Amir Khan Vs Lamont Petersen looking likely for Dec 10th

Just read this on ESPN:

Unified junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan plans on having one more fight in the 140-pound division -- Dec. 10 against an opponent to be determined -- before moving up to welterweight, he told ESPN.com.

According to Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, HBO owes Khan another fight this year under the terms of a multi-fight contract.

"Dec. 10 I will be back. I've got a TV date with HBO and I am looking forward to it," Khan told ESPN.com, adding that the fight would take place in the United States. "Opponents are quite hard to get. We asked about (Erik) Morales, but he said no. Bradley (titlist Timothy Bradley Jr.) has said no, just refused to fight me even though we offered him everything he wanted. I really think he just doesn't want to fight me no matter what's on the table.

"It's too bad because the fans want to see it. But I know I am No. 1 in the division and that's what most other people say also because Bradley has not been active and he just won't fight me."

Schaefer said he is negotiating for Khan to face Lamont Peterson of Washington, D.C. Peterson is one of Khan's mandatory challengers.

"That's the fight we are pursuing," Schaefer said. "We are having conversations with Barry Hunter (Peterson's trainer, manager and father figure). "They're interested in the fight. Now we have to see if we can agree on a purse. If we can't, I guess we will go to a purse bid, but we are working on the numbers."

Said Khan, "I think it's a good fight. Peterson is skillful and a good fighter. But I will leave the negotiations to Golden Boy. This will probably be my last fight (at) 140."

After the 27-year-old Peterson battled to a 10-round draw with Victor Ortiz (who went on to win a welterweight belt and defends it against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday night) on a Khan undercard in December, he was offered a shot at Khan in April.

However, Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOs) rejected the deal, unhappy with the $300,000-plus offer and the terms of a rematch clause. Khan instead scored a one-sided, six-round technical decision against Paul McCloskey in England. Peterson, meantime, took an eliminator for about $10,000 and knocked out Victor Cayo in the 12th round on July 29.

Unable to lure Bradley, who turned down a career-high payday and 50-50 deal, into the ring, England's Khan instead faced Zab Judah and knocked him out in the fifth round of a dominant performance to unify belts on July 23.

Now, as a mandatory challenger, Peterson can refuse a rematch clause and would be entitled to 25 percent of the money in the event of a purse bid.

"Lamont is a credible opponent. He got a draw with Ortiz, who is now fighting Mayweather," Khan, 24, said. "Now he's my mandatory and it would be a good fight. He wants to fight and I am willing to fight him. That's probably the best fight for me before I move up to welterweight."

The two big names at welterweight are Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather. However, Khan said he would never consider fighting Pacquiao because they are good friends, training partners and are both trained by Freddie Roach. However, Khan does have his eye on an eventual fight with Mayweather.

"I know I will give him a tougher fight than Victor Ortiz will," Khan said. "He's never faced anyone as slick as me."

Schaefer said he does not have a site locked in for Dec. 10 but mentioned Las Vegas, where Khan has fought two of his last three fights, or Detroit, which has a large Muslim population that he thinks would be attracted to Khan, a devout Muslim who recently made a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia during the final week of Ramadan.

"I love fighting in the U.S. My fan base is growing," said Khan, who trains with Roach at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. "I'd like to do another fight in New York or Las Vegas or have a fight in Los Angeles. Los Angeles would be a good place. I train there, so it would be like home for me."

Khan also said he was willing to fight in Washington, Peterson's hometown. Khan spent some time in Washington last week and said he enjoyed the city and being recognized on the street. He was in Washington as a guest of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a Wednesday dinner honoring prominent American Muslim athletes.

Khan said although he is not American, he was invited because he trains and fights regularly in the United States.

"It was good to come to Washington and meet Hillary Clinton," Khan said. "She shook my hand and mentioned me on the podium when she was giving her speech. She called me a good role model for Muslims. That was nice to hear. She had nice words to say to me. We got to take a picture together. It was exciting."


Source: http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/6962438/amir-khan-pursuing-lamont-peterson-one-last-fight-140

What are your thoughts? Personally I would be disappointed with this match up. Would prefer a Maidana rematch, possibly even McCloskey. Bradders being the best match up but that looks destined never to happen. Particularly as this could well be the last fight for Khan at 140. Was hoping for a undisputed champ.

There's not a whole lot of options at 140 left but Peterson is still disappointing, whats happening with Bradley these days?

Disappointing, but then again anything at 140 is if it isn't Bradley.

Bradley has avoided the fight disgracefully, by all accounts.

The Galveston Giant wrote:There's not a whole lot of options at 140 left but Peterson is still disappointing, whats happening with Bradley these days?

Bradley doesn't want to fight Khan, he fears he will lose.

Petetson will get outboxed by Khan and will probably get stopped in 8.

Khan should move up next year and maybe take on Berto on his first outing.

It's alright, but not spectacular. Might need to move up soon.

