PREDICTION PAGE: Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson…NGUYEN

Published

13 years ago

December 8, 2011

Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson – Khan weighed 139 pounds, while Peterson was 140 on Friday. Could the seasoned but heretofore unspectacular Peterson pull a massive upset in DC? Weigh in, in our Forum.

This Saturday night, Amir Khan will attempt to further cement his dominance at 140 pounds by taking on Lamont Peterson. The matchup will be the first major bout in years for fight-starved Washington D.C. boxing fans. With talented D.C. native Peterson trying to pull what would probably be the upset of the year against Khan, this has the makings for a potentially spirited affair.

Questions surround the fight. Will Khan, who has unsuccessfully tried to woo other top 140-pounders like Timothy Bradley, try to make a statement against Peterson? Will Peterson finally be able to live up to the now-diminished hype that once surrounded him as a future champion? Answers should reveal themselves Saturday night, but a closer look at both fighters will paint a revealing picture of what’s likely to go down.

Scouting Report for Lamont Peterson:

Lamont Peterson has been known by boxing insiders for the better part of a decade. Peterson, along with his brother Anthony, survived a harrowing childhood which saw them homeless and alone in Washington D.C. Trainer and father-figure Barry Hunter mentored both boys through boxing, saving them from being casualties of the harsh streets of D.C. Both young men showed promise in their amateur careers that created the buzz that they could possibly be future champions in the sport.

Unfortunately for Lamont Peterson, the step from world-class fighter to world champion has proven troublesome. Since being heralded as a future world champion as early as 2006, Peterson has plateaued in his progress as a fighter. When he has stepped up his competition level, he has proven disappointing, dropping a lopsided decision to Timothy Bradley in 2009 and fighting to an uninspired draw with Victor Ortiz in 2010.

From a technical standpoint, Peterson’s lack of progress has stemmed from an inability or, perhaps more accurately, unwillingness to fight outside of his comfort zone. The ideal blueprint for Lamont Peterson is to fight at his own pace, boxing from range at a relaxed pace or choosing his spots infighting. Fundamentally, Peterson has the skills to do both quite competently, provided he can decide things on his own terms. His ideal opponent is one who will cooperate with this tempo of fight.

Against Bradley, and for extended portions of his fight with Ortiz, Peterson did not have a cooperative opponent in front of him. Bradley’s awkward and unpredictable attack short-circuited Peterson’s rhythm. While Peterson was able to fight back to good effect, the outcome was a wide-margin defeat, and the primary reason was that Bradley didn’t allow Peterson to dictate the pace of the action. In the Ortiz fight, Peterson experienced the same difficulties when Ortiz was willing to mount an offensive. Only during the stretches when Ortiz was inactive was Peterson able establish his gameplan and set up his offense.

Peterson’s career-best win was in his last fight against Victor Cayo. For much of the fight, Peterson was able to run the table and decide the terms of combat, which allowed him to stop Cayo late in an impressive outing for Peterson. The knockout of Cayo set up this title opportunity against Khan, but it didn’t reveal a whole lot about Peterson. It simply showed, once again, that if he can control the tempo, Peterson is a very good fighter. Still, the mark of a championship-caliber fighter is to adapt to opponents and adjust when needed. This has been a marked weakness thus far in Peterson’s career.

Another one of Peterson’s liabilities is his habit of going almost completely defensive in the face of an opponent’s assault. For a classic boxer, Peterson does not effectively utilize head movement to avoid punches. His favorite method is to hold his hands high and wait out the attack, similar to Winky Wright, but less effective. While Wright’s high guard was as secure as Fort Knox, Peterson’s cover-up defense can be penetrated with looping shots around his guard and split between with uppercuts that he has difficulty seeing. Also, unlike Wright, Peterson rarely punches out of this stance, waiting instead for his opponent to back up and allow him to reset his offense.

Peterson’s other habit is to use a Mayweather-esque shoulder roll to evade punches, twisting and turning his torso, rolling away from punches, and sometimes leaning to his right and firing a right hand of his own. The problem, once again, is that Peterson does not utilize this technique as well as the man who perfected it. While Mayweather can twist and turn to avoid shots, he can also simultaneously use his legs to get himself out of precarious positions when needed. Peterson, though, keeps his feet fairly stationary. If his opponent doesn’t fall for Peterson’s flashy smoke and mirrors, he can continue to press Peterson by stepping around and continuing to throw punches. This puts Peterson off balance and allows his opponent to land effectively. Both Timothy Bradley and Victor Ortiz used this to their advantage against Peterson. The bottom line is that Peterson is not particularly hard to find, despite his reputation as a sound boxer.

In many ways, Lamont Peterson is like a classical pianist. With his sheet music in front of him and all of the variables under his control, he can put on quite a performance. However, if you take the same pianist and have him sit in with a jazz combo, the results are quite different. Having to play off his bandmates, having to improvise, and having to adjust to unpredictable circumstances requires a different skill set than what a classical pianist possesses.

In order to defeat Amir Khan, Peterson will need to draw from a different skill set than what he’s demonstrated against top-flight opponents so far in his career. Whether he is capable of this is the question.

