Peterson Will KO Khan May 19th

By Boxing News - 03/21/2012 - Comments

Image: Peterson Will KO Khan May 19thBy Danny Duffy: Let’s face it, most of you guys that visit this site do so for the authors’ often controversial and outlandish pre-fight predictions. There are some well balanced articles on this site, for sure; but it’s the ones that sail close to the line that invoke discussion. I will now lay out why I think Peterson will stop Khan in their upcoming rematch.

Lamont Peterson 30-1-1 (15) is by no means the world’s biggest puncher, but who says you have to be to stop the vulnerable Amir Khan 26-2 (18)? He has enough power to hurt Khan, and we saw in their first fight after only about 4 rounds that Amir was forced to push, complain and routinely foul to stop Peterson working inside where he proved to be dangerous. If Peterson’s uppercuts were not having the desired effect and if his body shots were not causing Khan discomfort, then why did the Brit resort to these fouling techniques?

Peterson has several advantages going into the second bout that he didn’t have in the first one:

Angry Khan…

Khan has not kept secret his frustration at losing his titles in the first bout, even going so far as to say he ‘hates’ Peterson. This anger will not help his efforts second time round. In fact, if he rushes Peterson for a KO, the bout may end the way it did against Prescott, with Khan’s own reckless aggression going against him.

Underestimation…

Khan has stated in interviews that he can raise his game in the rematch, but Peterson cannot. Peterson calmly retorted that Khan simply displayed arrogance in this assertion. The current champ now has belts to defend and he has already boxed Khan for 12 rounds. These two factors alone suggest that he will raise his game.

The fans’ keen eyes…

Khan knows that the whole world will register every shove, complaint, push and elbow used. He cannot resort to these fouling tactics with the consistency that he did in the first bout. Therefore, he will be forced to fight on inside with Peterson far more often, and this favors the American.

Punch resistance…

Need I comment on Khan’s punch resistance (or lack of). He, as always, will have to do a lot of running to stay out of the range of Peterson. This could prove to be deadly late on when he tires.



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