Scottrf wrote:It's alright, but not spectacular. Might need to move up soon.

He will be moving up next year. He wanted to be undisputed champ at 140lbs first but Bradley went into hiding after calling Khan out.

What happened to Morales-Matthysse then Khan taking on the winner? I missed something. Where is the belt?

joeyjojo618 wrote:What happened to Morales-Matthysse then Khan taking on the winner? I missed something. Where is the belt?

Got called off, Mathysse pulled out I think.

Where did my comment go?

D4thincarnation wrote:

joeyjojo618 wrote:What happened to Morales-Matthysse then Khan taking on the winner? I missed something. Where is the belt?

Got called off, Mathysse pulled out I think.

Yeah - got injured i think.

This will be on Primetime no doubt. Not a PPV fight in my opinion.

Mind you Sky seem to be still warm on Khan - he was on Ringside last week.

Viral infection.

joeyjojo618 wrote:What happened to Morales-Matthysse then Khan taking on the winner? I missed something. Where is the belt?

Morales is fighting Pabla Cesar Cano (22(17)-0-1) for the belt.

Bradley isn't fighting anyone at the moment. That's not avoiding Khan disgracefully. Especially when he's looking for a fight with Pacquiao.

He's miscalculated woefully re: Khan - should have taken the fight. Risks being forgotten now. Long time since he last fought and no word on future fights.

His promoter is pretty rubbish though.

Can't grumble too much if this fight comes off, I suppose, given that Bradley simply seems unwilling to step in to the ring against Khan. Other than Bradley there isn't really a 140 lb name to get the juices flowing, so Petersen is as decent a test as we can expect before Khan goes after Welterweight honours.

Khan wins this by a mid round stoppage, I reckon. Petersen's a fair fighter but has nowhere near enough to trouble Khan. Still hope we see Khan-Bradley in early 2012, but if it can't be made this really needs to be Khan's last bout before moving up.

Union Cane wrote:

joeyjojo618 wrote:What happened to Morales-Matthysse then Khan taking on the winner? I missed something. Where is the belt?

Morales is fighting Pabla Cesar Cano (22(17)-0-1) for the belt.

Would prefer to see Khan fight Morales should he win, much more of a test than Peterson.

D4thincarnation wrote:

Union Cane wrote:

joeyjojo618 wrote:What happened to Morales-Matthysse then Khan taking on the winner? I missed something. Where is the belt?

Morales is fighting Pabla Cesar Cano (22(17)-0-1) for the belt.

Would prefer to see Khan fight Morales should he win, much more of a test than Peterson.

Yeah I agree - although this would provide a weapons cache of ammunition for the Khan haters.

Dazstarr wrote:Yeah I agree - although this would provide a weapons cache of ammunition for the Khan haters.

I don't think it would, if the fight was for the WBC Title.

To be honest was not overly excited by the prospect of a Morales fight. Think the Maidina fight pretty much flattered Erik. Maidana is pretty crude just carries a dig, as Erik has a decent set of whiskers he pretty much neutralised this and so looked a lot better than he is at this stage of the game. Think against a young mobile fighter like Khan Erik would look like the veteran he is and would lose pretty widely.

Union Cane wrote:

Dazstarr wrote:Yeah I agree - although this would provide a weapons cache of ammunition for the Khan haters.

I don't think it would, if the fight was for the WBC Title.

A unification would be good - but you know the type, Morales over the hill, belts mean nothing, Khan cherry picking...etc

Like I said - I would prefer that fight than Peterson. A Maidana rematch would make good numbers and be highly entertaining.

Roll on 2012 when Khan moves up to welter, he has cleaned house at 140lbs, though Bradley ran out of that house.

He would do quite good at welter I reckon - would like to see how he handles a wallop from an established 147er like Ortiz/Berto.

Dazstarr wrote:He would do quite good at welter I reckon - would like to see how he handles a wallop from an established 147er like Ortiz/Berto.

Obviously Berto and Ortiz have the power to hurt Khan but as long as Khan is not careless he should out box both of them, both very easy to hit.

Could be Berto or Brook for his first outting.

Apparently he has dismissed the idea of fighting Brook for as long as he is with Matchroom. Khan took umbrage at matchroom for suggesting Khan's fight with Mcloskey which was downgraded from box office on sky and dumped on Primetime at the 11th hour may not have been organised as professionally as one would have hoped. Can understand why Khan and his people would get so upset, was positively the dictionary definition of slick that one.

Would be a good homecoming fight and debut at 147 though with Brook.

Agree Daz, if Brook can get himself a belt which is not beyond the realms as he is well ranked would seem a perfect first fight at welter for Khan, good homecoming and chance to win a belt and test the waters at the new weight. Winner would seem perfectly placed for Floyd should he be serious about wanting to fight in the UK. Hate to see fans denied potentially exciting fights on petty reasons

Bit of a tam=ngent but on another thread I read that Mayweather will only give Khan a shot if he beats Jesse Vargas. will Khan therefore hang around at 140lbs until that fight can be made? i thought (may be wrong on this) that Vargas was 135lbs?

