BOXING MATCH: Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson




[h=2]Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson, WBA/IBF light-welterweight, Washington DC[/h] [h=1]Fighting comes first for Amir Khan, and his fiancee understands that[/h] The British fighter's ambitions stretch way beyond this world title defence – but his private life may never be the same




Amir-Khan-boxer-007.jpg
'She may be at the fight,' Amir Khan says of his fiancee Faryal, 'but, then again, she may stay at the hotel with my mum.' Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

Amir Khan's life over the next year or so is about to change dramatically inside and outside the ring. As he chats amiably about his fight with Lamont Peterson here on Saturday night, perhaps his last at light-welterweight before he trains his gaze on Floyd Mayweather Jr for a mega showdown next year, Khan allows the discussion to stray towards his fiancee, Faryal Makhdoom.
This is a rarity. Khan hardly ever talks about his private life. So exposed has he been to the media glare since returning from the Athens Olympics seven years ago as a teenage hero that his family and friends have provided his only retreat. Although he spends a lot of time in Hollywood, near Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym, Bolton remains his bolt-hole.
A mutual friend, as they say in gossip circles, posted a picture of the 20-year-old student from New York and Khan together on her Facebook page but it was quickly hauled down. There are still limits. "She may be at the fight," he says, "but, then again, she may stay at the hotel with my mum. That does not really bother me either way because I am always 100% focused when I am in the ring. My fiancee knows my sport comes first. The one thing about me is that I keep my personal life away from my sporting life. And, when I am training for a fight, that is my focus."
If Faryal does not want her ringside seat, plenty of people in the nation's capital do. The fight – for Khan's "super" version of the WBA's light-welterweight title and the IBF's regular belt – has all but sold out the Convention Center's 9,000 seats and the champion's pull in the challenger's home town has not been lost on his American promotional partners, Golden Boy, or the TV paymasters, HBO. Khan is back on Sky Sports, too, so all the major bases are covered as his career enters an exciting new stage.
Khan remains stubbornly old-fashioned when it comes to Faryal, whose profile may not remain low for much longer. Will marriage change him? "No. I will still be the same. My sport will always be important to me. The family are good in that kind of situation because they take the pressure off me. Fighting must still come first while I am still fighting and trying to achieve what I am trying to achieve over the next few years and she understands that."
Under no circumstances, either, would he ask Faryal to accompany him to the ring, the way Manny Pacquiao's wife, Jinkee, did when he fought Juan Manuel Márquez in Las Vegas recently. He was not shy with the ambition of his invitations, however. "We have invited Hillary Clinton and also invited the ambassadors of the UK and Pakistan," he said. "They want to come and see the fight. Hillary Clinton may do – we haven't heard back yet but it would be a nice surprise if she turns up. We are certainly the biggest show in town on Saturday."
Meanwhile, there is a tough fight to prepare for. Khan has benefited from returning to the Spartan regime devised by his conditioner Alex Ariza and will be strong at the 140lb limit, which he still makes without stress. He knows Peterson, whose only loss was two Christmases ago to his own bugbear, Tim Bradley, and who drew with Mayweather victim Victor Ortiz this time last year, will be physically bigger and is a quality opponent.
Peterson lived rough on the streets of Washington for two years with his brother Anthony (also a world-class boxer) when they were abandoned as children by a mother who could not cope with a lot of personal problems after her husband went to prison. It is a ghetto story familiar to many American boxers and it has given Peterson the sort of steel needed when under pressure in the ring. He did well to get up from two knockdowns in round three against Ortiz – but Khan will go looking for that suspect chin.
He is hardly taking Peterson for granted, then, but his ambitions stretch way beyond this defence in an era of genuine quality at and around 10 stones. The fight boxing wants above all others – Mayweather v Pacquiao – is still not locked down and Khan is well placed to take his chance if it comes.

When the punching is done on Saturday night, Khan can relax again. Laidback is his default position when not in training and, as a millionaire athlete, he has learned how to organise and enjoy what has become a comfortable transatlantic lifestyle. "I am looking forward to seeing Faryal after missing her for a couple of weeks," he says. "In fact, I haven't even given her the engagement ring yet."

For now, the ring at the centre of his existence remains the one in which he earns an excellent living.




 
Rutashubanyuma said:
another easy pick for Amir Khan........................by the way when will he begin picking some interesting fights.......................not these confidence building ones??????????
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Expect an upset....
He likes to hold down his opponents, if Lamont will move in circles and avoid the ropes, the fight will end in a split decision, cos Khan is about to be a PPV boxer. But with good judges Khan can loose a close bout.
 
SOBY said:
Expect an upset....
He likes to hold down his opponents, if Lamont will move in circles and avoid the ropes, the fight will end in a split decision, cos Khan is about to be a PPV boxer. But with good judges Khan can loose a close bout.
Click to expand...

siku hizi majudge wanazingua sana!ili kumshinda star dawa ni KO ila points lazima star ashinde!nikikumbuka ngoma ya khan na maidana,juzi kati man pac na marquez na hivi juzi chisora nae kabaniwa!huyu khan atapata mbereko tu kama ni points!chembe kidevu akae!
 
Watch Amir Khan vs Lamont Peterson Live streaming Online boxing FOX hq hd tv 2011. Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson, billed as Capitol Showdown, is a Super-Lightweight championship fight for the IBF & WBA Super World titles. The fight will take place in the Convention Center in Washington, D.C., United States, on 10 December 2011.


