Wheelchair Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 RingTV.com has learned that WBA and IBF junior welterweight beltholder Amir Khan could make the first defense of his IBF belt against mandatory challenger Lamont Peterson, who has agreed to terms, according to a source familiar with the situation. Sites being considered for the HBO televised bout include Detroit, Washington and Montreal, according to the source. Peterson would not confirm that the agreement has been reached, having yet to speak to his manager and trainer, Barry Hunter. Hunter could not be reached. "I haven't spoken to my manager and my trainer, and they haven't told me for certain yet, but I knew that we were very, very close. I knew that we were very close to finalizing the deal for the last week or so, but it's not signed yet," said Peterson. "Yes, this is the fight that I want right now. It's the fight that I was looking for, and it's a strong fight for me. It's the best fight that I can get, because I'm fighting the No. 1 guy in the 140-pound weight class and I'm fighting for the title. It's a fight I know that I can win." The 24-year-old Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) of England has won eight consecutive fights, four of them by knockout, and is coming off of last month's fifth-round stoppage that dethroned Zab Judah as IBF titleholder. The 27-year-old Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOs) of Washington, D.C. won an IBF eliminator with a 12th-round stoppage of Victor Cayo (26-2, 18 KOs) in July, earning the organization's No. 1 contender status. "Look, everybody has weaknesses or flaws. Call them whatever you want to. It's up to me now to come up with a game plan with my coach and to come up with a plan to defeat Amir Khan in the ring," said Peterson. "Any time that you're in a fight of this magnitude, then it's only going to lead to much, much bigger fights. And the winner of this fight will go on to be in really, really big fights after this." In February, Peterson passed up a chance to face Khan when talks broke down between Golden Boy Promotions CEO richard schaefer and Peterson's attorney, Jeff Fried, for an April challenge to Khan's WBA belt over money and a rematch clause. Peterson, in succession, had been offered $150,000, then, $200,000, and then, $300.000, but the challenger's camp wanted "north of $350,000" to travel to England to face Khan, according to Schaefer. When the negotiations fell apart, Khan moved on and defended his crown by technical decision over Paul McCloskey in England. Fried, who represented Peterson and Hunter in the negotiations, had contended that the negotiations failed more over the notion of a rematch in the event that Khan lost than it did the money being offered. Hunter could be reached. But during an interview last week, Peterson and Hunter each agreed that the amount of $350,000 was "in the ballpark" if the deal were to get done, even as he also expressed faith that it would. "Last time, I think that they were offering $300,000, but that was too light for us," said Peterson. "Nothing's changed. As far as what I'm asking for, so those numbers will still have to be reached." Prior to facing Cayo, Peterson had last been in the ring in December of last year. That's when Peterson rose from a pair of second-round knockdowns to salvage a 10-round majority draw against hard-hitting Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs). Ortiz later rose up to the next-higher weight and dethroned Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) as WBC welterweight titleholder. Peterson's initial title shot was in December of 2009, when he lost a clash of unbeaten fighters by unanimous decision to then-WBO beltholder Tim Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs). "I spoke to Richard Schaefer today, and it looks pretty good so far," said Hunter last week. "But if everybody agrees, then it looks like Dec. 10 will be the date, and I think that it's going to go down." http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/169148-peterson-agrees-to-terms-to-face-khan-on-dec-10-on-hbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoner Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Not a bad fight but it's a shame Khan-Bradley couldn't be made. I'd like to have seen Khan fight Guerrero or a Maidana rematch preferably but Guerrero is injured and Maidana looks more likely to fight McCloskey next. A fight with Peterson is pretty decent though IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelchair Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Khan should try and get Peterson out of there inside the distance, that'd would be a good performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donlevy Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 A decision is most likely.Peterson's defense and chin are solid enough,and he's a skilled fighter but lacks the power to seriously trouble Khan. Better than a fight with Morales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelchair Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 It's now official....... Amir Khan will defend his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles against American Lamont Peterson in Washington DC on 10 December. Mandatory IBF challenger Peterson, 27, has won all but two of his 31 fights. His only defeat was against Timothy Bradley in California two years ago. Khan said: "I know Lamont is a strong contender but it doesn't matter that I'm fighting him in his back yard. "I'm coming in as champion and I will leave as champion." Khan defended the belts in Las Vegas against American Zab Judah in July. The British fighter's next challenge will be the third time he has fought in America. It is expected to be the last time that Khan fights at 140lbs as he is looking to step up to welterweight to set up a fight against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather next summer. Khan, who has lost one of his 27 fights, said: "I always said I wanted to be active and a true world champion and I will prove it on 10 December." Peterson, who was born in Washington DC, added: "I respect Khan for his accomplishments and as a champion, but this is something that goes beyond all that. "This is the moment I've been waiting for my entire career, and to win a world title at home is something that I will remember forever. "On 10 December, I will make my dreams come true and ruin Amir's plans to reign over his division." Richard Schaefer, chief executive of promoters Golden Boy, confirmed the fight will take place at the Washington DC Convention Center.