Khan-Peterson Headlines HBO on Saturday

HBO SPORTS HEADS TO WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR A

UNIFIED SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE SHOWDOWN WHEN

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^®:  AMIR KHAN VS. LAMONT PETERSON

AND SETH MITCHELL VS. TIMUR IBRAGIMOV

IS PRESENTED LIVE SATURDAY, DEC. 10 ON HBO

PLUS THE EXCLUSIVE REPLAY OF COTTO VS. MARGARITO II

            HBO Sports serves up an intriguing unified super lightweight title bout when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING:  AMIR KHAN VS. LAMONT PETERSON AND SETH MITCHELL VS. TIMUR IBRAGIMOV is presented live SATURDAY, DEC. 10 (9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT) from Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., exclusively on HBO.  Ringside for HBO Sports will be host and blow-by-blow announcer Jim Lampley joined by commentators Larry Merchant and Max Kellerman.  The telecast will be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired, presented in HDTV and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

With regular analysts Emanuel Steward and Roy Jones Jr. unavailable due to previous fight commitments, HBO will pair veteran commentators Merchant and Kellerman with Lampley on what should be a entertaining and engaging night of boxing commentary and opinions.  Merchant joined HBO in 1978, while Kellerman came on board in 2006.

A 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist, London’s Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) faces the resourceful Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOs) in a highly anticipated 12-round title match.  Khan, who is enormously popular in Britain and turns 25 two days before the fight, has displayed a willingness to cross the pond to meet formidable opposition, and will be putting his 140-pound belts on the line in his fourth U.S. fight.  Under the guidance of legendary trainer Freddie Roach, Khan has met every challenge, including a bout with Zab Judah last July.

Battle-tested Lamont Peterson has defied long odds to reach this point in his career.  He and brother Anthony survived a turbulent childhood that included homelessness on the streets of D.C.  Now the 27-year-old has a shot at the top in this highly competitive division.

The opening fight features Brandywine, Md. native Seth Mitchell (23-0-1, 17 KOs) in a ten-round heavyweight battle with Uzbekistan’s Timur Ibragimov (30-3-1, 16 KOs).  A former linebacker at Michigan State who didn’t begin boxing until his 20s, Mitchell is making his HBO debut.

The doubleheader marks HBO’s first visit to the nation’s capital for boxing since 1993.

Prior to the live action, HBO will kick off the night of boxing programming with the exclusive replay of Cotto vs. Margarito II.  The all-action fight took place on Dec. 3 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and featured Miguel Cotto scoring a 10th round TKO victory over Antonio Margarito.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV.  HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

Also, here is info on the undercard:

DC-AREA FAVORITES ANTHONY PETERSON AND

FERNANDO GUERRERO AND UNDEFEATED PROSPECT JAMIE KAVANAGH TO SEE ACTION ON “CAPITAL SHOWDOWN:

KHAN VS. PETERSON” UNDERCARD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT

THE WALTER E. WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER

WASHINGTON, DC (December 7) – “Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson” fight week is in full swing and big-time boxing’s return to the District just got bigger as Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions present an undercard jam-packed with compelling matchups in the lead-up to the WBA and IBF Super Lightweight World Title fight between champion Amir “King” Khan and challenger Lamont Peterson this Saturday, December 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

Hometown favorite and lightweight contender Anthony Peterson, popular local standout Fernando Guerrero and unbeaten Irish prospect Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh are ready for action as they prepare to show DC what they are made of on Saturday night.

The brother of main event challenger Lamont Peterson, lightweight Anthony Peterson (30-1, 20 KO’s) is forging his own path to a world title, and his bout on December 10 is a step in the right direction. A former NABF and NABO champion whose only pro loss came via disqualification to Brandon Rios in his last fight in September of 2010, the 26-year old Washington, DC native’s long-awaited return to the ring will come in his backyard against the always tough 34-year-old Ghana native Daniel Attah (26-8-1, 9 KO’s). Attah, a rugged warrior who has faced the best the game has to offer including former World Champions Acelino Freitas and Nate Campbell as well as current World Champion Antonio DeMarco, is always ready for battle and will look to spoil Peterson’s ring return on Saturday night.

Hailing from nearby Salisbury, Maryland, 25-year old Fernando Guerrero (21-1, 16 KO’s) is one of the east coast’s most popular fighters and for good reason considering his charisma outside of the ring and his action-packed style inside of it. Looking to bounce back from the lone loss of his pro career to Grady Brewer in June, Guerrero squares off with Minnesota’s Robert Kliewer (11-13-2, 5 KO’s) in an eight-round middleweight bout.

Unbeaten in eight pro fights, Ireland’s Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh (8-0, 3 KO’s) has had a busy 2011, winning all four of his bouts this year without losing a round. Now fighting out of Hollywood, Calif., the 21-year-old Freddie Roach trained lightweight will take on San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Ramesis Gil (6-3-4, 5 KO’s) in a six-round contest.

Plus, Washington, DC fighters will take the stage on the biggest night of their pro careers to date when Fort Washington, Maryland light heavyweight Thomas Williams (5-0, 3 KO’s) faces Reynaldo Rodriguez (6-2-1, 3 KO’s) of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, welterweights Dusty Harrison (2-0) and Terrell Davis (0-4) face-off in an all-DC match-up, White Plains, Maryland lightweight Joshua Davis (1-0, 1 KO) takes on Chris Russell (2-7-1, 1 KO) of Shattuck, Oklahoma in a lightweight battle and White Plains lightweight Terron Grant (1-0) faces North Carolina’s Dashawn Autry (0-1). Each of these exciting bouts featuring hometown up-and-comers are scheduled for four rounds and are sure to start “Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson” off right.