Britain's Amir Khan should think about retirement following his defeat by Danny Garcia, according to his world champion compatriot Carl Froch.

Khan was stopped in just the fourth round by Garcia in Las Vegas on Saturday, and suffered three knockdowns in total, as the American added the World Boxing Association (WBA) light-welterweight title to the World Boxing Council (WBC) belt he already held in a dramatic unification bout.

It was Khan's second straight defeat following his controversial loss to Lamont Peterson, with the American failing a subsequent drug test, and third of his career following an earlier reverse at the hands of Breidis Prescott.

Froch, the current International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-middleweight champion, said Sunday he would quit if he was in the same position as fellow Englishman Khan.

"I would retire if that happened to me," Froch told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. "Why? Because I am not in this sport to get beaten, knocked out, or outclassed.

"I've lost twice, I lost a very, very close points decision to one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world in Andre Ward and I've come back and beaten an unbeaten fighter, Lucian Bute, the very next time so I'm world champion."

He added: "If I had lost to Lucian Bute I would probably have retired, because I am in this game to be at the very top and stay at the top. I'm not in this game to make up the numbers.

"It's a personal decision whether or not you retire, but to get stopped in the fourth round and to be previously knocked out, it's just very, very damaging," Froch insisted.

Garcia, of Philadelphia, knocked Khan down three times with the end coming with 32 seconds left in the fourth round when referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout.

Garcia now has 24 wins and no losses. He kept his perfect record intact by surviving the first two rounds before using a perfectly-timed left hook late in the third round that caught Khan flush on the right ear.

Khan managed to get up from the third-round knockdown and barely finished the round but he never fully recovered from that devastating left hook to the side of the head.

Khan (26-3, 18 KOs) got knocked down twice more in the fourth round which had turned into a slugfest with both fighters trading heavy shots in the center of the ring.

The second knockdown came when Garcia's punch glanced off the top of Khan's head, leading to an eight count.

Garcia (24-0, 15 KOs) got the better of the exchanges in the fourth, hitting Khan consistently with left hooks and counter shots, finishing him off with a straight right hand that sent Khan stumbling across the ring.

When Bayless stepped in to stop the fight, the 25-year-old Khan protested and tried to duck under the referee's arm. This was Khan's eighth title fight.

Garcia, 24, was coming off a 12-round unanimous decision over Erik Morales four months ago.*AFP

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