by Tom Donelson (photo by Tom Casino)
The Peterson brothers are the complete opposite. The older brother, Lamont, is a boxer who depends upon speed and mobility to win fights. The younger brother, Anthony, is a force of nature as he fights every round as if it's a search and destroy mission. These differences were on display during the recent SHOBOX show from North Dakota.
In the first fight, Anthony Peterson fought undefeated Jermaine White. White came in the fight with thirteen straight victories with seven knock outs, but as ShoBox announcer Steve Farhood noticed, not all undefeated fighters are created equal.
White came out of the gate winging punches and hoping for lightning to strike but all he did was get Anthony Peterson mad. Peterson countered with vicious left hooks to the body and White knees hit the canvas after one of those vicious left hooks.
From this point, it became a matter of time before the inevitable Peterson's victory. When White punches landed, it hardly created a ripple and Peterson punches resembled howitzers. After nine minutes of being pulverized by Peterson, White had enough as he failed to come out for the fourth round.
Lamont Peterson challenged Mario Ramos, a slick southpaw, in the main event. Ramos did not have the power to threaten Peterson but his awkward style affected Peterson as both fighters fought the first five rounds tactically. Peterson rarely let loose his quick hands but his opponent appeared reluctant to attack or pressure.
As the fight proceeded, Peterson found ways to solve the Ramos puzzle. While never overwhelming Ramos, Peterson's quick hands began to find a home against Ramos' face. Following a page from his younger brother, Lamont began to attack the body in the second half of the fight and this open up Ramos to headshots as well. It was a variety of Peterson's attacks that decided the fight.
The decision was never in doubt as Peterson won an easy unanimous decision but the victory was hardly satisfying as he was not interested in just winning but winning impressively. Compared to the devastation brought on by his brother, Lamont Peterson looked tame and boring. As Steve Farhood observed, Anthony may be the more marketable fighter between the two because of his knock out power.
Lamont has only seven knock outs in seventeen victories and lacks the power of Anthony, who has stopped fourteen within the distance. In the junior Welterweight division, Lamont most closely resembled Paul Malignaggi, who also depends upon his feet and hand speed. Malignaggi faces Miguel Cotto and maybe his success could predict Lamont's own success. Both fighters have effective jabs and are accurate punches but neither are big punchers.
Anthony is a different fighter. In his fight against White, he showed a devastating left hook, but he did not show a variety of attack. Peterson has an effective jab that can jar an opponent but against White, he dispense with it for the left hook. He rarely threw the right hand and the question that remains, what will happen if Anthony moves up against higher quality opponents? Will Anthony Peterson be able to just depend upon the left hook or will that right hand of his become more part of his arsenal?
Both fighters presently reside in Memphis and are fast becoming the second professional franchise in the city behind the NBA Memphis Grizzlies. Both fighters have excellent amateur backgrounds and that has served them well in the professional ranks. And both fighters are not being rushed into contender status, so when the time comes for them to make that final push into the elite status, they will be ready.
In this fight, Anthony Peterson proved a devastating body puncher but he rarely needed to show more variety in his attack. Against White, Anthony could get away being a one- punch fighter. He showed that he could break an opponent down with an effective body shots. He still needs to develop his right hand to go with his left hook.
Against Mario Ramos, Lamont Peterson had trouble adjusting to the southpaw style, but the good news is that he eventually solved the Ramos puzzle by pounding the southpaw to the body with hooks. Lamont Peterson was forcef to adjust and he did. Lamont passed his first big test for he showed that he could go to Plan B when Plan A is not working. Anthony passed his first test for when faced with inferior talent, he ended the fight.
