Amir Khan suffers controversial defeat to Terence Crawford after sixth round low blow in New York

Terence Crawford has defended his WBO welterweight title with a controversial victory over Amir Khan in New York.

Khan was dropped in the opening round after being caught flush with a superb counter right but the fight ended in bizarre circumstances in the sixth round.

The Briton was caught with what appeared to be a devastating low blow with his trainer Virgil Hunter informing the referee his fighter was unable to continue – with Crawford awarded the TKO victory to retain his belt.

The decision was greeted with boos by those in attendance at Madison Square Garden.

Crawford insisted in his post-fight interview the telling blow was not below the belt - despite television replays suggesting otherwise.

Rules would have allowed Khan to take up to five minutes to recover from the illegal shot but said he felt he was unable to continue.

"I could feel it in my stomach and legs. I said 'I can't move'." Khan said.

"There was no point taking five minutes out, I could not continue. I am not one to give up. I was hit by a hard shot below the belt."

Khan rejected the opportunity to take on long-time adversary Kell Brook in all-British showdown, instead pursuing a bout with one of game’s elite operators in Crawford.

Khan had long been chasing a meeting with one of the welterweight division’s biggest names, seeing his past attempts to secure meetings with Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao falling by the wayside.

Defeat tonight however could end his hopes of winning a world title at 147 lbs, with Khan ranked outside the top 10 in the IBF, WBC and WBA world rankings.

Earlier on the undercard, 21-year-old talent Shakur Stevenson extended his professional record to 11-0 with a near flawless performance against Christopher Diaz.

The 2016 Olympic silver medallist secured a comfortable unanimous decision victory before calling out IBF world champion Josh Warrington – who defends his title against Kid Galahad in June.

Teofimo Lopez, another prospect fighting in his hometown on New York, stopped Edis Tatli in the fifth round with a shuddering body shot on the show’s chief undercard fight.