Amir Khan vs Lamont Peterson Live Stream Online Boxing
 
[h=2]WBA/IBF World light-welterweight title fight[/h] [h=1]Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson - live![/h] • Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson - live round-by-round coverage
• Capital Showdown at Walter E. Washington Convention Center
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• Or via email: steve.busfield@guardiannews.com
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Amir-Khan-vs.-Lamont-Pete-007.jpg
Amir Khan, of Bolton, England, and Lamont Peterson, of Washington DC, USA, face off ahead of their WBA super world and IBF junior welterweight title fight. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Some more final thoughts: Thomas Jenkins emails:
"Even by boxing standards that was a particularly graceless interview from Khan. He was bullied for large portions of the fight and was warned many, many times before he got those points taken off. I for one was cheering the referee throughout the fight for not allowing either fighter to indulge in the usual delaying tactics - it made for a great, breathless fight."
Paul Scandling writes: "shocking decision, point deductions were unwarrented. rematch needed!"
This debate will run and run. Thanks and goodnight.
Thank you: Thank you for reading, tweeting, emailing. Kevin Mitchell's report will be online shortly. And we will be back next Saturday for another big fight night - live!
What next: Well, that was mighty close. Will there be a rematch? Where will it be if there is one? Khan will certainly be offered one, but if he takes that up then it slows down his move into another weight class. Will this result hurt Khan's aspirations with the big PPV fighters? Or help them?
Guardian unofficial scorecard: Not that it counts for anything, but I scored that 115-113 to Khan. But it was mighty close and it is hard to argue that those point deductions were the deciding factor.
Your verdict: Ian Childs tweets: "@Busfield fwiw I have LP by 2."
Paddy O Doors tweets: "@Busfield daylight robbery ref was a disgrace"
Phil Sawyer emails: "Can't argue with that decision. Even though the points deductions may have been a bit harsh, on the whole I think Peterson just deserved that one. Bugger."
HBO: The HBO commentators think the docking of points - without prior warning - was the difference in the fight.
Not another interview: Ref isn't interviewed.
Interview: Khan: "It was like I was against two people in there. The referee just wasn't giving me a chance."
"Every time he came up against me he was going lower and lower."
"I was against him and the referee. It was definitely a hometown decision."
"I was trying my best to keep away from that head."
"He was being effective. He was pressurising. I was the cleaner fighter."
"I am ready for a rematch."
Freddie Roach: "The way he (Peterson) attacked he rushed in with his head first."
Interview: Peterson avoids a question about the point deductions for pushing by saying that he didn't like having his head pushed down.
"I would definitely give him a rematch. It was a good fight. I wouldn't mind doing it again."
And here comes Amir Khan....
Interviews: Peterson says: "It was a long road and all the hard work paid off. It was a tough fight. It couldn't have been a better night."
"I was a big underdog. I stand for something."
"Two or three rounds he was coming in and catching me. So then I changed the game plan and went forward."
Result: 113-112 to Peterson 114-111 to Khan 113-112 to Peterson...Peterson is champion on a split decision
Waiting: Judges scorecards still being counted...what does that mean?
Phew: That was mighty close and will all depend upon the judges' mood. So we wait for the official scorecards....
Round 12: And here we go for the last time...Khan is in the middle of the ring throwing combinations so he clearly feels he needs to score points. The referee docks another point for pushing against Khan. That looks harsh. Khan throws more combos. He slips clear when Peterson moves him onto the ropes. Khan slips clear of an advancing Peterson and then catches the challenger with a right that disconcerts his opponent. And it's the final bell.... Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 9-9 Peterson
Round 11: Peterson's corner clearly think he needs to land more punches. But how will the judges be scoring this? In Washington? Peterson gets Khan onto the ropes and that is when the Brit looks in most danger. In the middle of the ring it is again Khan landing 3 and 4 and 5 punch combinations. Khan dances away until he is finally caught up with at the ropes. Khan is leaning on Peterson with his hands, seemingly claiming that Peterson's head is coming up at him. The ref is only seeing Khan pushing down. They finish the round throwing scoring punches. How the judges score that one could be key. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-10 Peterson
Round ten: Peterson starts the round on the front foot. Khan is caught on the ropes again and taking body shots. Occasional uppercuts get through. BAck in the middle of the ring they both throw wild right hooks that comically fail to connect. And again, Khan almost throws himself off his feet with a right haymaker that fails to connect. When Khan comes in and boxes he lands more point-scoring cominbations. But when Peterson gets Khan onto the ropes the champion looks troubled. Khan still throwing more punches but they aren't particularly hurting the American. Peterson looks tired. So does Khan. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-9 Peterson
Round nine: Khan looked concerned in the corner. Not hurt but concerned. Peterson is still the one walking forward. But now Khan lands some combinations. And then Peterson lands a huge right cross on Khan's chin. And then Khan comes back and then Peterson. This is a close fight. Khan throws a big right and Peterson's legs wobble. Peterson is now taking some punishment in the middle of the ring. Khan follows up briefly, but not consistently. Peterson;s right eye is partially closed. And now the challenger is coming forward again. Khan's best round for a while. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-9 Peterson
Round eight (of 12): Khan needs to score some more points and he may be regretting his decision to fight in Washington - would he have been docked a point for pushing in England? Peterson gets Khan into the corner and lands some body punches. Khan comes in and lands some good combinations. Peterson lands some low-looking punches that hurt Khan, but they're not called by the ref. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 9-10 Peterson
Round seven: Slow-mo of the combo on the ropes showed a big right connecting to Khan's head. In round seven Khan throws some low-ish body shots that cause the ref to tell him to "keep them up". Then Peterson gets Khan on the ropes again and connects with a couple, but not big enough to hurt Khan. Off the ropes Khan lands more punches but then he is pushed back onto the ropes. And then there is a humourous chase around the ring as Khan dances away in what can only be called a running reverse dance, and Peterson can't quite catch him. And then Khan is docked a point by the ref for pushing Peterson away. This fight is now very very close. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 8-10 Peterson
Round six: Trainer Freddie Roach happier with Khan after the fifth. They're still matching one another, but Khan is landing combinations while Peterson's are usually single shots. Peterson walks forward while Khan dances away. Peterson gets Khan on the ropes and lands several body shots. Khan wriggles away and throws his arms wide in another taunt, but that looked tricky for him for a moment. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-10 Peterson
Round five: Peterson's corner take their time getting out of the ring before they begin again. Peterson has a swollen right eye, but is coming forward again. He tries a big right haymaker but fails to connect. And then Peterson does connect with a slightly more controlled right. Khan then connects with a flurry of body shots. Khan is throwing combos and then moving away. Khan is on the canvas, but it's a slip. Khan lands 1-2-3 and dances away. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-9 Peterson
Round four: Khan comes out and lands some more good combinations. Khan comes back and throws his own combination. Khan throws his arms wide and taunts Peterson, but Peterson comes forward and throws another combo. Khan throws a big right, but catches a right in return. Peterson is coming forward consistently. Each fighter giving as good as he gets. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-10 Peterson
Round three: Peterson trying to size Khan up, waiting for him to stand still, but there's not much of that. Khan is throwing lots of combinations. Peterson finally lands a good body blog with his left hook. He manages to land some more and then a big right connects with Khan's head. Khan covering up and dancing away. There's some grappling and then a big combination from Peterson catches Khan on the ropes and looks to have dazed him for a fraction, but the champion comes back. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 9-10 Peterson
Round two: That first round first slip was indeed a slip, the result of Peterson and the ref tangling feet. Anyway, onto round two, Khan coming forward and slugging, but Peterson not backing away. Fast paced stuff. Peterson now coming forward and Khan dancing away. Peterson doing a good job of ducking under Khan's biggest punches. Peterson is ducking well under the biggest punches, but not throwing much of his own. Most of Khan's punches missing or hitting Peterson's arms, but he is also landing more than his opponent. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-9 Peterson
Round one: Khan in his very yellow shorts and gloves comes out throwing plenty of punches, but Peterson avoids most. They lock and the ref pulls them apart and Khan lands several punches while Peterson is disentangling. Peterson looks discombobulated. Peterson goes down, but the referee calls it a slip. Looked like a good left hook. Peterson is up again and back in it. He throws a few big lefts of his own. Then Peterson is down again, with a big left hook. This one is ruled a knockdown. Peterson is up again and the bell rings. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-8 Peterson

Let's get ready to rumble:
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Ringside: Final pre-fight words from Kevin:

"Khan getting a much bigger reception than Peterson. Got to feel a bit sorry for the local boy, one of the truly nice guys of boxing. But this isn't a game for nice guys. Think it will be tough for at least five rounds."
​
 
Expect an upset....
He likes to hold down his opponents, if Lamont will move in circles and avoid the ropes, the fight will end in a split decision, cos Khan is about to be a PPV boxer. But with good judges Khan can loose a close bout.
Click to expand...

good analysis............you got it right to the finish line...........
 
siku hizi majudge wanazingua sana!ili kumshinda star dawa ni KO ila points lazima star ashinde!nikikumbuka ngoma ya khan na maidana,juzi kati man pac na marquez na hivi juzi chisora nae kabaniwa!huyu khan atapata mbereko tu kama ni points!chembe kidevu akae!
Click to expand...

pamoja na bingwa kupata KO raundi ya kwanza bado kashindwa kwa pointi.......................mambo mapya hayo..........
 
