By: William Holmes
“We haven’t had a fight this big in Washington D.C. since Sugar Ray Leonard left town”
The excitement in the air was palpable. As the crowd gathered outside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the quote cited above was overheard by this author from a random fan waiting for the doors to open. His words turned out to be prophetic, as tonight’s main event was one for the ages. Amir Khan was a heavy favorite entering this fight, and his decision to fight a very tough Lamont Peterson in Peterson’s hometown backfired on him. The Washington crowd was amped, and the fans filled the convention center well before the televised card began. The results of tonight’s card are as follows.
Undercard Quick Results:
Joshua Davis (2-0) defeated Chris Russell (2-8-1) by unanimous decision in the lightweight division with scores of 40-36, 39-37, and 39-37.
Terron Grant (2-0) defeated Dashawn Autry (0-2) by first round TKO at 1:10 in the first round of the lightweight division.
Dusty Harrison (3-0) defeated Terrell Davis (0-5) by first round TKO at 2:46 in the first round in the welterweight division.
Fernando Guerrero (22-1) defeated Robert Kliewer (11-14-2) by KO at 0:45 of the fifth round in the middleweight division.
Jamie Kavanagh (9-0-1) fought Ramesis Gil (6-3-5) to a majority draw in the lightweight division with scores of 58-56, 57-57, and 57-57.
Anthony Peterson (31-1) defeated Daniel Attah (26-9-1) by unanimous decision in the super lightweight division with scores of 80-72, 80-72, and 80-72.
Thomas Williams (6-0) defeated Reynaldo Rodriguez (6-3-1) by second round KO at 0:54 of the light heavyweight division.
Main Card Round by Round Results:
Seth Mitchell (24-0-1) vs. Timur Ibragimov (30-4-1)
Round 1:
Crowd is strongly in favor of Maryland native Seth Mitchell as both fighters come out to the center of the ring. Mitchell lands an early jab to the body, and Ibragimov answers with a jab of his own. Mitchell lands a cross to the body of Ibragimov and a left hook to the head. Mitchell lands a two punch combination by the ropes. The fighters clinch and exchange body blows. Ibragimov flicks out a few jabs, and lands a hard cross. Mitchell lands a cross to the body, and Ibragimov fires right back with a cross to the head of Mitchell. Ibragimov ducks under a Mitchell hook and lands a right hook of his own. Close round to score. 10-9 Ibragimov.
Round 2:
Mitchell starts off with a short body shot, and then lands a very hard right cross. Mitchell lands another body shot, and then complains to the referee about a rabbit punch. Mitchell lands a jab, and the fighters engage in excessive clinching. A cross lands for Ibragimov, but Mitchell answers with a hard left hook. Ibragimov is hurt and is stuck by the ropes, Mitchell unloads some heavy shots on Ibragimov. Ibragomiv’s head goes through the ropes, and Mitchell is landing some measured and hard punches. Mitchell lands a nasty two punch combination, and lands multiple hard right crosses on Ibragimov by the corner of the ropes. Ibragimov is hurt badly by the corner and the referee stops the fight.
Seth Mitchell wins by 2nd round KO at 2:48.
Amir Khan (26-1) vs. Lamont Peterson (30-1-1)
Round 1:
Extremely large pop for Lamont Peterson as he comes out to the ring, and a mixture of cheers and boos for Amir Khan as he enters the ring. The crowd is really into this fight, and some Khan fans are blowing horns in the background.
Peterson lands two early jabs, and Khan answers with a right cross. Peterson ducks under an Amir Khan combination. Khan lands with a right cross. Khan ducks under a Peterson hook, and pushes Ptereson to the ground. Body combination is landed by Khan in the center of the ring. Peterson lands a stiff jab, and Khan knocks Peterson down and the referee rules it a slip. Khan lands another combination in the center of the ring. Peterson lands another stiff jab and connects with some body shots. Khan’s fans are surprisingly loud. Peterson lands a hook to the body, and Khan counters and knocks Peterson down with a hook. Peterson gets a standing eight count, and Khan finishes the round with another three punch combination in the center of the ring. 10-8 round for Khan.
Replay shows the knockdown looked more like a push.
Round 2:
Peterson is showing good head movement, and Khan lands two jabs. Peterson with some short body shots. Crowd begins chanting for Khan. Khan lands another combination by the ropes. Pterson lands a hard cross to the head and two hooks to the body. Another right hook to the body by Peterson. A left hook lands for Khan. The crowd now begins chanting DC, DC. Peterson misses with a wild right. Khan lands a left hook, and Peterson answers with a body head combination. Peterson landing some nice body shots on Khan as the round ends. 10-9 round for Peterson, but a very close round.
Round 3:
Khan lands two quick jabs and a few short hooks. A jab lands for Peterson. Khan attacks viciously but misses with his combinations. A jab and a combination land for Khan, and Peterson answers with a right cross of his own. Peterson landing some hard hooks to the body and is stalking Khan as Khan back peddles. Peterson lands another head body combination. Hard right hand lands for Peterson, and he lands another vicious right hand. Khan is on his bike as Peterson chases him down landing body shots. Peterson hit with a hard cross near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Peterson.
Round 4:
Khan lands a hard combination on Peterson near the beginning of the round. Peterson is again stalking Khan, but eats a three punch combination in the process. Peterson landing body shots again, and lands a hard uppercut. Fighters exchange ferociously in the center of the ring. A two punch combination connects for Khan, and Peterson answers with body shots of his own. Khan lands another two punch combination, and Peterson continues his work downstairs. A three punch combination lands for Khan, but Peterson answers with an extremely stiff right hand. Peterson lands two more hard right hands, and follows with some more body shots. An uppercut lands for Khan near the end of the round, but Peterson looks to be fighting like a man possessed. 10-9 round for Peterson.
