Lamont Peterson KOs Cayo
District native Lamont Peterson remains a viable threat at junior welterweight after dismantling Victor Cayo at the the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Peterson systematically broke down the awkward Dominican before forcing him to take a knee and succumb with only seconds left in the 12th and final round.
Peterson’s win was the highlight of an excellent bill that saw light heavyweight Yordanis Depaigne secure a controversial win after Edison Miranda was disqualified for repeated low blows in the 5th round. Referee Vic Drakulich was premature with his initial point deduction after a superb acting job by the Cuban. The shot that ended the fight was similarly low but probably not cause for such rash action.
But Peterson’s superb effort against Cayo in an IBF eliminator more than washed away the aftertaste of the previous bout as both fighters brought their best efforts with a title shot on the line. From the start Peterson directed his long jab to Cayo’s skinny body and looked to use his size advantage and boxing ability to put water in the basement. Peterson is at his best when he brings the pressure, which he did at times through the first few rounds.
Fighting with his hands low, Cayo is able to hold his own from the outside thanks to the unconventional angles he takes when striking. Too often on Friday he was content to allow Peterson inside, where instead of tying up he took the worst of almost every exchange. Cayo attempted to take advantage when Lamont went into his shell periodically but neither man packs the kind of power that can turn a fight on one punch.
Like most Barry Hunter fighters Peterson’s main flaw is the predictability of his attack, which may cost him at the highest level of the sport. Against Cayo he showed off an intellectual approach in the ring by attempting to vary his pace and set traps for his opponent. Lamont was less effective when boxing from the outside but the ability to do so will help him against the division’s bigger punchers. He took a number of direct shots but much of that must be credited to the skill of Cayo.
Peterson is known to fight in spots and it cost him in his only career loss to belt-holder Timothy Bradley. Should he get his desired crack at Amir Khan he would do well to bring the type of pressure he showed over the final two rounds. I wouldn’t write him off completely but I don’t think Peterson has enough power to worry Khan over the full 12 rounds and the Brit may be both faster and stronger. But Lamont deserves a big fight; Devon Alexander may be a better matchup as he continues to develop.
Despaigne looked every bit the Cuban amateur champion in the early rounds against Miranda and the Colombian definitely strayed low with a couple of his punches, something he has been known to do in the past. But a later exchange during which Yordanis was allowed to tee off on Miranda without apparently hurting him appeared to unsettle the Cuban and the fight was just beginning to sizzle when Drakulich ended the action. After last weekend’s double dose of low blow KOs it was enough to merit concern for the sport’s uneven application of the rules.
In the televised swing bout Swedish native and 2008 Gambian Olympian Badou Jack stopped Timothy Hall in the 2nd round to improve to 7-0 (6 KOs). Jack has his flaws but he looks like a bull at light heavyweight and punches to the body with authority. Anyone with his amateur background and apparent punching power can’t be written off.