Roach: I nearly stopped it

Trainer Freddie Roach admitted he almost stopped the fight after Amir Khan suffered a third round knockdown.

Khan's trainer said Khan was groggy after first knockdown

Trainer Freddie Roach admitted he almost stopped the fight after Amir Khan suffered a third round knockdown in his fight with Danny Garcia. The American landed a huge left hook that ultimately proved Khan's undoing, with the Briton eventually being stopped by referee Kenny Bayliss a round later. However, with Khan unsteady on his feet at the end of the third, Roach felt the former champion was barely in a condition to continue. "He got caught with a shot right on the money and that was it, he never really recovered after the first shot," said the legendary trainer. "When he came back to the corner he wasn't responding really well in that minute break. I said I''m going to stop the fight but he said 'no, I'm ok'. "He showed a lot of heart. We should have boxed a little bit more but that's the way things go." Khan had dominated the first two and a half rounds of the fight in Las Vegas, with his customary hand speed and power leaving Garcia with little room to manouvre. But Roach believes that proved Khan's undoing. "We got a reckless," he said. "He was having so much success he thought he could just overwhelm him. Then the guy threw a big overhand shot from leftfield and it landed. "He's a big puncher and he's very strong. His Dad got under our skin a little and I guess it paid off. Hopefully he'll give us a rematch in England and we can reverse this."