Scouting Report for Amir Khan:

Like Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan’s career will almost certainly be viewed in two parts: the pre-Roach era and the post-Roach era. The synergy that has resulted from Khan’s pairing with the great Freddy Roach has been among the most dynamic in the sport. Since enlisting the help of Roach following his devastating knockout loss to Breidis Prescott, Khan has elevated his game to new heights and is now leading the charge of boxing’s next generation.

The still-improving Khan has absorbed knowledge like a sponge under the tutelage of Roach. He now utilizes his imposing physical assets to their maximum while minimizing his deficiencies. Khan is growing increasingly proficient at maintaining proper distance with a long, snappy jab and a searing straight right. To his rangy size, Khan has added the assertiveness of greater physical strength, allowing him to push off his opponents to create distance or tie them up authoritatively when circumstances necessitate. All this allows Khan to get his potent offense rolling while avoiding contact with his notoriously malleable chin.

Khan has also become a master of feinting, which causes his opponents to react and stunts their offensive efforts. This was especially apparent in his last fight with Zab Judah, who was reacting to almost all of Khan’s feints.

The way opponents now respond to Khan is not unlike the way opponents respond to Floyd Mayweather. Both fighters use speed, accuracy, and cleverness to make their opponents extremely reluctant to open up their attack. While Mayweather uses hair-trigger counterpunching, Khan uses his jab and deftly-timed feints to make his foes second-guess themselves.

Khan’s defensive tactics may not be anything spectacular, but they are undoubtedly successful. He’s not Pernell Whitaker, but the truth is that he doesn’t need to be. By fighting tall, with hands held high, and at a proper distance, Khan avoids most of his opponent’s punches with ease. He is also keenly aware that he is not an infighter, so wrapping up his opponents in close also minimizes damage. Khan is nothing if not honestly self-aware, so he knows how to stay away from his areas of liability.

This isn’t to say that the Khan-Roach union has been completely smooth sailing. Khan’s 2010 war with Marcos Maidana almost derailed the entire express train. After dropping Maidana in round one and dominating the early action, Khan was gradually worn down by Maidana’s maniacal, relentless attack and found himself on the verge of being stopped late in the fight. It’s a credit to Khan’s fortitude and conditioning that he didn’t cave in down the stretch, but the Maidana fight showed that Khan is still beatable given the right style matchup. Some view the close call with Maidana as Khan’s crucible, a trial by fire that should erase doubts about his toughness or desire to be a fighter. Others, though, still doubt whether Khan’s dented jaw will ultimately disqualify him from true greatness.

Khan’s performances since the Maidana fight have been supremely dominant if not electrifying. In April, Khan dominated unheralded and outclassed propect Paul McCloskey. In July, he pounded the faded Zab Judah. Against Lamont Peterson, Khan faces the most formidable foe since Maidana, but also faces a stylistic matchup that appears favorable to the pride of Bolton, England.

The biggest intangible that plays in Khan’s favor is his desire to be great. His willingness to globe-trot with Freddy Roach, moving stateside from England, traveling to the Philippines to train with Manny Pacquiao, and having a humble, teachable attitude has been Khan’s greatest asset. He is willing to pay the price to make a run at greatness, which, among young fighters, is a trait that is slowing going the way of the dodo bird. Some fighters dream of a big payday; some dream of being a world champion. Amir Khan has his sights set on far bigger things. Khan really believes that he is destined to become a legend. When a fighter sets his sights that high, is willing to pay his dues, and has the physical gifts to do it, it’s a tough combination to beat.

The Bottom Line:

It is hard to see Peterson summoning what it takes against Khan. Peterson needs time to think and process to fight effectively, but he will have as much as his mind can handle dealing with what Khan will be throwing at him. Expect to see a lot of jabbing and feinting from Khan, and a lot of watching and waiting from Peterson, who will wait patiently for openings to land, only to find himself reticent to commit to a significant attack. Peterson hasn’t shown a knack for being able to force the type of physically draining war that Maidana used to great effect against Khan. Also, Peterson’s tendency to cuff and slap with his punches will make it difficult to put serious hurt on Khan. Without a healthy fear of Peterson’s power, Khan will use his jab and right hand to pile up points while staying out of harm’s way, just to be safe.

Stylistically, this doesn’t have the look of a barn burner. It will be a matchup of two skilled boxers trying to outwit one another, but ultimately one boxer will prove far more skilled than the other.

The Result:

Amir Khan UD 12 Lamont Peterson, possibly by shutout.
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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

Published

20 hours ago

April 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.

Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.

Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.

The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.

Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.

Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11^th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.

That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.

Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.

In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.

Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30^th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.

Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.

The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2025

David A. Avila

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Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.

One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.

Take your pick.

The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.

Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.

Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.

If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.

He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.

During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.

Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.

Fundora

Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.

Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.

Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.

Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.

Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?

When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.

This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.

Commerce Casino

Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.

Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.

It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.

Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?

That’s a question for another day.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).

Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).

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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

Published

4 days ago

April 16, 2025

TSS Press

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The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.

Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.

Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11^th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)

Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.

The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).

Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”

A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.

Other winners:

Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon

Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney

Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire

Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix

The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.

The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.

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