Khan's stunning left hook caught Lawton cold in the fourth round

In his first defence, the 20-year-old's fast hands proved too much for Lawton.

Dominating the fight from the start, Khan rocked Lawton with a crushing left hook before a flurry of punches left referee Victor Loughran with no option.

"I'm picking shots and pacing myself," said Khan. "I proved my critics wrong and I'm going in the right direction."

He wants to fight for a title quickly and after a couple more fights we'll see where he's at Promoter Frank Warren

Khan's only concern came when his corner failed to put in his gumshield at the start of the contest, but, in his 14th professional fight, he was quickly into his stride.

A dazzling combination of punches in the second round shook Lawton and might well have finished a less durable fighter.

But the end was not far away.

Following the shock of being knocked down by Willie Limond in his previous encounter, Khan finished the job in clinical fashion.

"I had a lot of critics from the last fight, but that's boxing," he said. "It's a learning curve. I'm a better fighter, and boxing's going right for me now."

606: DEBATE He looked better than against Limond Steveweiser

"He hit harder than I expected," Lawton admitted. "I asked my trainers to look for my rib I think it's somewhere in row Z! I still feel winded now, hats off to him."

Khan's next fight will be on his 21st birthday on 8 December at the Bolton arena, with his opponent to be announced on Thursday.

"I'm learning a lot from these fights," he said. "Before you know it, my time will come. My strength's awesome now. I feel so powerful."

Promoter Frank Warren admitted that Khan's desire for a world title fight would be realised sooner rather than later.