Round 5:
Peterson lands an early jab and some short body punches. Peterson ducks some of Khan’s punches and lands a vicious uppercut. A two punch combination lands for Khan, and lands a right hand. A nice body head combination lands for Khan. Peterson again goes back to working on the body of Khan. An uppercut lands for Khan, and Peterson continues to stalk Amir Khan. Khan slips, and a jab lands for Khan. Combination from Khan is blocked by Peterson. Peterson lands some body shots, Khan is on his bike. Khan lands an overhand right near the end of the round. Very close round, Khan appeared to land more punches. 10-9 Khan.
Round 6:
Peterson lands a combination in the middle, and ends it with a jab to the stompach. Khan lands a combination of his own, and finishes with two jabs upstairs. Peterson is the more aggressive fighter and is stalking Khan across the ring. A right hook lands for Khan, and Khan remains very elusive. A left hook to the body lands for Peterson. Khan lands a combination and two jabs. Peterson lands two hard body shots, and two very hard right hands. Khan answers with a 1-2 combination. Another very tough round to score, but Peterson appeared to snapped Khan’s head back a few times. 10-9 round for Peterson.
Round 7:
Peterson lands an early jab and a left hook. Khan with a quick three punch combination that is partially blocked. Khan lands a two punch combination, dances around the ring, and lands another three punch combination. Khan is starting to hit Peterson often. Peterson answers with a left hook, but his eye is starting to look swollen. Peterson eats a jab from Khan. Khan lands a hard right hand and sweat flies in the air. Khan lands a combination, and is pushed by Peterson to the ropes. Peterson lands a very hard left. Peterson lands multiple short body shots on Khan by the ropes. Peterson stays to the body and is beating Khan by the ropes. Peterson continues to stalk and stays to the body. Peterson lands a very hard right hand. The referee takes one point away from Khan during this round, so 10-8 for Peterson.
Round 8:
Peterson comes right out and continues to go forward. Khan misses with a two punch combination, but lands two jabs afterwards. Khan lands an uppercut, and Peterson is charging Khan. Khan is trapped near the ropes and gets his body worked on by Peterson. Khan lands a very hard uppercut, but Peterson continues to come forward and stays on the body of Peterson. Ptereson lands some hard uppercuts and continues to chase Khan around the ring. Peterson eats a right hand. Khan lands a four punch combination, and Peterson lands some hard body blows. Khan lands a three punch combination and Peterson lands some body shots. Peterson mixing in some uppercuts with his body shots. Khan is being worn down, great, great fight so far. 10-9 round for Peterson.
Round 9:
Peterson comes out and continues to stalk Khan. Khan ducks a left hook, and Peterson ducks Khan’s own punches. Hard uppercut by Khan. Khan lands two body shots, and Peterson bangs at the body of Khan. Khan lands three hard rights, and Peterson lands an uppercut. Khan lands some hard hooks to the body, and a three punch combination. Khan lands a hook to the body, and a hard right hand. Peterson looks hurt, but is able to continue to come forward. Khan landing some hard body shots, and two hard rights. Khan lands an uppercut, and Peterson answers with a hard right hand. 10-9 round for Khan.
Round 10:
Peterson is charging, and works the body of Khan. Peterson is banging at the body of Khan, Khan is able to scoot away and land a three punch combination. Khan misses wildly with a 1-2 combination. Khan lands a right cross, and then lands a three punch combination. Peterson with more body shots. A hard right hand for Peterson, and then a three punch combination for Khan. Peterson lands a hook to the body near the end of the round, but Khan looked sharper than Peterson. 10-9 round for Khan.
Round 11:
Fighters touch gloves, and Peterson lands an early jab. Khan lands a three punch combination, and Peterson is starting to look tired. Peterson pushes Khan to the corner, and Khan is able to land a left hook and dance away. Khan is holding onto the head of Khan. Khan lands a four punch combination, and Peterson answers with two hard body shots. Khan with a three punch combination, and again holds onto the head of Peterson. Peterson with some more body shots and uppercuts. Peterson has Khan in the corner. Khan works on Peterson with some body shots. Khan is able to fight out of the ropes and Peterson is chasing Khan. Khan lands a 1-2 combination near the end of the round. 10-9 round for Khan.
Round 12:
Before the beginning of round twelve the crowd gives both fighters a standing ovation. They touch gloves and Khan lands a quick right hand. Khan misses with a combination, but steps back and lands a two punch combination. Peterson bangs at the body of Khan. Peterson lands four punches to the body, and Khan lands a hard right hand. Khan is deducted a point by the referee, but it appears to be a questionable point deduction. Khan lands a straight right hand, and then a two point combination. Khan lands a hook to the body, and Peterson eats a right hand near the end of the round. 9-9 round.
Official scores are 113-112 for Peterson, 114-111 for Khan, and 113-112 for Peterson. Lamont Peterson wins in a monster upset.
After the fight Peterson says he will give Amir Khan a rematch if he wants it. Khan blames the referee and says he was fighting two people tonight. In the press conference Mitchell states that he wants to fight as soon as possible, and hopes to get a fight soon. Oscar states that there will be a rematch, and both parties appear open to it.
Khan states in the press conference says he does not regret taking the fight in Washington DC, and thinks Lamont Peterson is too afraid to fight him in the UK. He hopes to fight at a neutral site next.
A rematch is definitely in order, but credit has to be given to Lamont Peterson. Both fighters showed tremendous heart, but Lamont Peterson appeared to want it a little more than Amir Khan.