"Lamont's younger brother, Anthony, is back after 14 months out - his only loss in 31 fights: to Brandon Rios, disqualified for low blows in the 7th when trailing after being down in the 3rd. That was a WBA lightweight eliminator. Rios went on to win the title and beat John Murray defending it in New York last weekend. This was up one division at 10st, and Peterson, a busy hitter, gave Daniel Attah (26-8-1, 9kos) a hard time around the ribs and jaw winning on points over eight."
​
Predictions, Cotto and the worst fighter ever: Graham Parker emails: "Still thinking about Cotto's cool performance last week. Took the sting out of the hype, the mutual personal animosity with Margarito, the partisan venue etc by just concentrating and boxing and trusting that he'd win. Khan needs to do something similar - forget Mayweather, putting on a show for American promoters etc. and just box and concentrate. Peterson is a threat. I largely agree with Kevin Mitchell that he is a methodical fighter who will be prepared well, but while I take his point about him becoming uncomfortable drawn into a fight not of his choosing, on balance I think Peterson has a better chance against a high octane fighter prone to concentration lapses, like Khan, than he would against, well, Mayweather (who would always fancy himself to outbox and out think him). Khan needs a little Mayweather-style cool decision-making about him tonight and mustn't be too desperate to put on a show. That said, if Roach has him focussed he should win.
Oh and Phil Sawyer, regarding worst fighter you've ever seen. For your consideration:
How on earth did that fight come about?
Pre fight talk: Here's Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson talking ahead of tonight's fight:
via @LanreDavies
Guardian US Saturday Night Live doubleheader: While waiting for the main event (HBO are so unimpressed with the undercard that they are now showing a re-run of last week's Cotto vs. Margarito fight), you could always follow the other big bout of the night: "Newt Gingrich vs. Mitt Romney - live!"
For Brian: Richard Cocks emails from Britain: "Free coverage (legal): BBC Radio 5 live sports extra (them off digital or the internet) are covering it live, and repeating at 6am, 8am, 9am!"
First prediction: An email (which gets to the prediction bit eventually): "Watched the Theophane v Murphy fight earlier. Very strange but strangely refreshing. Murphy was, in some ways, one of the worst fighters I've seen. Pretty much running at his opponent from the off, throwing almost exclusively huge swinging roundhouse punches and body blows. No jab work at all. It was a bit like watching a Tazmanian Devil style whirlwind, complete with fists emerging in completely random directions. It was curiously effective, though, and completely threw Theophane, who just didn't have an answer. Murphy ran out of steam in the end and Theophane stopped it in the 11th, but if it had gone the distance the result would have been close. I'd love to know Kevin Mitchell's thoughts on it if he caught it on the interweb waiting for the Khan build up to begin. (I think he's been a bit too busy in Washington DC to follow happenings in Peterlee - ed)

Anyway, can't see past Khan for this one, but that's largely because I've never seen Peterson fight. Time to nail my colours to the mast early doors, though. I bloody love Khan. Well, he's a Lancashire lad, isn't he...

(Professional Lancastrian) Phil Sawyer"
Ringside: Kevin Mitchell writes:
"Got to say, lousy venue for boxing. Flat floor in an oblong-shaped hall more suited to a political convention. Wouldn't want to be in the cheap seats - some of them stuck behind big screens. Nothing like being there.
First competitive fight of the evening: Ramesis Gil (6-3-4, 5 kos), a chinny Puerto Rican banger, v Jamie "The Nuisance" Kavanagh (8-0, 3kos), born in Dublin, moved to Spain, fighting out of Hollywood, and trained by Freddie Roach. One judge gave it to Kavanagh 58-56 and the other two saw it a draw, 57-57. So that's a fifth draw for Ramesis in
14 fights, a majority verdict this time. Kavanagh, who hasn't got a punch, is a lucky boy."
​
Mariah-Carey-002.jpg
Keep an eye out for Mariah. Photograph: Joel Ryan/AP Spot the celeb: Amir Khan tweets (a few hours ago, as he presumably has better things to do right now): "Yes @mariahcarey @nickcannon @mrdavidhaye @ovi8 @darealamberrose @oscardelahoya @therealbhop @PaulMalignaggi will all b at the fight tonight."
The Greatest: Last week Muhammad Ali was briefly admitted to hospital. Happily, Kevin Mitchell reports: "Spokesman says Ali "happy and well". Maybe that will kill the idle gossip in press room at khan-peterson."
Where to watch: Brian Fleming emails from the UK: "Is there any radio or other free way to follow this from UK? (Apart from your awesome RBR Commentary?)"
Very cunning, Brian, using that old flattery chestnut as a way to get onto the web. Anybody got any suggestions?
Mark O'Brien tweets: "@Busfield in NY on Saturday night. Can you recommend any good bars to watch the fight? Cheers."
Response: And here's what Amir Khan thinks of Mayweather:
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If: If Amir Khan can keep winning, the fight he wants is against Floyd Mayweather (although, so does just about every boxer below heavyweight). Will he get it? This is what Mr Mayweather Jr thinks of the Bolton boxer:
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More from ringside: Our man in Washington, Kevin Mitchell adds:
"Just ran in to Richie Woodhall, commentating for Sky. "Been here before, Richie?" "Er, nearby. Lost to Keith Holmes in Maryland." TKO12. Ouch. That was for the WBC middleweight title in 1996. He had better luck two years later closer to home, in Telford, when he beat Thulane Malinga to win the WBC super-middle title. Excellent judge and very nice man. And big fan of George Formby."
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Undercard: Latest from Kevin Mitchell ringside:
"Well, can't say the undercard in Washington is anything like Saturday night's in Madison Square Garden: Four mismatches to kick it off. Ring announcer just reckoned Robert "Sweet Dreams" Kliewer, from St Paul, has a "deceptive record" of 11-13-2 coming in against Maryland southpaw super-middle Fernando Guerrero (21-1). The deception lasted until round No 5, when It was nighty nighty for Sweet Dreams after some stout resistance when he ran on to one big punch too many."
​
Preamble: Tonight is a big night for Britain's Amir Khan who will be defending his light-welterweight titles against America's Lamont Peterson.
The Bolton fighter hopes to successfully defend his WBA and IBF belts against Washington's Peterson before leaving the 10-stone ranks in the not-too-distant future to move up to the 10st 7lbs welterweight division where the glamour and riches of a possible match-up with Floyd Mayweather Jr await.
But there's tonight to navigate first, fighting Peterson on his home turf in Washington DC. Peterson has plenty of boxing hunger of his own - he grew-up homeless on the streets of the US capital until he was 10 years old.
Also on tonight's card is a much-anticipated heavyweight bout between Seth Mitchell and Timur Ibragimov.
The fights are being held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Khan/Peterson has been dubbed the "Capital Showdown". This is the second of a three-weekend boxing extravaganza which saw us covering Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito last Saturday, and will continue next Saturday with Andre Ward vs. Carl Froch in the WBA/WBC super middleweight unification title fight. That fight will be in Atlantic City. Our boxing correspondent Kevin Mitchell is on a north American odyssey, at Madison Square Garden last Saturday, in Washington tonight and Atlantic City next Saturday. He will be providing us with updates from the arena throughout the evening and a full fight report afterwards.
But first we will be having live round-by-round coverage here.
Here's a reminder of what Amir Khan can do:
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And here's some pre-fight reading:
• Kevin Mitchell writes: "Amir Khan faces Lamont Peterson challenge in pursuit of American dream - Amir Khan has friends in high places in the US but must overcome Peterson before the bigger paydays arrive."
• "Freddie Roach says Lamont Peterson will be tough fight for Amir Khan."
• "Lamont Peterson ready to make his name against Amir Khan - The Washington boxer has fought his way up from the streets to earn a shot at the world title."
• "Amir Khan's life and career in pictures."
You can watch this fight via subscription channels HBO in the USA and Sky Sports in the UK, but if Khan wins tonight it won't be much longer before his fights in the US are on pay-per-view.
Share your thoughts/predictions/whatever by emailing [email]steve.busfield@guardiannews.com[/EMAIL] or via Twitter: @Busfield.
You can get all the latest US sports news, views and live coverage from the Guardian via our Twitter feed and our Facebook page.
 
nionavyo........Amir Khan hana uwezo na vipaji vya kupigana na akina Cotto au hata Manny paquiai.......achilia mbali wengineo...kama.......jaziliza mwenyewe............
 



