Schaefer: The Nevada Commission will ensure the Khan-Peterson 2 rematch will be above board

By William Mackay: Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is excited about the venue for the May 19th rematch between his fighter Amir Khan in his attempt to try and regain his IBF/WBA light welterweight titles against champion Lamont Peterson at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Schaefer feels that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will make sure that the judges, referee and scorecards don’t experience any irregularities like the last time that Khan fought Peterson last December. Khan lost that fight by a 12 round split decision in a fight where he seemed to come unglued due to the pressure that Peterson was putting on him.

Schaefer told the mirror.co.uk “Security will be very tight and Las Vegas [Schaefer means Nevada] is probably the best commission in the world. I know they are going to make sure that everything is going to be totally above board. I’ve already had conversations with the Las Vegas [Nevada] Commission to make sure that it is going to be absolutely neutral ground for both fighters. We won’t see any men in hats sitting at the scorers’ table.”

Why would Schaefer need to talk to the Nevada Commission to ensure that Las Vegas is a neutral venue? That doesn’t quite make sense to me. If Schaefer did waste his time talking to the Nevada Commission about Vegas being a neutral venue then what a waste of a conversation that must have been.

It seems to me that Schaefer and Khan are still not acknowledging what really happened last December in the Khan-Peterson fight. Instead of looking at the reality that Khan couldn’t handle Peterson’s inside pressure and had to resort to shoving, running and holding constantly, they’re looking at the mystery man, the scorecards, the judges and the referee to give an excuse for Khan failed to do in the ring.

There is no proof that the referee, judges or the mystery man had any effect on the fight outcome. The only real proof we saw was in the ring on that night with Khan’s complete inability to handle Peterson’s pressure. Khan couldn’t handle it and had to shove Peterson around the ring. Since shoving is considered a foul, it eventually led to Khan losing two points when he couldn’t make changes to his game in response to the repeated warnings the referee Joe Cooper was giving him.

Instead of worrying about the venue, the judges and the referee, Schaefer should be asking Khan why he couldn’t follow instructions from the referee. If you have a fighter that can’t make changes to their game in response to what they’re being told by a person in authority then that’s something you got to be concerned with. Does Khan need special attention when being given feedback?

How should trainer Freddie Roach impress upon Khan that he needs to adapt during the fight, so that he doesn’t lose additional points or end up fighting the wrong strategy. Those would be my areas of concern if I was the promoter for Khan. He doesn’t seem all that quick when it comes to getting feedback, and the way he fights in the ring doesn’t suggest that he doesn’t always make the wise moves.

Khan has got good hand speed but he wastes so much energy by running around the ring and throwing wild flurries without much accuracy. And the fouling – the shoving, pulling down on the head, holding & hitting and headlocks – are really off putting. He’s gotten away with it in the past, but you can’t count on referees always ignoring those fouls.

Khan stopped Zab Judah in a fight where Khan held him down with his left and hit him with a right on the beltline. The referee completely missed the call and Khan got away with it. But the referee Washington, DC was on his J-O-B and did an excellent job of stopping Khan from using his shoving to get an unfair edge against Peterson. Schaefer needs to be maybe getting a new trainer that can teach Khan how to fight fairly on the inside.

If Roach was the one that taught Khan to shove and pull down on his opponents’ heads and put them in headlocks, then Schaefer needs to lose Roach and find a trainer that has some strategies for Khan to fight Peterson in close. Khan can’t make a career out of shoving, holding and putting guys in headlocks each time they come in close to try and fight on the inside.

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