Don't Call It A Comeback: Lamont Peterson Beats Dierry Jean
Photos by Tom Casino for Showtime
by Gautham Nagesh
WASHINGTON, D.C.–All week long, Lamont Peterson insisted he felt no ill effects from his knockout loss to Lucas Matthysse last May. Many were skeptical, including his opponent, unbeaten Canadian junior welterweight Dierry Jean. Jean questioned Peterson’s chin, and promised to stop the D.C. native for the second time of his career.
But on Saturday night it was Peterson who rocked his opponent repeatedly, and Jean who faded as the fight wore on. Peterson was too tough and too strong for Jean, taking control in the middle rounds and winning a clear decision over twelve rounds to stay among the top names at 140 lbs. Most importantly, Peterson thrilled the more than 5,000 fans in attendance at D.C. Armory, most of whom were there to see him carry the mantle for the nation’s capital on Showtime.
[[MORE]]It was a raucous evening in Southeast D.C., which was only appropriate since Peterson grew up running the streets of Ward 8. Jean brought a small but vocal cheering section with him from Canada, and they made their voices heard as Jean started the fight with obvious confidence. Jean looked like the faster fighter at first, and his punches snapped audibly as he won the first two rounds on my ard.
A notoriously slow starter, Peterson woke up early on this night despite the layoff of over seven months. Lamont began going to the body with the jab in the 2nd round, usually a sign he is working himself into the fight. Jean was able to catch Peterson with the overhand right, but didn’t know what to do when the punch failed to send Lamont backwards.
The pro-Peterson crowd began chanting “D.C.” early in round three, as Lamont started landing his trademark right to the body. Jean was able to counter with right hands, but Lamont took them well and kept attacking. Jean scored with several strong right hands, but he also ate Lamont’s left hook in return. Lamont picked up his head movement in the round and used his feet to control the pace and location of the action.
The exchanges continued in the fourth round, but it was Jean whose chin looked unlikely hold up. Lamont focused his attack on the Canadian’s body, while Jean barely paid any attention to Peterson’s torso. Jean’s head-hunting helped Lamont slip more punches, though Jean was still able to land at times. However, many of his punches were caught at least partially by Peterson’s gloves.
Jean appeared to flag in the 4th, but still flung his looping right hand around Peterson’s guard. Peterson responded by digging hard to the body with his left hook, and Jean slowed down noticeably as the body attack continued. It was more of the same in the 5th, Peterson pressing forward with little regard for defense. At that point it was clear Peterson wasn’t concerned about Jean’s power.
Peterson trapped Jean on the ropes in the 6th and started raining right hands on him, hoping to end the fight. The arena shook as the crowd picked up the chants of “D.C.” once again. A right to the body followed by a left hook to the head stunned Jean, and he grabbed Peterson to avoid taking further punishment. Lamont kept pounding Jean with body shots and walking through whatever the Canadian offered in response.
Jean did better in the 7th, gamely fighting back and momentarily halting Lamont’s charge with a hard left hook. Peterson showed tremendous fortitude in absorbing Jean’s punches, all the more impressive after the beating he took from Matthysse. At times Lamont resorted to showboating, supremely confident that Jean couldn’t hurt him. Still, at least Jean fought back in the 7th, rather than retreating as he had in other rounds.
Peterson appeared to hurt Jean again with a left hook at the end of the round, or perhaps the Canadian was merely exhausted. It was probably the former, since the 8th round was Jean’s best of the fight. He came out firing a number of power punches, though few got through cleanly. Lamont’s brother Anthony stood up and urged his brother to settle down and pay attention on defense, rather than charging forward recklessly. But Lamont was only interested in standing toe-to-toe with his smaller opponent.
Jean landed his best shot of the fight in the 9th, running Peterson into a crashing right hand that halted Lamont’s charge for a moment. Winning the round brought Jean within a point, but that was as close as he would get. Peterson turned up the pressure again in the 10th round, resuming his body attack and forcing Jean back into the ropes. Peterson returned to using his jab to control the fight, which was ultimately the puzzle that Jean couldn’t solve.
The body shots affected Jean in the 10th, and by the 11th the challenger looked desperate as he tried to land a big right hand. Jean eventually did land a hard right on Peterson, but it wasn’t enough. He seemed unprepared for the possibility that he would land the perfect punch and Peterson would take it without flinching. Few things are more disconcerting for a young puncher.
Lamont looked frisky in the 11th, bullying Jean around the ring and tenderizing his battered liver. Peterson kept it up early in the 12th round, before backing off and circling Jean for the final moments of the fight. With the fight seemingly in hand and his opponent at a loss, Peterson danced around the ring and raised his hands in victory, having thoroughly out-worked and out-fought his opponent.
All three judges saw it for Peterson, and all the scores were defensible. We saw it as 116-112 or 115-113, depending on whether you gave the 12th to Peterson or Jean. Either way, the outcome was beyond doubt in our view, and the fight more one-sided than scores would indicate. Jean simply did not have a formula to beat Peterson, and he will have to go back to the drawing board. As for Lamont, hopefully he’ll get a shot at division champ Danny Garcia, preferably somewhere on the East Coast.
The co-feature turned into Houston junior middleweight Jermell Charlo’s coming out party, as he put on a sterling performance out-boxing Philly veteran Gabriel Rosado over ten rounds. Charlo and his brother Jermall are considered two of the best prospects in the sport, and Jermell did nothing to dispute that notion while dismantling Rosado.
Rosado came out in his customary skirt/loincloth, this time in gold to signify the importance of the fight. Unfortunately it was Charlo who gleamed brightly, showing off the complete package of skills, defense, movement, and toughness that one seeks in a prize fighter. If there are any weaknesses in Charlo’s approach to boxing, Rosado was unable to expose them or take advantage on this night.
