Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson bout in D.C.

[Rick Ronson]

Unified junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan is taking the bold step of making his next defense in Washington, D.C. -- the hometown of Lamont Peterson, his opponent on Dec. 10.

"Khan-Peterson definitely will be in Washington, D.C.," Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Thursday. "We are still looking to see which venue, but it will be in Washington."

Schaefer said that Seth Mitchell (23-0-1, 17 KOs), the top American heavyweight prospect, who is from the Washington suburb of Brandywine, Md., will fight on the HBO-televised undercard against an opponent to be determined.

Schaefer said he's looking at various venues in the nation's capital but hopes to have the card take place at the Verizon Center, the city's major arena, which is home to the NHL's Capitals, NBA's Wizards and Georgetown's men's basketball team. The Hoyas have a home game scheduled for Dec. 10, but it is possible a deal could be struck to change it.

"With a big fight like Khan-Peterson, and with Peterson being from Washington, and Seth Mitchell being on the card along with some other local talent, Washington is the place for this fight," Schaefer said.

England's Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) recently visited the city and enjoyed himself as a guest at a dinner honoring Muslim athletes hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Khan will be making his sixth title defense, including a fifth-round knockout of Zab Judah to unify belts on July 23 in Las Vegas.

Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOs), the mandatory challenger, will be getting his second shot at a world title. He lost a decision to Timothy Bradley in 2009. There will be a media tour next week to promote the fight, beginning with a stop in London on Tuesday followed a visit to Washington later in the week.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/7037845/amir-khan-fight-lamont-peterson-washington-dc

 

[Rick Ronson]

On December 10th big-time boxing returns to America’s capital city, Washington D.C., after a long hiatus. Amir Khan, 26-1 (18), will make the mandatory defense of his IBF belt (the WBA and Ring Magazine straps will also be on the line) in the 12,000 capacity Convention Centre.

His opponent Lamont Peterson, 29-1-1 (15), will be fighting in front of his home fans and is confident of a full house and great support.

“The 12,000 seats will probably be filled. The crowd is going to keep me going in this fight because I know we’re going to be fighting hard at times,” said Peterson when speaking to BoxingScene.com.

It’s a big night for the city. Golden Boy Promotions head Richard Schaefer told reporters that he wanted to try and bring big fight nights back to D.C. after several years in the doldrums.

“The whole card will have a Washington D.C. flavor to it with a lot of local talent.”

That will include big-hitting up and coming American heavyweight Seth Mitchell against the infamous TBA - although Schaefer promises he’ll be in with “a notable opponent,” and that the rest of the bill will see “competitive and interesting fights.”

“I don’t believe in doing showcase fights,” he said, “because in the end nobody really wins. The public doesn’t win, but the fighter doesn’t really win either because he doesn’t build up the confidence, he doesn’t build up the skills and the media and the fight fans don’t give the fighter the credit for that either, so it’s a no-win situation.”

Anthony Peterson - Lamont’s brother - seems likely to be featured on the card. He returns a year from his last fight, the disqualification loss to WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios.

As for the main event, Lamont and his trainer Barry Hunter are confident of a win and a much improved performance from the one Peterson gave in the disappointing wide points loss to current WBO light-welterweight champion Timothy Bradley in 2009.

“I think [Lamont] learned a tremendous lesson in the Bradley fight,” Hunter explained.

“Lamont went into that fight over-confident. I know he did because I felt the same way. Because he went though that experience with Timothy, it made him a much better fighter and a more seasoned fighter.”

Hunter recalled how over-confidence wasn’t the only problem before the Bradley fight either.

“We had a big, big weight problem. I wasn’t going to talk about it [at the time] and I made sure he [Lamont] didn’t talk about it. We were stuck at 148lbs and we couldn’t get it off. Going into the [training for the Bradley] fight Lamont had gained about 15lbs of muscle. I had to stop like two or three sparring sessions. All the way up to the week before the fight we had problems [with the weight].”

Lamont agreed that after the Bradley fight he had learned lessons and improved as a fighter.

“I went down in the third round against Bradley and I kind of panicked because I wasn’t used to being down in a fight - normally I win every round of every fight so it was something new for me and I was like, ‘I got to get these points back.’ I wasn’t fighting my fight then, I was just out there brawling.

“With Ortiz I went down twice in the third round. For the whole training camp I was like, ‘If you go down early, don’t panic. Stay calm, stay cool, keep your head.’ And that’s what I did. That’s what I learned from the Bradley fight.”

Lamont also seemed to agree that for him to win the fight on points if - he chose to box with Khan - he’d have to win rounds convincingly and clearly.

“I think I can win the fight boxing but there has to be a lot of clean punches landed by me. And my defence - if I’ve got my hands up and I’m blocking shots I don’t think that will work. They’ll probably be still giving him points, giving him credit for shots [that I block]. If I’m not slipping them totally - then they’ll be a problem.”

Lamont also knows he may have to have a plan B if he finds himself behind on points after making a decision to box early on.

“The plan will be to box, to feel things out. If things don’t work out that way then of course I’m going to bring it and fight hard the rest of the fight. I have to defend my own turf!”

The Washington D.C. native thinks the pace he starts the fight at is all important.

“Even if I’m boxing, as long as I’m not boxing slow and taking my time and throwing punches here and there, I’ll be ok. If I’m boxing, I’m going to be boxing fast - still throwing a lot of punches.

“[If] you come out lazy and just chilling, it’s hard to switch paces. It’s easy for me to switch styles. A lot of times I constantly switch throughout a fight. You might see me on the inside fighting them, or you might see me on the outside boxing a bit.”

Barry Hunter mentioned that his charge was equally happy fighting as a southpaw if the situation demanded it. Lamont concurred.

“I’m very comfortable switching to southpaw. I’m a much better puncher at southpaw with the right hand which becomes my hook. It’s a knockout punch. I have about a 50% KO ratio but a lot of those KOs have come recently. I’ve been working on power shots more these days.”

Amir Khan was quick to praise his team of trainer Freddie Roach and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza when asked about the more solid look he’s had since moving to light-welter.

“Ariza has conditioned me with bigger legs, [more] power and speed [without] too much muscle [up top],” confirmed Khan. “Freddie is about sticking to a game plan and thinking about what you have to do and not just rushing in there. Freddie’s brought the best out of me that way.”

With Timothy Bradley having handed Lamont Peterson a wide points defeat on the cards in their World Title fight and recent Mayweather Jr. victim Victor Ortiz having dropped him twice on the way to a majority draw, Amir is determined to put in an eye catching performance on the night.

“I think I have the tools to stop [Peterson]. Definitely. I’m not going to go in there to try and knock him out, I think my speed and power - if I put them together - will do that, but I always want to look good against my opponents and I want to put in a better performance than Bradley did. That’s just me. I’m very confident.”

In 1999, Washington D.C. legends Keith Holmes and William Joppy both defended versions of the middleweight title in their hometown. In the same year, perhaps the best fighter the city has produced, Mark ‘Too Sharp’ Johnson, won the IBF super-flyweight title at the Convention Centre. It’s been a dry spell since those heady days but finally a Washington D.C. fighter is again challenging for a world title in the nation’s capital.

Lamont Peterson has come a long way from sleeping rough on the city’s mean streets as a child, to fighting for world titles. Amir Khan has picked himself up after the crushing one round blowout to Breidis Prescott and proved he has the mental strength to compliment his obvious boxing ability. As Barry Hunter said, “It’s the adversity in life that makes us what we are.”

Both men will once again be desperate to prove just how far they have come on December 10th.