[h=1]Amir Khan wants rematch with Lamont Peterson after title-fight defeat[/h] • Deposed world champion wants fight in Las Vegas
• Trainer Freddie Roach questions points decision




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Amir Khan speaks at the post-fight press conference after his defeat by Lamont Peterson. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

Amir Khan will leave Washington on Tuesday an angry young man, without his world title belts but at least buoyed by assurances that his next fight will be a rematch with the new local hero, Lamont Peterson.
Yet not even the prospect of that lucrative fight – almost certainly on 31 March in Las Vegas, at either the Mandalay Bay, where he fought last year, or the bigger MGM Grand – could erase the bitter memory of sub-standard refereeing and some curious alterations to the scorecards.
When the relatively unknown local referee, Joe Cooper, docked him a second point in the final round, for pushing, Khan's final assault was rendered pointless. The two American judges gave Peterson the fight 113-112 and the Puerto Rican official had it 115-110 for Khan.
The dethroned 10-stone king feels particularly aggrieved having come to Lamont's home town for the sixth defence of his WBA belt (he also owned the IBF version) – and now will demand the new champion returns the favour. The indications are that he will.
However, Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, was in no mood for handing out olive branches. "It was a very close fight, I know, and good for boxing. Both of them fought a hell of a fight. But the referees shouldn't decide fights, the judges should. The referee made himself the judge tonight. We need to go back to big-time boxing in Vegas [to avoid a repeat]. I did a little bit of homework on Cooper and the word was he was pretty fair – and I was wrong. For the referee to take a point away in the last round and cost Amir the title it's … unusual."
Did he think there was an "odour" about the fight? "Well, they were a long time getting the scorecards up," said Roach. "They told me there might be an amendment, that there might be a mistake on one of them. We got the information that we got [the decision] and everyone was happy for a moment. But there was, like, a 10-minute delay and then we didn't get it. They were awful getting the cards up there. Something's fishy. But what are you going to do?"
The answer, it seems, is to do it all over again next year. "We've spoken to HBO," said Khan's father, Shah, "and, if they agree to give us 31 March, we'll do it in Vegas, neutral ground for everybody. Lamont has agreed to a rematch straight away. It's not about the money this time.
"But, yes, it was a big blow. If you get beat, you can live with it but getting ripped off is another thing. He lost to the referee. Also, it seems the adding up of the scoring is not right. Hopefully there will be some sort of inquiry.
"It was a tough fight, don't get me wrong. Lamont kept coming forward but I think Amir did enough to beat the guy who came in with his head down but the referee never took a point off him, even though he warned him three or four times. Amir didn't get warned. Without the intervention of the referee Amir wins the fight.
"We had no concern initially. These guys are professionals and we thought they'd act professionally but unfortunately they didn't. The referee disappeared straight away. We went in the back immediately to speak to him but they said 'No, he's already gone.' What can you do? Maybe that's why there's never been a big fight here for the past 18 years."
Ultimately it was down to the fighters to take it away from the officials, as Roach conceded. "He fought the best he could," the trainer said. "I know we can do better but I'm not disappointed because I thought he won the fight.
"I told him not to go to the ropes but [if he did] to throw the uppercut and he was just missing that shot. He let him get too much momentum. Lamont was very strong, very aggressive. But I thought it was bad when the referee took the first point away [in round seven], I said to him: 'Where's the warning?' He just looked at me and didn't say a thing. Inexperience?"
Khan said: "It was like I was against two people in there. He kept trying to pick me up. He was coming in with his head every time, lower and lower. I had to push him away because I was trying to stay away from his head.

"He was being effective pressuring but I was the cleaner fighter all night. I'm ready for a rematch. I knew it would be tough in his home town and maybe this was why [big-time] boxing hasn't been in DC for 20 years if you get decisions like this. He was either going to head-butt me or push me down."
All the pre-fight talk was of Khan launching himself towards being No1 in the world on the back of this fight. Could he still do it? "I think so. We win the rematch and we're back on track – as long as we get a referee who doesn't decide fights, with three good judges. Yeah, I think we'll be OK."





 
[h=1]Amir Khan protests 'I was against two people in there'[/h] This title fight against Lamont Peterson was rousing, close and full of meaty blows but poor officiating left a bitter taste





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The referee, Joe Cooper, deducts a point from a bemused Amir Khan for excessive pushing in his fight against Lamont Peterson. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Defeat mired in perceived injustice can be tough to accept. But convincing Amir Khan that he lost to Lamont Peterson in the challenger's own backyard because of a referee unfamiliar with the demands of governing a world-class fight, as well as a curious delay by ringside officials in tallying the scores, was a cursedly difficult assignment for friends and family who gathered around him after he had surrendered his two world titles.
The departing light-welterweight champion took little consolation in the near-unanimous ringside sympathy for him. Underlying his frustration is a suspicion that his golden path towards a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr next year is now compromised. What is more likely is his stock has risen in a fighting environment that puts guts and glory above technical excellence.
Certainly his American paymasters, HBO, will not be unhappy that the row will probably be resumed in an even more lucrative rematch in Las Vegas on 31 March.
What is indisputable is this was a rousing, close fight, fully of meaty blows, no little skill and high-pitched drama on a par with Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, playing in a theatre nearby. Nobody could argue either way with the result – only the method of getting there. Your corespondent scored it a draw. Other ringside opinion was divided, perhaps leaning towards Khan, inspired possibly by the feeling that we had not witnessed a fair fight.
Khan had Peterson over in the first, almost again in the ninth and flirted with disintegration on the ropes more than once himself as the Washingtonian thrashed his ribs, before taking the 12th – only to be penalised a second time for the rare crime of pushing. That did for him. Certainly it was a poorly officiated event. Glorious a struggle as it was, many of the 8,647 paying customers were left bemused. They wanted a definitive judgment and they got controversy and confusion.
"I don't like that," HBO's Max Kellerman said immediately afterwards. His fellow commentator, Jim Lampley, agreed, although the venerable tuxedo himself, Larry Merchant, viewed it from a higher plane. "There isn't always truth and justice in boxing," he said.
"That said, what we'll remember is a fight, where the fighters fought when they were given the chance to fight. We just feel good about two young men putting it out there for us, their hearts and souls, so that we can see what warriors do."
That lofty piety dodged several issues.Compounding the loser's pain was his belief in a 10-minute wait between the end of the action and the announcement (and even that had to be fine-tuned on one scorecard) that he had won. As the fighters stood either side of the referee, Joe Cooper, Khan's conditioner, Alex Ariza, who had been given the "nod" from an official, whispered in his ear: "You've got it." A tired smile dressed the champion's battered face – to be replaced within seconds by an ex-champion's despair.
As he put it: "It was like I was against two people in there." The most obvious of those opponents was Peterson, the challenger who came to the ring with a heart-rending story of living rough on the streets of Washington as a six-year-old. He picked pockets with his younger brother, Anthony, to survive a life in bus shelters and abandoned cars before they were both taken in by Barry Hunter, who became their guardian in life and mentor in the ring. Khan would reckon the real larceny committed in the nation's capital was perpetrated in and around the ring.
Khan rationalised the second defeat of his career by blaming Cooper. There was a case for that view, given that pushing, even with the elbows, is on a par with holding in a clinch. Nevertheless there is no specific mention of it in either rule book of the governing bodies in charge of the contest, the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation, so it came under a wider brief of foul play, the greyest of areas in sport.
Legal blows in boxing are generally considered those that land to the upper front torso and the head above the protective cup with the knuckle part of the glove. So, technically, Cooper might have had a point, as Khan often used his elbow to push Peterson away. Mitigating that violation was the fact that Peterson all night bulled his way in, head down, forcing Khan to protect himself against "blows" not only more obviously illegal but threatening injury and stoppage. Yet the referee warned the local fighter about the use of his head only at the start of the fateful 12th.
Cooper did caution Khan once in passing for pushing in the third but did not make it clear he was in danger of a penalty. When he docked him a point the first time, there was no warning at all. Khan says he heard no warning the second time, in the 12th when he was getting on top in a fierce finish, although Peterson disagrees. TV replays fall on Khan's side; the warnings actually came after he had separated the fighters.
There was much ragged movement from the first exchanges because the pace was unyielding, the commitment total. It needed more sophisticated refereeing than that provided by Cooper, who has been a referee for 15 years but mainly on undercard fights in hotels and nightclubs around his native Virginia, West Virginia and DC. This was only his fifth job refereeing a recognised world title fight, his first this year. He rarely strays far from home.
As if to dismiss him from the narrative, negotiations for a rematch were moving through the gears not long after Cooper had left the arena in the early hours of Sunday morning. The local administrative body, the District of Columbia Boxing and Wrestling Commission, refused all requests for media interviews with him. That is never a good look.
Khan threw more punches, 757 to 573, but Peterson scored with more blows of significant force, 188 to 169. Into that chasm of doubt stepped the judges, two of whom did not have far to drive to get home.

