Khan vs Peterson Fight may be held in Washington

Khan vs Peterson: Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KO’s) will defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) title against Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KO’s) most likely at the Washington, DC Convention Center on December 10. Details are still being worked out, but it is probable that cable giant HBO will air the event according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.

“The fight is agreed upon and we are looking at different sites in Washington, DC. I think there is a real possibility that the fight will be in Washington, DC. Right now, we are looking at the D.C. Convention Center, because the other venue, Constitution Hall, that is too small. It only holds 3,700 people.”

“We think the better venue would be the Convention Center which seats, like 12,000. So we are looking at that. We are currently in discussion with HBO to see if we can have Seth Mitchell on that card as well. So, I think that looks pretty good. We are working on finalizing the venue and finalizing the card.”

Khan who’s from Bolton, England is still only 24 years old. He has been victorious since suffering a 1st round KO loss to Breidis Prescott in 2008. Since that time he took on Freddie Roach as his trainer and has won his last eight fights in a row, four by the KO route. Roach has recently forecast that Khan will become the best Pound for Pound fighter in the world within two years.

Khan’s match with Peterson will more than likely be his last fight at junior welterweight. Khan has made no secret of his intention to move up to the welterweight division and take on newly crowned WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KO’s). Floyd won by a controversial 4th round KO over badly overmatched Victor Ortiz last Saturday night.

Khan’s 1st bout in the U.S. was in May of 2010 when he KO’d Paulie Malignaggi in 11 rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Khan followed that with a unanimous decision win over Marcos Maidana last December at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. Most recently Amir scored an easy win in July when he KO’d IBF champion Zab Judah, which was also held at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

The 27 year old Peterson, who is from Washington, D.C. won an IBF eliminator in July with a twelve round stoppage over Victor Cayo (26-2, 18 KO’s). The win over Cayo elevated Lamont to #1 contender status and earned him a title shot at Amir Khan.

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/09/khan-peterson-may-be-in-washington/

Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson agree to terms for December 10th fight

The IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KO’s) and the number #1 IBF mandatory challenger Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KO’s) have reportedly come to terms for a fight this December 10, 2011. The only thing that’s needed now is the signing of the contracts and a decision made for a location for the fight.

Lamont Peterson, was the third choice for Amir Khan, as he wanted to fight 35-year-old Morales and WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley instead, but both wisely said no to the fight. It wasn’t a smart choice for Bradley because the money isn’t there for him to fight Khan. He’s better off waiting for the big money to fight Manny Pacquiao rather than taking the small money against Khan.

Morales wants to wait until 2012 to fight Khan, and that makes sense as well. Why fight Khan now when Morales is still new to the weight class and is really nothing more than a bantamweight fighter who put on 22 pounds to fight at 140.

Peterson said this to the Telegraph.co.uk: “I’m fighting the number 1 guy in the 140 pound weight class and I’m fighting for the title. It’s a fight that I can win. Everybody has weaknesses or flaws…It’s up to me to cmoe up with a plan to defeat Amir Khan in the ring…The winner of this figfht will go on to be in really, really big fights after this.”

The winner of this fight may or may not go on to bigger fights. The only real big fight out there at welterweight is Floyd Mayweather Jr., but Khan doesn’t want to fight the guy – Jessie Vargas – that he needs to in order to get the fight. As for the rest of the welterweights, they’re nothing special and won’t be huge fights.

Manny Pacquiao would never fight a guy like Peterson because he’s not a big name. No matter what Peterson did with Khan, Pacquiao wouldn’t waste his time on a slender guy like Peterson who was dominated by the smallish Bradley in the past. Peterson would get destroyed by Mike Jones and Victor Ortiz, and I don’t consider those big fights.

I think the best that Peterson can hope for if he wins this fight is to keep fighting light welterweights, which is where he belongs. He doesn’t have the frame or the power to compete at welterweight and neither does Khan. I’d like to see winner of this fight take on the best light welterweights to prove they’re the best in the division. Khan, however, plans on moving up in weight to try and chase Mayweather. I think he may be chasing him without much luck unless he follows what Mayweather is asking by taking on Vargas. And that’s a fight I can see Khan getting knocked out in to be honest. Vargas is another Marcos Maidana, and Khan got handled pretty well by him in their fight last December.

Peterson is a non threat for Khan he has no power. Khan could have taken on a puncher like Lucas Matthysse, Breidis Prescott or a Maidana, but instead of going for Peterson. This will likely be the same case when Khan moves up to welterweight. Don’t hold your breath waiting for him to fight Ortiz, Andre Berto or Mike Jones because those fights probably won’t happen.

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/09/khan-and-peterson-agree-to-terms-for-december-10th-fight-still-need-venue/