Rusty Amir Khan climbs off floor to beat Samuel Vargas on points as he sets up clash with Brit rival Kell Brook
Khan put in an exciting performance as he wrapped up the victory in front of delighted Birmingham crowd
AMIR KHAN survived a huge scare to climb off the deck and edge past Samuel Vargas on points.
The 31-year-old has a Christmas wish to face Kell Brook or Manny Pacquiao in December but his dreams were almost dashed by the rank outsider.
Khan admitted going into the fight that he is entering the final chapter of his yoyo career but the script was almost ripped up when he was decked in the second.
But, after battling back with two knockdowns of his own, to land a unanimous decision 119-108, 119-109, 118-110, King Khan roared: “I needed the rounds for better opposition like Kell Brook and Manny Pacquiao.
"He caught me with a right hand, I got straight back up and got into a flow. Who wants to see the Pacquiao fight? Who wants to see the Kell Brook fight? I want Manny Pacquiao."
Khan needed to strip naked to make the welterweight limit on Friday. And fans got an eyeful of plenty more on Saturday as he got himself caught up in a frantic battle with the underdog.
After a slow start, Vargas was flat on his back almost as soon as the second round started.
A left hook rocked the Colombian and a straight right sent him sprawling to the canvas with Khan at his ruthless best.
But Khan was stunned when huge right hand sent him briefly to the seat of his pants before the bell rang to end a frantic round.
The home star snatched control of the fight back in the third when a shot to the back of the head floored the Canada-based brawler but was deemed legal by the ref.
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The crowd leapt up in the fifth when Vargas was under a savage onslaught but he bounced off the ropes and clung on.
The South American was a bloody mess but a formidable opponent and kept firing back to reach the halfway point.
In the seventh Khan landed a couple of heavy shots but Vargas had settled into a rhythm and seemed to have wised up to warmonger Khan’s hand-speed.
Vargas showed off a granite chin at the end of round eight and the Khan was getting all of the warm-up rounds he had claimed he wanted to prepare for the winter step-up in opponent.
Swollen-faced Vargas chased the former world champion around the ring in the ninth but he was sent staggering into the ropes when he got too close.
Khan had boxed just 39 seconds in two years before Saturday night and Vargas tested his engine to the limit, with constant pressure in the tenth and a last-gasp right hand that could have been costly.
Khan kicked off his penultimate round with a stinging right hand that Vargas somehow handled before scuttling after him across the ring in a stellar show of stamina.
A cuddle kicked off the final round but it was quickly forgotten as Khan bludgeoned his new friend with a final flurry and demanded the Filipino next.