Only the ex-cop from Puerto Rico, Nelson Vazquez, gave Khan a fair shake – and even his score of 115-110 was out of kilter – especially after being recalibrated from 114-111. The American judges, George Hill and Valerie Dorsett, saw the contest with eerie consistency right through – although Hill's score in the seventh was subsequently adjusted on the official sheet.

This was a fight that deserved to be judged on canvas, not paper. Maybe Merchant was right, though. It is the way of the fight game, a mistress existing under a veil of respectability yet too often exposed as a *****.




 
[h=1]Amir Khan protests 'I was against two people in there'[/h] This title fight against Lamont Peterson was rousing, close and full of meaty blows but poor officiating left a bitter taste





Amir-Khan-Lamont-Peterson-007.jpg
The referee, Joe Cooper, deducts a point from a bemused Amir Khan for excessive pushing in his fight against Lamont Peterson. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Defeat mired in perceived injustice can be tough to accept. But convincing Amir Khan that he lost to Lamont Peterson in the challenger's own backyard because of a referee unfamiliar with the demands of governing a world-class fight, as well as a curious delay by ringside officials in tallying the scores, was a cursedly difficult assignment for friends and family who gathered around him after he had surrendered his two world titles.
The departing light-welterweight champion took little consolation in the near-unanimous ringside sympathy for him. Underlying his frustration is a suspicion that his golden path towards a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr next year is now compromised. What is more likely is his stock has risen in a fighting environment that puts guts and glory above technical excellence.
Certainly his American paymasters, HBO, will not be unhappy that the row will probably be resumed in an even more lucrative rematch in Las Vegas on 31 March.
What is indisputable is this was a rousing, close fight, fully of meaty blows, no little skill and high-pitched drama on a par with Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, playing in a theatre nearby. Nobody could argue either way with the result – only the method of getting there. Your corespondent scored it a draw. Other ringside opinion was divided, perhaps leaning towards Khan, inspired possibly by the feeling that we had not witnessed a fair fight.
Khan had Peterson over in the first, almost again in the ninth and flirted with disintegration on the ropes more than once himself as the Washingtonian thrashed his ribs, before taking the 12th – only to be penalised a second time for the rare crime of pushing. That did for him. Certainly it was a poorly officiated event. Glorious a struggle as it was, many of the 8,647 paying customers were left bemused. They wanted a definitive judgment and they got controversy and confusion.
"I don't like that," HBO's Max Kellerman said immediately afterwards. His fellow commentator, Jim Lampley, agreed, although the venerable tuxedo himself, Larry Merchant, viewed it from a higher plane. "There isn't always truth and justice in boxing," he said.
"That said, what we'll remember is a fight, where the fighters fought when they were given the chance to fight. We just feel good about two young men putting it out there for us, their hearts and souls, so that we can see what warriors do."
That lofty piety dodged several issues.Compounding the loser's pain was his belief in a 10-minute wait between the end of the action and the announcement (and even that had to be fine-tuned on one scorecard) that he had won. As the fighters stood either side of the referee, Joe Cooper, Khan's conditioner, Alex Ariza, who had been given the "nod" from an official, whispered in his ear: "You've got it." A tired smile dressed the champion's battered face – to be replaced within seconds by an ex-champion's despair.
As he put it: "It was like I was against two people in there." The most obvious of those opponents was Peterson, the challenger who came to the ring with a heart-rending story of living rough on the streets of Washington as a six-year-old. He picked pockets with his younger brother, Anthony, to survive a life in bus shelters and abandoned cars before they were both taken in by Barry Hunter, who became their guardian in life and mentor in the ring. Khan would reckon the real larceny committed in the nation's capital was perpetrated in and around the ring.
Khan rationalised the second defeat of his career by blaming Cooper. There was a case for that view, given that pushing, even with the elbows, is on a par with holding in a clinch. Nevertheless there is no specific mention of it in either rule book of the governing bodies in charge of the contest, the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Federation, so it came under a wider brief of foul play, the greyest of areas in sport.
Legal blows in boxing are generally considered those that land to the upper front torso and the head above the protective cup with the knuckle part of the glove. So, technically, Cooper might have had a point, as Khan often used his elbow to push Peterson away. Mitigating that violation was the fact that Peterson all night bulled his way in, head down, forcing Khan to protect himself against "blows" not only more obviously illegal but threatening injury and stoppage. Yet the referee warned the local fighter about the use of his head only at the start of the fateful 12th.
Cooper did caution Khan once in passing for pushing in the third but did not make it clear he was in danger of a penalty. When he docked him a point the first time, there was no warning at all. Khan says he heard no warning the second time, in the 12th when he was getting on top in a fierce finish, although Peterson disagrees. TV replays fall on Khan's side; the warnings actually came after he had separated the fighters.
There was much ragged movement from the first exchanges because the pace was unyielding, the commitment total. It needed more sophisticated refereeing than that provided by Cooper, who has been a referee for 15 years but mainly on undercard fights in hotels and nightclubs around his native Virginia, West Virginia and DC. This was only his fifth job refereeing a recognised world title fight, his first this year. He rarely strays far from home.
As if to dismiss him from the narrative, negotiations for a rematch were moving through the gears not long after Cooper had left the arena in the early hours of Sunday morning. The local administrative body, the District of Columbia Boxing and Wrestling Commission, refused all requests for media interviews with him. That is never a good look.
Khan threw more punches, 757 to 573, but Peterson scored with more blows of significant force, 188 to 169. Into that chasm of doubt stepped the judges, two of whom did not have far to drive to get home.

Only the ex-cop from Puerto Rico, Nelson Vazquez, gave Khan a fair shake – and even his score of 115-110 was out of kilter – especially after being recalibrated from 114-111. The American judges, George Hill and Valerie Dorsett, saw the contest with eerie consistency right through – although Hill's score in the seventh was subsequently adjusted on the official sheet.

This was a fight that deserved to be judged on canvas, not paper. Maybe Merchant was right, though. It is the way of the fight game, a mistress existing under a veil of respectability yet too often exposed as a *****.




