Amir Khan Says He Didn't Quit Against Terence Crawford After Low Blow

Amir Khan has said he didn't quit in his TKO loss against Terence Crawford for the WBO welterweight title on Saturday, despite his corner prematurely telling the referee he could not continue after a low blow.

Khan was hit below the belt in the sixth round, and as the punch was ruled accidental, he had five minutes to recover. Per the Guardian's Bryan Armen Graham, trainer Virgil Hunter told the referee to wave off the fight after just 40 seconds, however, stunning the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

After the fight Crawford accused Khan of quitting, but the British fighter said he never would. They also argued over the location of the punch, as the WBO champion said it landed on his leg:

Khan also took to Twitter to defend himself and shared a snapshot of the low blow:

The 31-year-old Crawford, who improved his unbeaten record to 35-0 with 26 knockouts, had knocked down the challenger in the first round and had dominated most of the fight until the stoppage.

Per Top Rank Boxing, he was comfortably ahead on all three scorecards:

Because of the one-sided nature of the fight, some questioned whether Khan simply wanted a way out when he was hit with the low blow. Graham suggested he may have been taking what he described as a "frightful beating," while mixed martial artist Dillon Danis was blunt in his assessment (warning: strong language):

But Khan (33-5, 22 KOs) has been involved in several brutal fights over the years and has never shied away from a challenge. In 2016 he moved up to fight the larger Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and was knocked out in spectacular fashion.

He bounced back from that defeat with wins over Phil Lo Greco and Samuel Vargas, but Saturday's loss brings his record over the last four fights to 2-2. Per Graham, Crawford outboxed the 32-year-old like no man before.

Crawford talked up a unification bout with Errol Spence Jr. after his win, and a fight between the two unbeaten pound-for-pound stars is undoubtedly one boxing fans around the world will want to see.

Khan's next move is less clear. Speaking to Behind The Gloves, he said he's open to a rematch and also discussed a possible fight with longtime rival Kell Brook:

Brook is sporting a two-fight win streak since his loss to Spence Jr., and according to the interview, he was in New York to hype a fight with Crawford. The American seems more interested in a unification bout with Spence Jr., however, opening the door for the long-awaited showdown between Khan and Brook.