Dominant: Amir Khan (left) looked impressive as he beat Luis Collazo in Las Vegas
Take that: Khan showed his inactivity was nothing to worry about as he controlled the fight
Take that: Collazo failed to live up to pre-fight expectations and never had Khan in serious trouble
[h=3]JEFF POWELL'S SCORECARD[/h]
| AMIR KHAN | ROUND | LUIS COLLAZO |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | 9 |
| 10 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | 4 | 8 |
| 10 | 5 | 9 |
| 10 | 6 | 9 |
| 10 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | 11 | 9 |
| 10 | 12 | 9 |
| 118 | TOTAL | 105 |
The only round he lost was the one in which they were both docked points.
In the other 11 he outsped, outboxed, out-thought and reduced to a shambling wreck a man good enough to have knocked out Victor Oritz in two rounds in his previous fight.
In one of those rounds, the 10th, he floored Collazo twice and was only denied a stoppage by the bell which saved his opponent. Earlier, in the fourth, he had dropped Collazo with sharp right and came close to repeating the feat with a wicked left hook moments later.
For a first fight at full welterweight this was an impressive performance by Khan.
When, at the end, he reiterated on the ring microphone his wish to fight Floyd Mayweather, most of the crowd in the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena roared their approval.
Mr Money must have heard that from his dressing room, where he was waiting to follow Khan into the ring for his bill-topper against Marcos Maidana.
‘Floyd is a great fighter,’ said Khan. But I think I showed I have the skills and the speed to give him a lot of problems.’
Not that there could be much quibbling with performance which earned him a 118-105 victory on my card, with the three judges more or less in accord.
Khan: I've proven myself at 147 by defeating Collazo
One sided: Khan had Collazo down three times on his way to an impressive win in Las Vegas
Strength: Khan dismissed fears that Collazo would the stronger man as he knocked the American down
Felt that: Collazo was put down in the fourth round on his way to a comprehensive defeat
Khan, after a year waiting in vain for the promised fight with Mayweather to take place here this weekend, he is back with a bang.
If the memory of two consecutive defeats was not totally erased, the way Khan balanced attack with defence will have eased concerns for his vulnerability when caught with heavy punches.
All the months in the gym of his latest trainer, Virgil Hunter, paid off with a composed, orderly display of boxing from within which he launched punishing attacks whenever the openings presented themselves.
Khan racked up round after round, in the process frustrating Collazo so much that he took the desperate measure of dropping his hands in hope of luring Khan onto a sucker punch.
Apart from one left, from which Khan recovered quickly, all he got for his trouble was a beating.,
Collazo was docked a point for desperate low blow in the eight, but so was Khan for holding as he proved he could fight rough if needs be.
Astonishingly, the referee failed to deduct another point for disgraceful, deliberate low blow in the last round. Then he tried to hurry Khan back into action and the man from Bolton had to enforce his own recovery time by dropping to one knee.
Not that the odd point mattered. Khan won by a landslide and, at 27 , his exciting roller coaster career is back on track.
Sportsmail's Jeff Powell: Khan put on a brilliant performance
Low blow: Khan was left in a heap after an illegal blow from Collazo
Time out: Khan recovered easily enough but was otherwise untroubled by the New Yorker
Winning feeling: Khan is lofted up as he celebrates his win over Collazo
