It was certainly a decision that will divide opinion with the first salvo being fired by Khan himself who stated at the end of the fight that he thought he was fighting both Peterson and the referee, Joseph Cooper. He may of course have a point but his constant pushing and holding infringements cost him two in rounds seven and 12 and although he had Peterson of the deck in Round One, it was not enough on at least two of the judges’ cards to redress the balance.
It is certainly true that Khan was the better boxer, his dazzlingly speed and accuracy at times had a mesmeric effect on Peterson but the American showed far more determination, spending plenty of time chasing the back-peddling Khan around the ring. It was probably this more than anything else, that swayed the judge’s decision but he also hurt Khan with a number of jaw trembling upper cuts, followed by overhand rights and a host of hefty blows into the solar plexus that forced Khan to continually retreat.
Peterson also had a very vociferous home crowd behind him in Washington DC, which brings into question the match making qualities of Khan’s handlers. The fact that Khan lost in what was a very commendable voluntary defence of his two world crowns was bad enough but to lose them in the home town of his opponent was either a show of extreme boxing arrogance or match-making madness but it was a decision that certainly had a significant influence on the outcome of the fight, whether it was the support, the bias of judges or a combination of both.
It makes one believe that the Khan team underestimated Lamont Peterson, it was obvious to most that Peterson is not only a decent fighter, beaten only once which came at the hands of Timothy Bradley for the WBO Light-Welterweight title exactly three years earlier, a title that Bradley still holds. They also failed to appreciate that Peterson had never been stopped and although not the biggest puncher in the world, he has great timing. However, an even more important fact that Khan's people forgot to acknowledge is the fact the Peterson is a Washington DC folk hero and he was going to be no pushover on home soil.
Peterson's success in the Boxing ring is seen as a genuine "rags to riches" story that the folks of DC love to hear about and it is why they have adopted him as one of their heroes. A fight in DC therefore, in hindsight, is one that Khan's team must be questioned about.
That said, Khan in fact started the bout very well and possibly could have won it in the opening round. He had Peterson down twice, although the first of those was ruled a slip by the referee, there was however no doubt about the other. The dogged Peterson was up quickly and although bamboozled by the speed of Khan’s fists, held on grimly until the bell sounded.
After that, the fight effectively became a brawl, with both men connecting regularly with Peterson able to bring Khan down to his level. Each time he struck Khan on the chin, Khan began to anger the crowd by showboating and taunting. It was as if he was trying to make the point that his renowned "glass jaw" that was so brutally exposed in his first round knock-out defeat by Breidis Prescott three years ago, had somehow metamorphosed into granite. Nonetheless, Khan stayed on his feet throughout the 12 hectic rounds but to little avail come the final bell.
The three judges scored the fight 113-112, 113-112 for Peterson and 114-111 for Khan, a majority decision for the American, made good by the two deducted points.
Peterson was quick to confirm that he would be delighted to give Khan a re-match next year sometime but whether or not that happens and particularly whether it takes place in Washington DC or not remains to be seen. Team Khan will not be underestimating Peterson again!
