Amir Khan beats Billy Dib to claim WBC international welterweight title

Khan stopped Dib inside four rounds in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Britain's Amir Khan claimed the WBC international welterweight title with a fourth-round stoppage of Australian Billy Dib in Saudi Arabia.

Khan floored Dib in the second round with a fierce left hook at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.

A rapid combination of punches then saw Dib fall to the canvas again, prompting his corner to throw in the towel.

After the fight, Khan said he wanted to face former multiple-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao next.

Dib only took the fight in June after Khan's original opponent Neeraj Goyat withdrew after being injured in a car crash.

It was an explosive display by Khan, who was looking to bounce back from his controversial defeat by WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in April, which saw him accused of "quitting" after his corner pulled him out following a low blow from the American in the sixth round.

Khan now hopes to find Manny Pacquiao

After flooring Dib with a counter left hook in the second, another left hook in the third saw the Australian shaken but able to stay on his feet.

There would be no escape in the fourth, though, as a double left hook followed up by a rapid combination saw Dib go down again and prompt the towel to be thrown.

The Sydney-born fighter, who has held a world title at featherweight, moved up to make his welterweight debut having only been confirmed as Khan's opponent last month.

He described the opportunity as his "real-life Rocky moment", but was unable to cope with Khan's superior speed and power.

Having disposed of the Australian, Khan told TalkSport, "We want the Manny Pacquiao fight, let's hope he comes to Saudi Arabia.

"Hopefully we come back again at the end of the year and bring Pacquiao here."

Pacquiao, 40, fights American Keith Thurman for the WBA world welterweight title in Las Vegas on 20 July.

Fury wins again against Peter

Hughie Fury fought on the undercard in Jeddah and continued his climb up the heavyweight division with victory against Samuel Peter, who was forced to withdraw in the seventh round after appearing to injure his shoulder as the referee sought to break up the fighters.

The referee was caught by a glancing blow from Peter as he intervened and ended up with a bloodied nose, with the Nigerian eventually pulling out after several minutes of deliberation.

Fury had been in control at that stage, looking to keep his distance against a fighter with 31 KOs to his name but who resorted to increasingly underhand tactics.

Peter, 38, had already been deducted a point in the fourth after landing a huge left hook after being asked to break by the referee. He was then guilty of low blows in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds that went unpunished, before suffering the fight-ending injury.

It was Fury's second victory since his defeat by former world-title challenger Kubrat Pulev in October after his second-round stoppage of Chris Norrad in Manchester in May.

Meanwhile, Natasha Jonas continued her resurgence with a fourth-round stoppage of Bec Connolly in Liverpool.

Jonas, the first British woman to box at an Olympic Games in 2012, suffered her first professional defeat against Brazilian Viviane Obenauf in August 2018.

The Liverpool-born fighter recovered by outpointing Tanzania's Feriche Mashauri in March and has followed that up with a convincing performance at the Liverpool Olympia.

Connolly, 35, found herself on the canvas twice in the first round as Jonas made a ferocious start.

Things continued in a similar pattern before Jonas stepped it up further in the fourth, with a swift combination of punches by the 35-year-old southpaw forcing the referee to intervene and end the fight.