The Wrath of Khan
WBA/IBF junior welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) will defend his titles against Lamont Peterson (29-1, 15 KOs) on Dec. 10 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.
“I give Amir a lot of credit for fighting me in my home town,” said Peterson. “So many of the champions refuse to go to another guy’s back yard to fight.”
That’s nothing new for Khan. It’s what he’s used to.
“I’m always fighting on the road, away from home,” he said. “I’ve fought in New York. I fought twice in Vegas. It makes me train harder when my opponent is the main attraction or has the most support. I want to win the fans over wherever I go and become a global name.
“I leave for Los Angeles next week and training camp with Freddie Roach, who has cut short the camp with Manny Pacquiao in the Philippines to fit me in with the plans.
“I will need to be at my best against Lamont. He can box, he can stand and fight, and he’s being put down in his fights but he has shown—like me—that he has a lion’s heart. This will be a tough fight for me but I will have the strategy to get through it.”
If Khan gets by Peterson he’ll move up in weight to 147 lbs. in the hope of a big fight with Floyd Mayweather.
“Talks have already taken place,” Khan told Sky Sports, “and Mayweather has agreed to fight me. But we can’t look too far ahead because we’ve got Lamont Peterson and then I want to move up to 147 and then have one fight at that weight.
“Mayweather is keen to take the fight on. It’ll be a huge fight. It’s a timing game…where a young hungry fighter comes up and takes on the older, experienced guy.”
Khan shouldn’t get too excited. There’s no telling who Mayweather will be fighting, or even where he’ll be, 16 months from now.