Michaels, Sean wrote:Bit of a tam=ngent but on another thread I read that Mayweather will only give Khan a shot if he beats Jesse Vargas. will Khan therefore hang around at 140lbs until that fight can be made? i thought (may be wrong on this) that Vargas was 135lbs?

I wouldn't put much faith into what that guy says.

Khan should just keep doing what he is doing, the guys that want to fight him will the ones that don't won't

Michaels, Sean wrote:Bit of a tam=ngent but on another thread I read that Mayweather will only give Khan a shot if he beats Jesse Vargas. will Khan therefore hang around at 140lbs until that fight can be made? i thought (may be wrong on this) that Vargas was 135lbs?

Think he is just trying to get some publicity for this protege. Vargas hasnt done anything to deserve a shot at Khan - yet.

D4thincarnation wrote:I wouldn't put much faith into what that guy says.

Not a Mayweather fan, mate?

Union Cane wrote:

D4thincarnation wrote:I wouldn't put much faith into what that guy says.

Not a Mayweather fan, mate?

Good matchup for Khan, as Peterson is a credible opponent but styles heavily favour Khan.

Khan to stop him by mid rounds.

Bradley is a disgrace.

Not sure if I'd prefer Khan to fight Alexander, bit a better W in my opinion especially if he does it more than that head-butting ducker Bradley. Though I think he's fighter Malinaggi right?

TopHat24/7 wrote:Bradley is a disgrace.

Not sure if I'd prefer Khan to fight Alexander, bit a better W in my opinion especially if he does it more than that head-butting ducker Bradley. Though I think he's fighter Malinaggi right?

Don't think he is, Paulie would beat, Deven "It Burns It Burns" Alexander.

Devon has lost his last 3 fight, only hometown judges managed to turn 2 of those into wins.

But he's more recently been a top ranked contender which is more than can be said for Peterson.

And as I said, the importance of doing a subtantially better job than ducker-boy shouldn't be underestimated.

You've got a problem when you are trying to sell an opponent on the basis of a draw with someone....

Easy night for Khan but then again maybe he deserves one!!!

McCloskey, Maidana were all good opponents in relation to what every body else is fighting..

TopHat24/7 wrote:But he's more recently been a top ranked contender which is more than can be said for Peterson.

And as I said, the importance of doing a subtantially better job than ducker-boy shouldn't be underestimated.

Kotelnik beat him, Bradley made him quite, and Mathysse was well and truly robbed.

Morales would be the fight I would want to see Khan take, not these overhyped Americans.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:You've got a problem when you are trying to sell an opponent on the basis of a draw with someone....

Easy night for Khan but then again maybe he deserves one!!!

Did he even break a sweat against McCloskey?? And a whiney escapologist like Judah, 5 years off peak form, was hardly a tough night's work....!

D4thincarnation wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:But he's more recently been a top ranked contender which is more than can be said for Peterson.

And as I said, the importance of doing a subtantially better job than ducker-boy shouldn't be underestimated.

Kotelnik beat him, Bradley made him quite, and Mathysse was well and truly robbed.

Morales would be the fight I would want to see Khan take, not these overhyped Americans.

You'd rather he fought a shot has-been who adds nothing more than a name to a CV?? Oh yeh, forgot you're a pac-fan....

TopHat24/7 wrote:

D4thincarnation wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:But he's more recently been a top ranked contender which is more than can be said for Peterson.

And as I said, the importance of doing a subtantially better job than ducker-boy shouldn't be underestimated.

Kotelnik beat him, Bradley made him quite, and Mathysse was well and truly robbed.

Morales would be the fight I would want to see Khan take, not these overhyped Americans.

You'd rather he fought a shot has-been who adds nothing more than a name to a CV?? Oh yeh, forgot you're a pac-fan....

Morales looked better against Maidana than Alexander did agains Mathysse.

Morales will come to fight and not to run, and the fight against Morales will be worth watching Alexander lacks heart.

that fight looks to me like he wants ortiz afterwards especially as he has said he will give peterson a much tougher fight

zx1234 wrote:that fight looks to me like he wants ortiz afterwards especially as he has said he will give peterson a much tougher fight

If Floyd wins by UD as expected then i can definately see Khan going after that fight next, depending on what happens on Saturday it should be a lot better matchup than Khan/Peterson.

If Bradley won't fight him then their isn't much else out there. Alexander is terribly boring, Matthysse is coming off 2 straight defeats and that only leaves him with Holt, Morales or Alvarado and none of them stand much chance against Khan.

Looks like the perfect opportunity for the Maidana re match. That fight would make good money as well because it was FOTY last year. Seems strange their looks to be no chance of that happening.