 
[h=1]Referee Joe Cooper joined the punters by losing his shirt on Amir Khan[/h] Amir Khan said he was whiter than white in defeat. That was more than you could say for the blood-splattered referee




Amir-Khan-hangs-over-the--007.jpg
Amir Khan hangs over the ropes as Lamont Peterson is held back by referee Joe Cooper during the WBA Super Lightweight and IBF Junior Welterweight title fight in Washington, DC. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Why would a referee go into a world championship fight wearing a pristine white shirt? It seems terribly unwise, given the possibility that the evening will end with it splattered with claret. Though I am no expert in removing blood stains from a white garment I suspect Joe Cooper, the man in the middle at the Amir Khan‑Lamont Peterson title fight, will need a very high-temperature programme, and maybe a pre-wash soak, before he can wear again the outfit he wore on Saturday night.
We got a good five minutes to study the patterns made by the fighters' blood on Cooper's top, while waiting for the judges' verdict in Washington DC. If you were so inclined, you could have filled the time with home-administered Rorschach inkblot tests. I saw moonlight in Vermont and Les Dennis buying processed peas at a branch of Asda in Kettering.
They like to ratchet up the tension when fights end with both boxers still on their feet, delivering each judge's scores before saying which fighter they are in favour of and then pausing before the doyen of fight announcers, Michael Buffer, intones: "The winner, by majority verdict, and …" And then another pause, while we wait for the word "still", meaning Khan has won and retains his titles, or "new" meaning Peterson has the verdict.
We are, of course, all used to this kind of malarkey now from The X Factor, and at least it is Buffer giving the news in his totally unironic way, and not Dermot O'Leary prancing about being all cutesy about it. They should make O'Leary read out ads the way Buffer has to. That would administer a bracing shot of reality and give him an idea of the programme's raison d'etre.
Buffer not only lists all the sponsors of the fight but has to read out sales pitches too, and I have to admit to a tinge of jealousy as he hawked something called AT&T 4G LTE, "with speeds up to 10 times higher than 3G", while I vainly tried to tweet, on Orange, where speeds are slower than a Larry Merchant question.
Merchant is HBO's veteran boxing analyst, who delivers every question as if it were a proposition by Wittgenstein or at the very least cross-examination of a witness in a complicated fraud trial. Once he embarks on his steady inquisition, you never quite know what the culmination might be. The fighter will stand there waiting for a question, often still bleeding, while the 80‑year‑old, bless him, eventually gets to his point.
"You had the chance to fight him last year in Britain," was Merchant's opening to Peterson. "But you walked away from what could have been the biggest payday of your life, and took another fight for a fraction of the money." He continued, slowly, as drinks were brought out from the pavilion. "What does that say about you as a fighter and a person?" Peterson's right eye appeared to be closing, whether as a result of punches thrown in the fight or because he was dropping off it was difficult to say.
Merchant's stately questioning is often a welcome relief from the breathless action in the ring but Khan was still fighting the fight during his interview, repeating the mantra that he was the cleaner fighter and that the referee was more or less responsible for his defeat.
This seemed a little graceless and there was little enthusiasm for Khan's analysis back in the Sky studio, where Johnny Nelson, Barry McGuigan, and Steve Collins correctly identified the story of the night as the gutsy performance and tactical nous of boxing's "real-life Cinderella man", survivor of a brutal childhood and life as a homeless youth on Washington's mean streets. In terms of life dealing you a tough hand, that even trumps being brought up in Bolton.
Sky's team was on exceptional form after a long night – I have to admit to being a wuss, and snoozing through an extraordinarily soporific Gregory Peck film, The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit, while waiting for the fight – even summoning up the energy for a spirited post-fight argument.
Nelson reckoned Khan had performed badly but the other pundits disagreed quite heatedly, ascribing the defeat to the British boxer making tactical errors, notably underestimating his opponent, assuming victory and looking ahead to a possible contest against Floyd Mayweather. This seemed plausible but perplexing since Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, had been sold to us as pretty well pre‑eminent in his field.
Not unlike José Mourinho, in fact, whose reputation also took a knock with defeat in El Clásico, the commentary on which boasted what I like to think of as a Partridge moment.

"He has lit a stick of footballing dynamite," said Rob Palmer after Karim Benzema's early goal for Real Madrid. To achieve the full Partridge he needed to extend the metaphor – as in "… a stick of footballing dynamite, as deadly to Catalonia as any lit by General Franco and his forces in the Spanish Civil War" – but it was a valiant effort nonetheless.





 
[h=1]Referee Joe Cooper joined the punters by losing his shirt on Amir Khan[/h] Amir Khan said he was whiter than white in defeat. That was more than you could say for the blood-splattered referee




Amir-Khan-hangs-over-the--007.jpg
Amir Khan hangs over the ropes as Lamont Peterson is held back by referee Joe Cooper during the WBA Super Lightweight and IBF Junior Welterweight title fight in Washington, DC. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Why would a referee go into a world championship fight wearing a pristine white shirt? It seems terribly unwise, given the possibility that the evening will end with it splattered with claret. Though I am no expert in removing blood stains from a white garment I suspect Joe Cooper, the man in the middle at the Amir Khan‑Lamont Peterson title fight, will need a very high-temperature programme, and maybe a pre-wash soak, before he can wear again the outfit he wore on Saturday night.
We got a good five minutes to study the patterns made by the fighters' blood on Cooper's top, while waiting for the judges' verdict in Washington DC. If you were so inclined, you could have filled the time with home-administered Rorschach inkblot tests. I saw moonlight in Vermont and Les Dennis buying processed peas at a branch of Asda in Kettering.
They like to ratchet up the tension when fights end with both boxers still on their feet, delivering each judge's scores before saying which fighter they are in favour of and then pausing before the doyen of fight announcers, Michael Buffer, intones: "The winner, by majority verdict, and …" And then another pause, while we wait for the word "still", meaning Khan has won and retains his titles, or "new" meaning Peterson has the verdict.
We are, of course, all used to this kind of malarkey now from The X Factor, and at least it is Buffer giving the news in his totally unironic way, and not Dermot O'Leary prancing about being all cutesy about it. They should make O'Leary read out ads the way Buffer has to. That would administer a bracing shot of reality and give him an idea of the programme's raison d'etre.
Buffer not only lists all the sponsors of the fight but has to read out sales pitches too, and I have to admit to a tinge of jealousy as he hawked something called AT&T 4G LTE, "with speeds up to 10 times higher than 3G", while I vainly tried to tweet, on Orange, where speeds are slower than a Larry Merchant question.
Merchant is HBO's veteran boxing analyst, who delivers every question as if it were a proposition by Wittgenstein or at the very least cross-examination of a witness in a complicated fraud trial. Once he embarks on his steady inquisition, you never quite know what the culmination might be. The fighter will stand there waiting for a question, often still bleeding, while the 80‑year‑old, bless him, eventually gets to his point.
"You had the chance to fight him last year in Britain," was Merchant's opening to Peterson. "But you walked away from what could have been the biggest payday of your life, and took another fight for a fraction of the money." He continued, slowly, as drinks were brought out from the pavilion. "What does that say about you as a fighter and a person?" Peterson's right eye appeared to be closing, whether as a result of punches thrown in the fight or because he was dropping off it was difficult to say.
Merchant's stately questioning is often a welcome relief from the breathless action in the ring but Khan was still fighting the fight during his interview, repeating the mantra that he was the cleaner fighter and that the referee was more or less responsible for his defeat.
This seemed a little graceless and there was little enthusiasm for Khan's analysis back in the Sky studio, where Johnny Nelson, Barry McGuigan, and Steve Collins correctly identified the story of the night as the gutsy performance and tactical nous of boxing's "real-life Cinderella man", survivor of a brutal childhood and life as a homeless youth on Washington's mean streets. In terms of life dealing you a tough hand, that even trumps being brought up in Bolton.
Sky's team was on exceptional form after a long night – I have to admit to being a wuss, and snoozing through an extraordinarily soporific Gregory Peck film, The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit, while waiting for the fight – even summoning up the energy for a spirited post-fight argument.
Nelson reckoned Khan had performed badly but the other pundits disagreed quite heatedly, ascribing the defeat to the British boxer making tactical errors, notably underestimating his opponent, assuming victory and looking ahead to a possible contest against Floyd Mayweather. This seemed plausible but perplexing since Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, had been sold to us as pretty well pre‑eminent in his field.
Not unlike José Mourinho, in fact, whose reputation also took a knock with defeat in El Clásico, the commentary on which boasted what I like to think of as a Partridge moment.