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/15170807.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meathead Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Decent fight. Possibly the only decent one outside of Khan facing Bradley, which seems less and less likely. Devon Alexander doesnt want the fight, and I really have no interest in seeing Khan outpace Morales. There are others but none that I really see with anything other than an outside chance of beating Khan. Peterson has a decent enough chin, and is more technical than he gets credit for. If Khan KOs him it will be one hell of a performance but my guess is a wide-ish points win. Surprised the fight is in Washington DC. I know Peterson is a hometown boy but surely Vegas would have been a much more lucrative attraction. You can draw 5,000 in Vegas and earn a lot more than pulling 5,000 elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamasadlittleboy Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Matthyes v Khan would have been better IMO, he's a "better" version of Maidana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siren1927 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I agree dude id rather have seen Khan step up and fight someone at 147 tbh this fight doesnt interest me at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavpowell Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I like to see fighters make an effort to clear out their division before they sod off to another weight class, especially s this is Khan's second. Never seen Peterson but I'll look forward to the fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamasadlittleboy Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I like to see fighters make an effort to clear out their division before they sod off to another weight class, especially s this is Khan's second. Never seen Peterson but I'll look forward to the fight. Clearing out the division by facing the guy widely out pointed by Bradley (who I expect will be happy to figth Khan early next year as he's out of the awful bloody promotional deal he was stuck with) and got dropped multiple times en route to a controversial draw with Ortiz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleman370 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 got dropped multiple times en route to a controversial draw with Ortiz? peterson won more rounds in that fight, but of course, the KDs made the difference. give me a respectable ratings system and i'll wager peterson is in the top 5. sure he's not in the class of matthysse, maidana or bradley as far as challenge goes, but he's a skilled fighter who will come to win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavpowell Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I like to see fighters make an effort to clear out their division before they sod off to another weight class, especially s this is Khan's second. Never seen Peterson but I'll look forward to the fight. Clearing out the division by facing the guy widely out pointed by Bradley (who I expect will be happy to figth Khan early next year as he's out of the awful bloody promotional deal he was stuck with) and got dropped multiple times en route to a controversial draw with Ortiz? By fighting as many people in the top 10 as possible, ideally, or at the very least unifying the belts. Peterson's a mandatory anyway isn't he? Or at least he will be in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelchair Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Peterson's a mandatory anyway isn't he? Or at least he will be in the near future. He is indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamasadlittleboy Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Winning a mandatory by beating Cayo (a guy Maidana stopped) shows more how poor the IBF's rankings are (the IBF incidentally are the only ones with Peterson in their top 5) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavpowell Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Winning a mandatory by beating Cayo (a guy Maidana stopped) shows more how poor the IBF's rankings are (the IBF incidentally are the only ones with Peterson in their top 5) That was carefully selected given I said top 10 and he's the WBO number 6 ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamasadlittleboy Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Winning a mandatory by beating Cayo (a guy Maidana stopped) shows more how poor the IBF's rankings are (the IBF incidentally are the only ones with Peterson in their top 5) That was carefully selected given I said top 10 and he's the WBO number 6 ;) ..the same WBO who don't rank Syllakh at 168? The same WBO who think Ustinov is the 7th best heavyweight? better yet the same WBO who rank Cesar Rene Cuenca as the #1 guy contender at 140? Gav...how would you like to see Khan take out the WBO's #1 fighter Cuenca? The IBF ratings do make rather...odd reading, 10 of their top 14 are from the US and no Matthyse at all! 1 Lamont Peterson United States 2 NOT RATED 3 Josesito Lopez United States 4 Zab Judah United States 5 Devon Alexander United States 6 Kendall Holt United States 7 Vernon Paris United States 8 Victor Manuel Cayo Dominican Republic 9 Kaizer Mabuza South Africa 10 Danny Garcia United States 11 Mauricio Herrera United States 12 Mike Alvarado United States 13 Tim Coleman United States 14 Ashley Theophane United Kingdom 15 Albert Mensah Ghana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavpowell Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I'd be quite happy to see Khan take on any of the top 10 guys provided he were reasonably consistent about it - hwe's IBF and WBa champ so make a bg dent in both orgs' top 10s or top 5s and I wouldn't complain much about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Ko Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I think Peterson is a solid opponent. He did give Bradley and Ortiz problems and he can only learn from that. I think its a great fight, I see Khan by UD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skav Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I'm not really excited for this one. I thought Ortiz edged Peterson but there is nobody out there for Khan to face, in fairness. Peterson may be durable for a while but I think he gets stopped in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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