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Lem’s latest: Peterson-Holt ‘an entertaining fight’

Fighters Network
14
Feb

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — IBF junior welterweight beltholder Lamont Peterson claims that he will be prepared for anything Kendall Holt will have to offer when they clash on Feb. 22 at the D.C. Armory in Peterson’s home town of Washington, D.C.

Peterson (30-1-1, 15 knockouts) was last in the ring in December of 2011 for his split-decision victory that dethroned Amir Khan for the IBF and WBA belts before aound 10,000 fans to the Washington, D.C. Convention Center.



In making the first defense of his crown against Holt (28-5, 16 KOs), Peterson’s match up is being promoted by Gary Shaw in association with Head Bangers’ Boxing on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.

“Kendall Holt is going to come in at 100 percent, and he’s going to give it on hell of an effort, I believe,” said Peterson of Holt, a 31-year-old from Paterson, N.J., who is the mandatory defense for Peterson.

“At the end of the day, though, I don’t think that he will be able to bite down like I’m going to be able to. But we’re going to see. That’s why we’re going to get in there and do the 12 rounds or less.”

Having turned 29 on Jan. 24, Peterson is 3-0-1 with two knockouts since falling by unanimous decision as a 140-pounder in December of 2009 to current WBO welterweight beltholder Tim Bradley, a man Holt twice dropped to the canvas before losing his WBO title by unanimous decision in April of 2009.

Peterson shared his thoughts on the match up during a Wednesday open workout at the Head Bangers’ Gym in Washington, D.C.

“Kendall is going to have something to prove, but I will also have someting to prove,” Peterson said of Holt, who has won three of his past five fights with three stoppage victories, including a second-round knockout of Tim Coleman in his last fight in March.

“The fans will see an entertaining fight, but in the end, they will see me come out as the winner. I think that I have an advantage all areas. If it’s a brawl, I’m still going to win that fight. Because at the end of the day, regardless of what I’m doing, there is a strategy behind it.”

Prior to facing Coleman, Holt lost by split decision in October of 2011 to current RING, WBA and WBC 140-pound champion Danny Garcia, who owns a fourth-round knockout victory over Khan from July of last year.

Holt was out of the ring for an 11-month span after falling by seventh-round knockout to Kaizer Mabuza in February of 2010, but rebounded from that loss with a first-round stoppage of Lenin Arroyo in January of 2011.

“Kendall might come out to bang, but I’m not just out there to box. I’m not going to bang just to bang,” said Peterson. “But any area that we choose to go in, and whatever way the fight goes, I’m going to be victorious.”

KHAN WANTS PETERSON, GARCIA, AMONG OTHERS

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Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said Khan wants to return soon, and that he will likely remain at 140 pounds to seek rematches against Peterson and Garcia.

Khan is coming off December’s 10th-round stoppage of Carlos Molina (18-1-1, 7 KOs), of Norwalk, Calif., which represented his first fight under reigning Trainer of the Year Virgil Hunter.

“It seems to me that Amir does want to stay at 140, because he would really like to get either Danny Garcia again, or Lamont Peterson again. That is a strong reason for him to stay at 140 pounds.” said Schaefer, who informed RingTV.com that he spoke to Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza regarding Khan on Monday.

“We actually keep working on Amir’s fight. He very much would like to find a way for his next fight to be from the United Kingdom. So we’re having conversations about opponents and about dates and about whether it’s going to be in the U.S. or the U.K. So it’s basically a work in progress, but I anticipate that within the next week, we’ll be able to announce which way it’s going to go.”

MARCOS MAIDANA-JOSESITO LOPEZ BEING CONSIDERED

Schaefer would like to make a welterweight brawl between Argentine Marcos Maidana (33-3, 30 KOs) and Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18 KOs), of Riverside, Calif.

Since falling by unanimous decision to current IBF welterweight titleholder Devon Alexander in his 147-pound debut in February of last year, Maidana has scored consecutive stoppage wins over Jesus Soto Karass and Angel Martinez in the eighth and third rounds in September and December respectively.

Lopez is coming off September’s fifth-round stoppage loss to WBC junior middleweight beltholder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, this, after having scored June’s upset ninth-round knockout of ex-beltholder Victor Ortiz.

Maidana also owns a knockout win over Ortiz, whom he stopped in the sixth round of their clash in June of 2009. Maidana was floored three times in the bout compared to his dropping Ortiz twice.

JUDGE STEVE WEISFELD JOINS HBO’S RINGSIDE STAFF FOR ADRIEN BRONER-GAVIN REES

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Former veteran boxing judge Steve Weisfeld, who judged professional bouts around the world the past 22 years, will serve as HBO’s rules expert on Saturday night’s telecast of a defense by WBC lightweight beltholder Adrien “The Problem” Broner (25-0-1, 21 KOs) against former 140-pound beltholder Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18 KOs) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

In one of his most recent fights, Weisfeld scored widely in favor of underdog Austin Trout, 117-111, leading to his unanimous decision victory over Miguel Cotto in defense of his WBA junior middleweight belt in December.

The victory for Trout served to quell a boisterous, partisan Cotto crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where Cotto is an overwhelming fan favorite and had never lost.

A week later, Weisfeld was among the three judges who had Juan Manuel Marquez trailing, 47-46, at the tiime that he scored a sensatiional sixth-round stoppage of Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

KHABIB ALLAKHVERDIEV-BREIDIS PRESCOTT ON BRANDON RIOS-MIKE ALVARADO CARD

Russian WBA interim junior welterweight beltholder Khabib Allakhverdiev (18-0, 8 KOs) will face Colombian Breidis Prescott (26-4, 20 KOs) on the undercard of the March 30 main event rematch between former lightweight titleholder Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 23 KOs) and junior welterweight standout Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs) at at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

In a bloody Fight-of-The-Year-caliber clash in October, Rios scored a seventh-round knockout over the previously unbeaten Alvarado, who came from behind to knockout Prescott in the 10th round in November of 2011.

Prescott has one two straight, one of them by stoppage, since falling to Alvarado.

Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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