Amir Khan, Lamont Peterson & HBO Bring Boxing Back to DC
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Big-time boxing returned to our nation’s capital on Thursday just a stone’s throw from where the First Family lay their heads. The buzz was palpable at the W Hotel here for an afternoon press conference to announce an HBO Championship Boxing card on December 10th at Washington Convention Center featuring top-ranked British junior welterweight Amir Khan defending his belts against D.C. native Lamont Peterson. A stacked undercard will include promising Maryland heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell in the televised co-feature along with Peterson’s brother Anthony and local welterweight prodigy Dusty Harrison.
A combination of factors convinced HBO Boxing chief Kerry Davis and Khan’s promoter, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, to bring the premium cable network to the District for the first time in 18 years: Peterson had recently won an eliminator bout against Victor Cayo, putting him in line for a mandatory shot at Khan’s unified titles and the Pakistani-Brit had fallen in love with the city during a visit last month to attend a dinner for Muslim athletes hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Throw in some lobbying from local scribes like ESPN’s Dan Rafael and Ring’s Lem Satterfield along with the support of local sports players like attorney Jeff Fried and just like that, Washington has its long-awaited championship bout. The folks behind the fight are hoping to turn it into a major pre-holiday event; the planned capacity is 12,000 but the arena is capable of seating more than twice that number if interest is sufficient.
Perhaps the best news is that tickets will start at $25 in a nod to both fighters’ desire to reward their fans. This will be the first major fight for Peterson in his hometown and D.C. Boxing Commission chairman Scottie Irving predicted as many as half of Southeast Washington’s 40,000 residents could show up for the fight, while Khan’s manager said 4-5,000 British fans are expected to make the trip.
Credit Khan for being ready once again to fight in his opponent’s backyard as he did last May in New York against Paulie Malignaggi. Richard Schaefer said talks began on Khan-Peterson 18 months ago but the fight failed to come together multiple times. He also praised Khan’s willingness to travel into the lion’s den by invoking Bernard Hopkins’ explanation of why he fought Jean Pascal in Montreal.
“Hopkins said: because it’s gangsta. Amir, you are a gangsta,” Schaefer said, dubbing the Olympic silver medalist one of the sport’s flagship fighters, just a step below Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
Every speaker was careful to credit Peterson as a legitimate opponent, with his only loss coming in a one-sided decision to Tim Bradley in December 2009. That version of Peterson would have struggled to match Khan’s blinding handspeed, athleticism and superlative jab. But since the second half of his December draw with Victor Ortiz, Lamont has been a different fighter. He won’t be mistaken for a knockout puncher any time soon but he has learned how to use his boxing skill and physicality to up the pressure on his opponent.
This will be the first major fight in front of his hometown crowd for Peterson, whose story of poverty and deprivation as a youth is well known in boxing circles. Along with his brother Anthony he has gone from sleeping at the bus depot to following in the footsteps of his heroes. “I dreamed about this day many times,” Peterson said, invoking memories of attending big local fights featuring Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson and Keith Holmes.
For his part Khan seems drawn by the same allure that brings most people to DC: the promise of rubbing elbows with the elite in politics, finance and a host of other fields. Polished and eloquent, he has shown all the traits that could lead him to follow stablemate Manny Pacquiao into a career in politics.
“We’re going to bring boxing back to Washington,” Khan promised.
Davis said the promoters will reach out the political establishment including inviting and setting aside a special section for members of Congress. Lawmakers on the record as fight fans include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), but Davis said he has it on good authority that the president is a fight fan as well.
“We’ll reach out to Obama,” Davis told Stiff Jab. “I’ve heard many times that he’s a boxing fan.”
Davis also pointed to the significant Muslim and Arab population in Washington, which they hope will embrace Khan and show up en masse. As for the string of big fights on the East Coast this autumn and winter, Davis chalked it up to the cyclical nature of the sport and the presence of several fighters capable of drawing crowds like Khan and Miguel Cotto.
One of those potential draws is Mitchell, who looked debonair himself in a gray suit and blue shirt with his advisors at his side. We’ve consistently maintained Mitchell is our best big man prospect and he was introduced as the next face of American heavyweight boxing. Calm and well-spoken, the former Michigan State linebacker credited his faith, wife and two daughters for keeping him balanced but promised to put on a show in his first HBO bout.
“Right now you have Seth Mitchell. December 10th you will get Mayhem.”
As things wrapped up and the fighters posed for the obligatory photos we caught up with Peterson’s trainer Barry Hunter, who spoke movingly from the podium of the journey he has made over the past 18 years with his two star pupils. Hunter said Anthony Peterson has recovered from his disqualification loss to Brandon Rios one year ago and is ready to return to his career as a lightweight contender. Another bit of good news on the best day for boxing inside the Beltway in a very long time.