"He has lit a stick of footballing dynamite," said Rob Palmer after Karim Benzema's early goal for Real Madrid. To achieve the full Partridge he needed to extend the metaphor – as in "… a stick of footballing dynamite, as deadly to Catalonia as any lit by General Franco and his forces in the Spanish Civil War" – but it was a valiant effort nonetheless.





 
[h=1]Amir Khan must improve to win back his titles, says Frank Warren[/h] • Khan's former promoter says boxer was not 'emphatic enough'
• 'He's making tough work of fights people thought he would win'






Amir-Khan-and-Lamont-Pete-007.jpg
Frank Warren was unimpressed by the way Amir Khan, left, struggled against a fighter he believes is not a big puncher. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

Amir Khan has more to worry about than the controversial decision in his loss to Lamont Peterson. That is the view of Khan's former promoter Frank Warren, who believes the Bolton boxer will be in for a tough fight if he secures the desired rematch with Peterson.
Khan is lodging a complaint through official channels after losing his WBA and IBF light-welterweight belts with a split-decision points defeat in Peterson's hometown, Washington DC, at the weekend.
The 25-year-old is unhappy not only with the referee, Joe Cooper, deducting him a point on two occasions for pushing but also with the judges' scoring of the fight.
However Warren, speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, said: "I think more importantly, if there is a rematch, what I was concerned with was how easy Peterson, who is not a big, big puncher, was finding it to catch Khan, especially with the right hand.
"It seems to me in his last few fights, against [Marcos] Maidana and Peterson, he's making real tough work of fights people thought he would win much easier.
"The fight was very close – you could call it one way or the other– but that's not the point. The point is you look at what's happening during the fight and he was making extremely hard work of what a lot of people felt would be quite comfortable. He wasn't emphatic enough in the fight and I think the rematch will be a tougher fight for him because Peterson is holding all the cards now.

"Talk about him fighting Floyd Mayweather and all this hysteria about he's going to be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet is a bit premature and I really don't think he should be going up a weight to even think about Mayweather unless he was looking for a big payday.
"His defence is not as good as it should be. He went to America to work on that and to me it's not something that seems to be successful as far as he's concerned."





 



[h=1]Amir Khan battered but belligerent as he demands Peterson rematch[/h] After losing his two world titles to Lamont Peterson, Amir Khan has vowed to make his opponent suffer in a rematch




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Even before his bruises have healed, Amir Khan is keen to get back in the gym and prepare for a rematch against Lamont Peterson. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

When he went blinking into the Washington dawn after the toughest night of his life, Amir Khan stopped to take in the crisp winter air and came to a conclusion: life could be worse.
Certainly, he had lost his two world titles to Lamont Peterson; he was also nursing the first black eye of his career, as well as a freshly drained cauliflower ear, hidden against the chill under a tight woollen hat. But behind him in the hospital, he had just left the winner, receiving attention for a right eye banged shut in their fight the night before, and Peterson was making encouraging noises. Sure, he would give him a rematch. Yes, it can be in Las Vegas.
They have already got a date: 31 March. Now they have to settle on a venue. It will not be in DC.
The prospect of retribution consoled Khan after he had surrendered some of his facial boyishness as well as the WBA and IBF versions of the light-welterweight title, but, if they could do it all over again, it would be bigger and better this time. And he would win. He was sure of that.
Later, resting up at his hotel before taking a day off and then flying home, Khan said: "There is nothing in the contract for a rematch, but he knows he didn't win that fight. In the hospital he was having his eye done, it wouldn't open. My friend Saj went over to his team in the hospital and they said: 'When Lamont drew with [Victor] Ortiz, we thought he won that fight, so we know how you feel. It was a close fight.' And this was a better Peterson than the one who drew with Ortiz."
While Khan is coming to terms with his first shiner, his second loss and minor surgery on damage to his left ear that a rugby prop would be proud of but not a pretty‑boy millionaire about to reunite with his new fiancee, the deeper hurt is the manner of his defeat. The day after the night before, he struggles to talk calmly about the referee, Joe Cooper, whose deduction of two points for pushing cost him his titles.
"I wouldn't let him do a world title fight again," he said. "We should really have looked at the referee beforehand. He's refereed 44 out of 51 of his fights in DC and around here. He comes from [Virginia]. And this was only his fifth world title fight. He just disappeared after the fight.
"It was one of those things. You could see how inexperienced he was at times, because he never gave me any warnings at all before docking me points – especially in the 12th round. I didn't know I did wrong. He just took me to the side and took a point off me. I wouldn't blame Lamont. He did what he had to do, but he got me below the belt in the eighth, and that was when I tapped down but the referee didn't want to do anything.
"We still thought we had won. I know they were in shock winning the fight. At the end, as we stood either side of Cooper, one of the Golden Boy guys got the scoresheets and it said 'Khan, Khan, Peterson' – and the next thing it was 'Peterson, Peterson, Khan'."
The mystery of the bungling referee and the botched scorecards will probably never be resolved, however. "There is no point appealing," Khan said. "If I do they are not going to overturn the decision. HBO [which screened the fight to subscribers in the US] say they know I bring a great fight. They have virtually given [the rematch] to me. Ring Magazine have already made this one their fight of the year."
The bigger challenge than coping with disappointment, one he relishes, lies ahead. "I can't wait to get back in the gym. The rematch is going to be bigger and also I know now there is only one more fight for me at 140 [pounds]. It's so hard to get fights in the light-welterweight division and I know now there is a fight at 140 that I want. He has to take it, and there will be two world titles on the line. I want my titles back and then move up to 147. Beating him will be great. He is the one now who will have to suffer. I am going to work hard and change things I did in the ring. We will be working on the angles and Freddie [Roach] knows exactly what [Peterson] does now.

"Things happen for a reason and I have matured. I know the little mistakes I have made and I will get rid of them. I learnt the hard way against Breidis Prescott [who knocked Khan out in 54 seconds three years ago] and changed. It was a wake-up call. This is another one."

With that, Khan tugged gingerly at the hat covering the cuts and bruises around his neck and ears, and grinned a little. He has just turned 25, and he is learning to live with the physical and mental scars of the most demanding sport of them all.




 
[h=1]How Rock Allen denied Amir Khan the chance to meet his nemesis[/h] Amir Khan may have known what to expect against Lamont Peterson but for a twist of fate before the 2004 Olympic Games




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Amir Khan is left stunned by his world title defeat against the challenger Lamont Peterson in Washington DC. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images