Rosado came out clearly trying to pressure the youngster from the outset, and possibly check Charlo’s chin in his biggest test to date. Charlo passed with flying colors, showing a precocious ability to stay calm in the face of enemy fire. A couple fast combinations early earned Rosado’s respect, and the larger Philly fighter was soon showing more caution and respect when trying to move forward.
The 2nd round was fought on the outside, where Charlo had the clear edge thanks to his speed and technical skill. There were a few scattered boos from the crowd, but it wasn’t due to a lack of trying by Rosado, He was simply unable to set up his power punches or cash in on the rare opportunities when Charlo was within range of his punches. Charlo, on the other hand, was able to pick Rosado apart as he came in.
The fight remained close into the 3rd round, but Charlo was consistently a step quicker and an inch sharper. With both men choosing to box, Charlo’s speed and defense made it obvious who was at the advantage. Rosado tried to get inside and turn it into a fight, but Charlo responded by putting his punches together and forcing his opponent to back up.
Charlo’s left hook found a home in the 4th round, and he kept following it with three or four shots that all did damage. The right hand joined the party in the 5th round, while Charlo used his feet to set up angles then get out of danger before Rosado could respond. By the end of the round Rosado was cut over his left eye due to a head butt, which seemed inevitable given his history of cuts.
Charlo continued to tee off in the 6th with staccato combinations, then duck out while barely getting hit. My notes say Charlo was “taking Rosado to school” and credit his excellent movement, which appeared effortless at times. Rosado turned up the pressure in the 7th once again, but Charlo unleashed some furious punch combinations in response.
Like the most famous fighter from his hometown, Rosado was willing to take three punches to land one. Unfortunately, none of his punches carry the kind of thunder that Smokin’ Joe Frazier packed in his left hook. Charlo simply threw quick combinations, then glided away on his superlative feet. Charlo has a talent for slipping big punches, and timing his shots between his opponent’s. Rosado tried his best, but he simply could not solve Charlo.
The pair traded big punches at the end of Round 8, but even then Charlo got the best of the action. At least Rosado had finally landed something of consequence. His best punch came late in the 9th, when a left hook appeared to shake Charlo for the first time in the fight. Charlo simply ducked away and moved for the rest of the round, giving him time on his stool between rounds to clear his head.
Charlo resumed attacking in the 10th and final round, changing direction unexpectedly and splitting Rosado’s guard with his combinations. There were no apparent effects from Rosado’s brief rally in the 9th. Charlo landed a hard counter right hand then three straight shots that had Rosado visibly frustrated at his inability to respond. The two exchanged right hands, but Charlo’s appeared to land first.
Rosado showed some spirit at the end but even when the fight went inside, Charlo was better. It was simply a clean and clinical performance by the youngster from Houston, who dispatched Charlo with surprising ease. The scariest thing is that Charlo is not yet a finished product, and could potentially keep improving after this sensational performance. The judges only disagreed over how many rounds to score for Rosado: one scored three for him, one a lone round, and the third judge had it a clean sweep for Charlo.
The surprise of the night came early in the middleweight bout between Headbangers prospect Dominic Wade and Dashon Johnson of Riverside, Calif. The two had scuffled at yesterday’s weigh-in, which resulted in Wade shoving Johnson into an unlucky Corona girl. Johnson got his revenge early, catching Wade sleeping very early in 1st round with a left hook that sent Wade to the floor.
Wade got up and steadied himself, then took the fight inside. Johnson appeared to be looking for another big knockdown for most of the fight, but it never came. Instead, Wade steadily turned up the pressure, and went to work in trademark D.C. style, deploying the left hook to the body with regularity. Wade’s body attack eventually took his toll and by the end of six, it was clear he would take the decision and his 14th professional win.
Wade deserved the win, but he probably won’t be too thrilled with his performance. Aside from the knockdown, Wade was simply too casual through the fight. He sometimes shoeshines to the body, which leaves him wide open for a big counter upstairs, and he holds his hands too far from his head. Combine that with the fact he’s not that hard to hit, and it’s recipe for disaster. I’m sure trainer Adrian Davis will work on tightening Wade’s defense when he gets back in the gym.
I arrived late at the Armory but in time to see Temple Hills, Md. super middleweight D'Mitrius Ballard win by TKO-3 when his opponent Marlon Farr injured his hand. It was the first time in four fights that Ballard has fought in his home region; he is signed with Golden Boy and seems destined to headline a show here one day.
No one had gone the distance yet with Toledo lightweight Robert Easter Jr. in eight fights, so survival was the primary goal on the mind D.C. veteran lightweight Daniel “The Prophet” Attah. Mission accomplished, I suppose. Attah was dropped twice by the much taller Easter, once in the 3rd and once in the 8th rounds. In between, he did his best to cover up and survive. Easter didn’t show a lot, but it’s hard to look good when your opponent spends the whole fight cowering.
2012 U.S. Olympian Jamel Herring of Coram, N.Y. won a workmanlike six-round split decision over Antonio Sanchez of Bayamon, P.R. We didn’t score the fight, which was not pretty, but it seemed like Herring had it won easily. Two judges agreed, scoring every round for Herring, but the third had it 58-56 for Sanchez.
Herring’s Olympic teammate Rau'Shee Warren scored a knockdown in the 8th and final round against German Meraz on his way to an otherwise forgettable decision. The crowd was announced at over 5,600 folks and they were boisterous. The fans cheered loudly at the announcement of Golden Boy’s Bernard Hopkins and booed Adrien Broner (below), who was ringside to support his “Bandcamp” teammates Easter and Warren.
This post was updated on January 26, 2014 at 8:45 p.m. to correct the name of Dominic Wade’s trainer. –G.N.