Peterson’s trainer rails against Khan controversy
Organizations assign their own official scorers to bouts as backup references, and Welsh scored it a draw, while the IBF’s rep Paul Artisst had it for Peterson.
Peterson edged Khan, 113-112 on the cards of judges George Hill of New Jersey and Valerie Dorsett of North Carolina, and lost,115-110 on that of Nelson Vazquez of Puerto Rico.
Below is Hunter’s complete statement
We are in this process of dealing with these unfounded protests. It would be an understatement to characterize Lamont as being disappointed in the unprofessional manner in which Khan is attempting to discredit his performance in the ring and victory.
We were raised to conduct ourselves where Champions display professionalism, both in victory and defeat. Lamont previously tasted defeat and handled it the way it should be handled – – he worked harder on areas that needed improvement to maximize his performance in the ring. Now, he is World Champion.
Khan blames everyone and everything but his performance and lack of ability to make adjustments in the ring for his loss. He claims that the Ring Announcer privately stated he won, then that the referee’s discretionary actions should be overruled, then a mystery man in a black hat with no association to the Peterson Camp somehow affected the outcome of the bout, and also that the judges did not score the Bout correctly.
Each claim is boldly false, but because Golden Boy and Khan have the financial resources to file protests and lawyers to create questionable accusations we are forced to address these issues. We will not let these foul tactics take away from Lamont’s hard work, dedication and monumental victory. Furthermore, since Khan continues to focus on a man at ringside I want to be very clear– Mustafa Ameen is in no way, nor has he ever been affiliated or associated with anyone within Team Peterson. That includes myself, Lamont and Anthony Peterson.
If the media reports are true, the WBA President personally believes there should be a direct rematch of the fight. This was oddly stated before an official review had taken place, as well as an official response or decision from the WBA review committee had been presented regarding the various protests and our formal submission. That makes me wonder what procedures were actually followed before the WBA President made these public statements? The Rules should be followed by everyone.
Khan complains that the referee’s decisions should be overturned even though he continued to push Lamont throughout the fight. We believe the knockdown against Lamont was questionable but the rules give the referee that discretion on that call and we respect it.
Read more:
Peterson-Khan “Mystery Man” is an IBF philanthropist
Photo courtesy of Barry Hunter
Photo by Naoki Fukuda
Photo by Delane Rouse, Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions
Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]
