By Jim Dower: Once beaten light welterweight contender Lamont Peterson (28-1, 14 KO’s) has reportedly agreed on the fight terms in a December 11th bout against top ranked Victor Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KO’s) for a bout on the undercard of the WBA light welterweight bout between champion Amir Khan and WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ortiz, 23, has been looking very impressive in his recent wins over Nate Campbell, Vivian Harris, Hector Alatorre and Antonio Diaz. Ortiz’s promoters Golden Boy Promotions are ready for Ortiz to take it to another level, which is why they’ve decided to risk putting him in with the 26-year-old Peterson.

This is going to be a real test for Ortiz to see if he’s got the talent to compete with the likes of the top light welterweights in the division. Peterson was easily beaten by Timothy Bradley in December 2009, losing almost every round of the fight to Bradley.

If Ortiz can look as equally impressive, if not better, it will give a good indication that Ortiz is ready to compete with the top light welterweights in the division. Ortiz failed his test last year when Golden Boy tried to put him in with the hard punching Argentinian Marcos Maidana in June 2009.

Ortiz started off well in that fight, knocking Maidana down three times in the first two rounds. However, Ortiz couldn’t handle Maidana’s big power and constant pressure and ended up folding in the 6th round after getting rocked a couple of times by huge shots from Maidana.

Ortiz’s power isn’t the question. He hits as hard, if not harder, than Maidana. It’s Ortiz’s heart and his decision making that is the thing that you have to worry about. It looked as if he quit in the Maidana bout. He also didn’t make the right decision to try and slug with Maidana when he could have easily boxed him from the outside and probably avoided a lot of the punishing shots that he ended up getting clipped with in the fight.

Peterson has decent power and good hand speed. However, he’s not as powerful or as quick as Ortiz. But Peterson is very smart, and he may find a way to win if he can lure Ortiz into a war. He won’t be able to outbox Ortiz, because Ortiz is a lot faster and has a much better jab.

But if Peterson can somehow stand and trade with Ortiz without getting mowed down, he may get lucky and cause Ortiz to quit mentally. It’s not likely to happen, but it’s probably Peterson’s only real chance at winning this fight.