Boxing: Khan Passes Toughest Test Yet

Amir Khan may have been less than satisfied with his performance in winning for the seventh time as a professional, as he scored an emphatic points victory over the durable former European title challenger Laszlo Komjathi of Hungary in front of a packed King's Hall, but it was by far the most meaningful win of his paid career.

For the first time he was in against a fighter with a tight defence who had the desire and technique necessary to punish his errors properly, and the 19-year-old prodigy admitted later that the light-welterweight contest, which he won with a 60-55 score on the referee Mickey Vann's card, had been an invaluable learning experience.

As ever, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist had started at breakneck pace. But it will be the events of the fourth round which will be studied most carefully when Khan and his trainer Oliver Harrison review his performance before he resumes training for his next appearance, against a so far unnamed American opponent on the undercard of the Joe Calzaghe "Homecoming" bill at the Millennium Stadium on July 8.

In that round Khan was clipped by two solid straight rights and then foolishly dropped his gloves to taunt Komjathi by inviting him to have another shot at his unprotected chin. It was showmanship which may have pleased the crowd but was an amateurish and dangerous posture which a better fighter than Komjathi, with a bigger punch, might have exploited.

Komjathi, 30, gave him further anxious moments in the fifth with some crisp counterpunches but it was to the Bolton favourite's credit that he regrouped and boxed his way to an emphatic victory. There will be many days when he is not able to simply blast out his opponent and it was encouraging that the message has apparently registered so early in his career.

"I'm getting the hang of being a pro and I needed a fight like this," said Khan. "I learnt a lot in that fight. It's good experience - I know what six rounds feels like so I can work on that. Give Komjathi a lot of credit, he was a tough fighter who kept coming forward, but I showed I can take his shots. He knew about this fight for a long time so he was properly prepared, and he came to Belfast to win. But I was very pleased to do six rounds as it shows all the work we're doing in the gym is working."

The consensus among current and former professionals watching at ringside was that Khan had passed the test well. But they also stressed that there was still a great deal of work to be done in drilling the discipline of a tighter defence into his work and in improving his ability to fight at close quarters if he is to continue to make the transition to genuine world class.

More than illustrating to Khan himself that there is still some way to go, this contest may also have halted naive claims in some quarters that it is almost a given that he will become Britain's youngest ever world champion. His promoter Frank Warren, who has been forced to defend the nights of easy wins when Khan built his confidence, is now equally adamant that he will not be rushed in moving his man towards the top.

"He made a couple of mistakes that I don't like," Warren said. "He thinks it is entertaining but I don't like to see him being caught. But let's not forget he is only 19. In boxing terms he is a kid. He has still not been a professional fighter for a year and it is a very different game to the amateurs. Somebody like Komjathi has been a pro for 10 years and has been in against some of the best fighters in Europe. He knows his way around a boxing ring and showed Amir he still has things on which he must work."