It was not just about "our guy". It was also about Lamont Peterson, whose story has rippled way beyond boxing. It was also, in a way, about a guy called Rock Allen.
In the space of an evening Peterson became Washington's most celebrated sports star. Some Americans outside DC have even heard of him now. Somebody should make a movie about him, or write his life story: the kid rescued from the streets of the nation's capital who, against all odds, rose to challenge for a world title in his home town – and won. Just in time for Christmas.
Peterson did not just beat Amir Khan. He beat life. A tale retold and embellished all week in the lead-up to Saturday night's extraordinary happening at the city's Convention Center laid out Peterson's rise from abandoned six-year-old boy, one of 11 children of a jailbird drugs dealer and a mother who could not cope. Lamont, thrown out of a shelter, lived rough in bus stops and abandoned cars with his younger brother, Anthony, for two years, picking pockets and thieving change from restaurant tables to survive. When Lamont was 10, the Peterson boys were taken in by a reformed gangster and now evangelist boxing coach, Barry Hunter, who saved them from a life of crime, prison and early death. That much we know.
On top of all that, the kid with the ready smile and the sad, haunted eyes is as nice a person as you would wish to meet – except maybe not in a boxing ring. What part of that story is not a gutter-to-stars gift for Hollywood? If he had won the world title on one leg with an arm in a sling, it could not be a lot more unlikely.
"We've had interest in it, film and book, from a few places already," Peterson's long-time friend and publicist, Andre Johnson, said. "Certainly it's a story that a lot of people are interested in. We'll see. As for a rematch, well, that's a possibility. We have to sit down and consider our options over the next week or so."
That Peterson took Khan's WBA and IBF light-welterweight belts from him in controversial circumstances only added spice to the fairytale. Referee Joe Cooper of Virginia rose from obscurity to infamy when he took away two points from Khan for pushing in round seven and the dramatic 12th, harsh and hamfisted refereeing that cost the Bolton fighter his titles. Cooper just as quickly disappeared. Even HBO, which was paying the freight, could not find him for an interview. No amount of phone calls could track him down. The Ballad of Joe Cooper would make a suitable coda for any Lamont Peterson biopic, the details of which appear to be endless.
Khan, as we know, won silver at the 2004 Olympics in Greece; what many do not know is Peterson came within one fight of being in the US team for those Games.
Khan turned professional when he came home, 10 months after Peterson, and was living the gilded boxing life until knocked out inside a minute by the Colombian Breidis Prescott in 2008. He rebuilt his career with the best trainer in boxing, Freddie Roach, and came to Washington on Saturday night to defend his WBA title for the sixth time against a man he may have at least bumped into at the Olympic Games had Peterson beaten Rock Allen to qualify for a US vest.
The intertwining of the careers of elite athletes is commonplace; how Khan and Peterson came to contest Amir's world titles just rounds out their journeys. But what of Rock, a childhood tap-dancing star and son of the renowned trainer Naazim Richardson, the man who exposed Antonio Margarito as a loaded-gloves cheat? Unbeaten in 15 professional fights at 10st and welterweight, Rock has not boxed since he and his twin brother, Tiger, also a boxer, were badly hurt in a car accident in Philadelphia in June. Boxing is not just a sport, it is a never-ending story, waiting to be updated daily.
Khan lost courageously and took defeat as well as could be expected. HBO's silvered eminence, Larry Merchant, might have been over-reaching a little for the dramatic quote but his comment on the night struck a chord: "Amir Khan is fighting as if his job depends on it; Lamont Peterson is fighting as if his life depends on it."
Mike Wise, writing in the Washington Post, said: "No one can change my mind on this one: The single greatest sports story in Washington this year unfolded past 11pm Saturday night in downtown."
When Wise sat in the press box at FedEx Field the following afternoon, watching the Redskins lose to the New England Patriots in one of the most exciting NFL games of the season, he had not changed his mind. It was and is their story of the year.
Khan's part in it, from an American perspective, is as the well-mannered Englishman who was good enough – or naive enough – to bring his titles to Washington and give the accomplished but lightly regarded Peterson his shot. It was a mandatory defence but it did not have to be in the challenger's home town.
Peterson took it. Now, he says, he will repay the favour and they will fight again in March. That is the next chapter of the story and there could be twists and turns yet – as Johnson suggests. This is, after all, a business.
The new champion negotiated himself a one-fight $650,000 (£420,000) payday to make his challenge. Now he has got the belts, his people can talk to their people with authority. He will earn far more in the rematch, probably on a par with Khan, who is the star of Golden's Boy's 60-fighter stable.
But that is for the suits. The story people want to dwell on is that of two dedicated fighters of different backgrounds, varied fortunes and a single purpose: inflicting pain. Both suffered on Saturday night. They even ended up in the same hospital, not an uncommon event in boxing, but one which added piquancy to the rolling drama.
At 2am on Sunday, Johnson was pulling up outside the George Washington Hospital with the battered champ for some medical attention. He saw a black Cadillac Escalade draw up behind them. "I just looked outside and saw all the gold and red from Khan's team," Johnson told reporters, "and said: 'Ain't that some shit?' Everybody else in the emergency room just looked at 'em first, like: 'What happened to you two?'"
The two fighters hugged, signed autographs for the nurses, had their picture taken together and went to separate rooms to get patched up. Lamont had a left eye that Khan's left hook and jab had bashed shut; Amir was sporting his first black eye and a cauliflower ear that had to be drained, legacy of his opponent's thumping right hands when he drove him to the ropes.

In this surreal moment, they did not lose sight of how they had come to know each other. Peterson repeated his promise that he would give Khan a rematch. They shook hands. Doing business again would be both traumatic and pleasurable.
Stories change, of course. When they do fight again, there will be an edge that was missing before. The respect remains and trash-talking is neither man's style but Khan's spiritual bruises will heal far more slowly than his physical ones.

Just as Peterson was inspired by a past of unmitigated grimness, Khan, a millionaire many times over, is driven now by an emotion almost as powerful as desperation: revenge.




 



[h=1]Amir Khan's promoters claim WBA has ordered Lamont Peterson rematch[/h] • 'Mystery man' ringside named as IBF official Mustafa Ameen
• Khan lost WBA and IBF titles to Peterson in December




Amir-Khan-has-questioned--007.jpg
Amir Khan, left, has questioned the presence of a mystery man in a hat, circled, at his defeat to Lamont Peterson. Photograph: HBO

Amir Khan has been guaranteed a rematch by the World Boxing Association with Lamont Peterson, according to his promoter, after the mystery man sitting next to the judges during the British fighter's defeat last month was identified as Mustafa Ameen, an International Boxing Federation official.
Khan lost his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles to Peterson on 10 December in Washington DC and last week used his Twitter account to post a series of images of the man, seen wearing a dark hat, and to draw attention to the individual's movements around the judges' table. Peterson won after a disputed points decision.
Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, who represent Khan in the United States, said that the WBA have offered Khan a rematch with Peterson and pressed the IBF to follow suit.
"We have been informed today by the WBA that they will order an immediate rematch," he said. "We received a verbal confirmation today and we will get a written confirmation by next Tuesday. That means that no fighter can take an interim fight, that the next fight for Peterson would be a rematch. We hope that the IBF will follow because that's the least they can do. The ruling of the WBA to order an immediate rematch should put additional pressures on the IBF."
Schaefer wants Khan's defeat by Peterson to be deemed a no contest, which would reinstate Khan as a two-belt world champion, but he did concede this was a long-shot. "It's difficult to guess the no-contest ruling. I certainly hope this could happen," he said.
Khan echoed Schaefer's call for a rematch on Twitter on Saturday. ""We are just hoping for answers now, and we have left it with our promoters and legal team, apparently the ruling for someone interfering with the scorecards or judges, the fight is ruled as a no-contest.
"Let's just wait and see if Michael Welsh [the WBA fight supervisor] or Mustafa Ameen come out and speak out, they know the truth and exactly what was going on."
In footage of the fight a man in a black hat and a blue suit can be seen passing slips of paper to Welsh. At the end of last week after Khan posted on Twitter images of the man to question his presence at ringside. Schaefer stated that the IBF had since identified him as Ameen.
Schaefer said that Ameen was given accreditation for the fight despite having no direct involvment. He said: "His name is Mustafa Ameen and the IBF have confirmed to us his name," he said, "and they have confirmed to us that he's involved in an official capacity with the IBF. However, he was not in Washington in an official IBF capacity, but the IBF asked the Washington commission to issue him a credential so that he could attend the fight."

At the end of last week, Khan said: "The rule is whenever the judges are working, no one is allowed to touch the judges' papers or scorecards. Were they scorecards? I don't know. That's the thing I want to know and that's the complaint I sent."




 
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