Boxing: Khan the Star Adds Another Stripe

A virtuoso comeback performance from Amir Khan enthralled the sell-out crowd at Liverpool's Olympia last night, earning him a standing ovation after a wide points victory over his opponent Michael Evans in his first fight since winningan Olympic silver medal in Athens.

Dancing around the ring like a latter-day Muhammad Ali, and also producing the blurring hand speed and variety of punches of his idol, Khan outclassed a man who had been good enough to win the US title twice, in 1998 and this year, and who had won eight of his nine previous fights.

The result was never in doubt after the opening round when the shorter Evans charged in towards Khan and was floored by a short, right-hand counter-punch thrown with the precision that is the hallmark of a truly gifted fighter.

"People say I'm only 17 and I haven't got the power . . . but I showed them," said Khan afterwards as he was congratulated by his many friends and family in the crowd. "Terry Edwards, my coach, has been saying, 'Just try and catch him with the right hand when he jumps in' and I did. It worked perfectly; I couldn't have thrown the shot any better.

"Actually, I thought I would be ring rusty because I had only been training for this for two weeks after all the public appearances, dinners and TV shows I have had to attend since coming back from Athens. But he was strong, he never stopped coming, so it was a good win for me.

"The way I am fighting I believe now that I can handle any 60kg [lightweight] in the world. I don't think anybody can beat me."

The 1,500-seat venue had been sold out for Khan's return within two days of tickets going on sale for the nine-bout amateur international against the US, won 5-4 by England. Almost 400 had been sold personally by Khan, and the Bolton youngster was unquestionably under considerable pressure to deliver a commanding performance.

But he said afterwards: "I'm never nervous, and it was just brilliant to think that so many people had come to the arena to watch me. I'd just like to thank them all as well as the millions who were watching me on television and when I was at the Olympics in Athens. It has been an amazing year."

Evans came desperately close to being stopped inside the distance as he fell 19 points behind in the third round, just one short of the automatic cut-off point. Again and again Khan moved cutely to his left to make space to deliver stunning straight right hands and hooks into the American's headguard and ribs.

In the final two-minute period Khan again evoked memories of some of boxing's great technicians and silky movers as he circled the ring, steering his opponent at will with flashing single left- and right-hand shots.

A standing eight count for Evans gave him precious seconds to regain his senses and somehow the 27-year-old from the Sweet Success amateur boxing club of Dayton, Ohio, survived to the final bell. Before the contest he had said: "This is my Olympics; I want to see what I can do against Khan. He is the man I told my coach I wanted to face." Now he knows he is a long way short of the talented young Bolton fighter.

Khan says he intends to return to the ring in February when he will compete for the first time in the senior ABA Championships.

Thereafter, the English ABA is planning a series of marquee events to cash in on the fame of their marketable young star before he fights in the World Amateur Championships in China next November.

But it was telling that Khan evaded questions about the desire he once professed to remain amateur until after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Where once he said it was his ultimate ambition to win gold to make up for the disappointment of losing to Cuba's Mario Kindelán in the Olympic final, now he said he hoped to bring gold back from the World Championships and then consider his options.

Happily, another enduring image of a great night for amateur boxing was the sight of Khan's many Muslim supporters sitting alongside the more traditional boxing crowd. In his day Ali had a fame and an ability which first helped give American blacks a sense of pride in the 1960s before he captured the hearts of the world through the warmth of his personality. Khan is another precocious young talent who has a priceless ability to transcend society's racial divisions.

Amateur boxing should be grateful for the impetus Khan has given the entire sport, but this immensely likeable young man is a star who seems likely to be a credit to British sport in general, wherever his talent might ultimately lead him.