Amir Khan hits the canvass

BBC

Amir Khan suffered his second successive Las Vegas defeat as he was stopped in round four by unbeaten American Danny Garcia.

Khan was knocked down three times as Garcia claimed the British fighter's WBA light-welterweight belt and held on to his WBC title, reports the BBC.

After a strong start, Khan was floored in the third by a counter and could not recover from shots in round four.

Khan's third career defeat comes after his disputed loss to Lamont Peterson.

He was beaten in controversial circumstances last December and a rematch was scrapped after the American tested positive for synthetic testosterone.

Following this latest crushing loss the Bolton boxer was taken to hospital for a precautionary scan.

The defeat casts significant doubt on his plans of moving up to the welterweight division to face the likes of Floyd Mayweather.

And he admitted afterwards that he was guilty of being too open and of complacency.

"It wasn't my night," he admitted. "After watching the replays a little bit I thought I was coming in with my hands down and Danny took advantage.

"I respect Danny, he was countering very well against me."

Khan said of the left hook which caught him in the third round: "We got a little complacent and he took advantage and he caught me.

"I was a little surprised the referee stopped [the fight]. I thought he was going to let us continue. My mind was clear and I thought my legs were OK but I respect the referee, the judges and the commission, maybe they made the right call."

Khan is now 26-3 with 18 early wins and two stoppage defeats, while Garcia is now 24-0 with 15 knockouts.