Lamont Peterson: "it would be stupid not to weigh my options"

December 12, 2011 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: LAMONT PETERSON By John McCormick JM: Lamont, first off I would like to congratulate you on your victory on against Amir Khan this past Saturday. How did it feel to win the championship in your home town? Lamont Peterson: "It was great. I put my all into the fight, and my training camp. To be able to fight an elite champion in D.C. was great. It was the perfect timing for everything. Everybody was excited about the fight, and I stepped up and won the titles." JM: Was there any one element that Khan brought into the ring that surprised you? Lamont Peterson: No. Everything he did, we pretty much expected coming in. We knew he would be fast, we knew he would have decent power. We had a few certain game plans in mind, just in case things didn’t work in our favor. The great thing is that we only had to use two of them. I had taken control of the fight, and didn’t need to use another game plan that we had in mind. JM: Do you feel that referee Joe Cooper’s decision to deduct points from Khan in the seventh and twelfth rounds for excessive pushing was unwarranted or unnecessary? Lamont Peterson: I am not a referee. The referee constantly warned Khan not to push me. He was pushing, and pulling my head down. To be honest, I thought he would’ve taken a point away for holding my head down, but instead he took a point away for pushing. Khan did push a lot, but I didn’t mind him pushing me, to be honest. Pushing is a foul. I didn’t really care about the pushing, that’s why I didn’t complain about it. I did complain to the ref about Khan pushing down on my head though, because my back started to get tight, and I already had some problems with my neck going into the fight. So, the pushing and pulling on my head did bother me. The ref did warn him, and he didn’t just take the points away for no reason, Khan was pushing all night. Its part of boxing, whether the ref took the points away, you weren’t going to hear any crying from me. In the last round, I wasn’t sure if the ref took a point away for pushing or hitting on the break. With all this controversy, and Khan crying about point deductions, he should see that he didn’t knock me down but he got credit for a knockdown. The first time, I was moving away and tripped over his foot, and the second time I hit Khan, Khan didn’t hit me, and I slipped, and went down. After that I realized I was off balance when I was backing up, and decided to switch game plans. JM: Do you feel as if your win on Saturday night was tainted by Joe Cooper’s actions? Lamont Peterson: Yeah, at this point. Months from now and years from now people won’t remember that. All that they will remember is that I won the world championship. JM: I’ve heard that an immediate rematch may take place on March 31st in Las Vegas. Is that official yet? Lamont Peterson: There is nothing official about that yet. If they want it, I’m cool with it. I like to fight every four or five months anyway. Regardless of who it is, I don’t care if it is a bum on the street, or Floyd Mayweather, it doesn’t matter, I love to fight. I can fight March 31st, I’m down for that. Of course, this is business and my team has to agree on the terms. I will be pushing for it, but if my team can’t come up with an agreement at the table, then we will move elsewhere. At this point, it would be stupid not to weigh my options. I want a big fight, and my team wants to see what is out there. If it is Amir Khan, I would love to fight him again. I’m the type of fighter that you don’t want to fight twice, that is a no no. I made good adjustments in the fight, but I make even better ones in rematches. I haven’t had one as a pro, and I really believe that a rematch with Khan would be a totally different fight and another victory for me. JM: In the rematch, would you stick to the same game plan, or would you like to change some things? Lamont Peterson: Well, my brain works a certain way. When you step into the ring with someone you’ve never fought before, you expect certain things, and want things to go a certain way. In a rematch though, I will get a chance to look at the first fight, and see what I need to do. All I can say is that the rematch will be an easy fight. I wouldn’t change my game plan too much. I don’t plan to box as it’s easy to see that Khan has trouble fighting on the inside, and I am a much better fighter on the inside. I will bring the fight to the inside as much as possible. All in all it will be the same game plan except that I don’t plan on taking many punches while I am coming in. JM: If the Khan rematch doesn’t happen, who would you like to get in the ring with? Lamont Peterson: Any of the top guys at 140, or 147. I would like to fight someone that isn’t going to run all night, so that I could show more of my skill, instead of always trying to chase someone down. It doesn’t matter, the bigger the fight the better for me. I would love to fight Brandon Rios, but I would rather have my brother handle his unfinished business first. I would love to see my brother avenge his loss, and not avenge it for him. JM: You have now been in the ring with both Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan. Who is the better fighter in your eyes? Lamont Peterson: They ain’t on the same level. At the time when I fought Timothy Bradley, I wasn’t as comfortable and as secure as I am now. Since that fight, I have learned a lot. For me, Timothy Bradley will always be the better fighter. If they fought, I would pick Bradley to win. JM: Any closing thoughts for the fans? Lamont Peterson: Thank you for all the support. D.C. really came out; a lot of my friends from the amateurs came out to support. Stay tuned, and the next fight will be better than this one. I am always going to lay it on the line; I am always going to give it my best. Thank you for all the love. Boxing Talk .com