part of a great month of boxing that includes four world title fights and some of the biggest names in British and world boxing."

Khan Plans Another Welterweight Bout

Amir Khan says he will probably fight only once more at light-welterweight before stepping up a division.

The 24-year-old is now considering adding the WBC title to the WBA and IBF belts he currently holds.

Khan told BBC Radio Manchester: "I wanted to fight [Timothy] Bradley for the undisputed title but he turned it down so the WBC stripped him.

"[Erik] Morales is fighting for that title in September so if he wins Morales could be an option," he added.

The Bolton boxer does have another option though, to fight the IBF's number-one contender Lamont Petersen.

Khan said: "The IBF title I've just won, the mandatory for that is Lamont Petersen so maybe that could be a possibility."

Whoever his next opponent is, Khan is planning only one more fight at 140lbs before moving up to welterweight and closer towards a fight with Floyd Mayweather.

"There may be one or two names left in this division. We'll get this fight out the way and maybe it might have to be that we move up to 147 because there's no one else," he added.

After he beat Zab Judah in their light-welterweight unification fight in Las Vegas Khan expressed a desire to fight American legend Mayweather.

"My aim is to move up the pound-for-pound rankings and to one day be pound-for-pound champion," he said.

"The Mayweather fight is something I'm looking at for the future and it would be huge for me. It would drive me on."