By Shawn Krest

Fifty-four seconds may be long enough to change a career, but it’s not a lot of time.

September 5, 2008: Amir Khan and Breidis Prescott weigh in for their upcoming fight. Prescott is announced first, steps on the scale, and makes weight by a half pound. Thirty two seconds elapse from introduction to announcement of his weight. Khan is next and takes 35 seconds to get on and off the scale. Total time elapsed: A minute seven.

After the bell rings, it takes five seconds for the two fighters to meet. Amir Khan charges across the ring, but Breidis Prescott evades him and moves the action to the center of the ring.

September 6, 2008: Prescott is announced first and comes down the aisle quickly, entering the ring after a 32 second ring walk. Khan takes significantly longer. Loud music plays and spotlights swing around the arena. It is more than a minute and a half before Khan appears in the tunnel. He then makes the walk in a crisp 21 seconds. Total time elapsed: Two minutes, 28 seconds.

It takes another three seconds for Khan to land his first punch—downstairs, as he tries to exploit Prescott’s long, slim torso. Two seconds later, ten seconds into the bout, Breidis Prescott lands his first punch, a right hand lead.

February 17, 2007: A twenty-year old Amir Khan faces off against 17-3 Mohammed Medjadi in his eleventh career fight. Khan records a first round knockout, joking with the media afterward. “I’m not going to get paid for overtime.” He points out that Medjadi dropped his left hand which provided the opening for the finishing punch, a shot Khan calls the best of his career. “I didn’t plan to finish it in the first round,” he says. He is concerned about fast knockouts hurting his development but adds, “Why risk it? If you know you can knock someone out in the first round, finish the business.” It is the fastest knockout of his young career. Time elapsed: 55 seconds.

Twelve seconds into the bout, Prescott lands a straight left that connects solidly to Khan’s chin—a chin that will undergo more scrutiny than just about any other in the sport over the upcoming months.

1985 through 2003: Hector Mercedes, Trent Singleton, Ricardo Spain, Michael Johnson, Robert Colay, Sterling Benjamin and Mark Young in 1985. Marvis Frazier in 1986. Lou Savarese in 2000. Clifford Etienne in 2003. Ten fighters. Combined record of 139-121-6 with 87 losses by way of knockout. They are the ten men Mike Tyson knocked out in 54 seconds or less.

Five seconds later, we have seen almost a third of the bout, and Khan lands his best punch of the fight. A left hand snaps Prescott’s head back.

June 11, 2004: Efren Hinojosa and Yoni Vargas fight for a vacant minor title in California. At 2:19 of the third round, a cut over Vargas’ eye is judged to serious to allow the fight to continue. The No Contest is the shortest title bout in the history of the WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight title, until a September 6, 2008 fight is finished in one ninth of the time.

Twenty one seconds in, Khan throws his seventh punch by one observer’s unofficial count. The breakdown is six lefts and a right. Two have connected thus far. This one doesn’t. It will be his last punch of the fight.

July 14, 2007: Khan hits the canvas for the first time in his pro career but doesn’t seem overly worried. “I got in trouble for keeping my hands low, my chin up and for lunging in with stupid shots," he tells a British newspaper. "But at least it's happened now and not in the future against a better opponent…I had the hunger in me, to get knocked down and come back stronger. I've learnt far more from this than if I'd knocked him out in the first round. It wasn't the best performance, but I'll go and have a look at the tape and see what I did wrong.”

Twenty two seconds into the bout. Khan lunges in, dropping both hands as he does. Prescott throws his seventh and eighth punches of the fight—a left, then a right. Khan staggers backward. According to the clock, the bout is less than half over, but make no mistake: The fight is over. Prescott throws eight more punches. Six connect. The first miss is thrown after Khan is already flat on his back after the first knockdown. The second miss is thrown after Khan is down after the second. Eighteen of the final 32 seconds are spent by the referee counting.

September 6, 2008: Amir Khan does a post-fight TV interview. He doesn’t seem overly worried. Standing beside the ring and speaking in a calm quiet voice, he speaks of his “stupid little mistake,” using the phrase three times. When asked for specifics, he says, “I’ll have to look at the video.”

“One punch can change a fight,” he says.

“I just need to go back to the drawing board,” he says.

“I’m gonna go back and come back stronger, he says.

The announcer thanks him and turns to interview Frank Warren. Elapsed time: 56 seconds.