Lamont Peterson

Early life

Lamont Peterson and his younger brother Anthony Peterson have been regularly featured on ESPN boxing telecasts and their story has been frequently discussed on the show. The Petersons were left without parents at an early age, with their father in prison and their mother suffering personal issues. The brothers were reportedly homeless on the streets of Washington, DC for several years. While homeless at age 10, they were noticed by Barry Hunter, a boxing coach. Over time, Hunter developed their boxing skills while mentoring them and both brothers morphed into amateur boxing stars.

Amateur career

He became 141 lbs US champion in 2003. He holds wins over Rock Allen in 2003, who beat him twice 2004 in the Olympic box-offs, Mike Alvarado and Andre Dirrell, as well as 2003 amateur world champion Willy Blain (in 2003).

Light Welterweight

In 2009, Peterson defeated Blain by 7th round TKO to win the Interim WBO Light Welterweight title.

Peterson vs. Bradley

He fought WBO Light Welterweight champion and Ring No. 1 Light Welterweight Timothy Bradley in late 2009, but lost by unanimous decision.

Peterson vs. Ortiz

On the undercard of Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana, Peterson faced Ring No. 9 Light Welterweight Victor Ortiz on December 11 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and fought to a controversial draw. Ortiz started the fight strong by knocking Peterson down twice in the third round, but many felt Peterson took the middle and late rounds of the fight, doing enough to earn the decision.

Peterson vs. Khan

Peterson defeated Ring No. 2 ranked Light Welterweight Amir Khan for the WBA and IBF Light Welterweight titles in Washington, DC on December 10, 2011 by split decision. There was some controversy over the refereeing, due to two point deductions against Khan for pushing Peterson off him. A rematch planned for May 19, 2012 was cancelled following Peterson's positive test for synthetic testosterone.

Peterson was stripped of the WBA 140-pound title as a result of his failed pre-fight drug test. Amir Khan reinstated as WBA champion.

Return in 2013

He defended his IBF Light Welterweight title on February 22, 2013 against Kendall Holt at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Peterson retained his title by TKO stoppage against Holt.

Peterson vs. Matthysse

Peterson fought Lucas Matthysse on May 18, 2013 in Atlantic City. Peterson lost by TKO in round 3; he was knocked down once in round 2 and two more times in round 3. This was counted as successful title defence by Matthysse by the WBC although the title was not on the line for Peterson for being over the light welterweight limit. Matthysse would have been stripped had he lost the fight.

Peterson vs. Jean

On January 25, 2014 Peterson fought Dierry Jean in Washington, D.C., with Peterson's IBF Light Welterweight championship on the line. Peterson won the fight by unanimous decision, handing Jean his first career loss, with the judges scores of 118-111, 116-112, 115-113.

Peterson vs. Garcia

Peterson faced Danny García on April 11, 2015, in his debut bout in the Premier Boxing Champions series on NBC. The fight took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Peterson lost by 12 round majority decision. One judge had it a draw at 114-114 while two judges both had it 113-115 for Garcia. The fight was held at a catchweight of 143lb, with neither boxers titles at stake.

Peterson vs. Diaz

On October 17, 2015 Peterson fought at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia against undefeated welterweight prospect and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz (17-0, 8 KOs) in a scheduled 12 round fight. Peterson won a close 12 round majority decision over Diaz. The final judges’ scores were 114-114, 117-111 and 116-112. Peterson was effective with his body punching in most round, but gave away a lot of the rounds to Diaz by not throwing enough punches, and getting hit on the inside. Some observers had Diaz the winner, with ESPN scoring it 116-112 for Diaz. Peterson voiced his opinion in believing he won the fight in the post fight interview, "I started out strong and faded in the middle rounds because I started to cramp, and it lasted for the rest of the fight, but I knew I had done enough to win the fight."

Peterson vs. Avanesyan

In December 2016, early reports suggested there was a fight in the works, for David Avanesyan to defend the interim championship against Peterson. A venue in the United States was being discussed for February 2017. On January 11, 2017 a spokesperson for Avanesyan announced the fight would take place on February 18 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio on the undercard of Adrien Broner vs. Adrian Granados on Showtime. Peterson became a two-weight division after defeating Avanesyan via a 12 round unanimous decision. The fight was described as 'highly competitive and entertaining' by ESPN. Two judges scored it 116-112 and the third had it closer at 115-113, all in favor of Peterson. Peterson earned a purse of $250,000 whilst Avanesyan had a purse of $75,000 and winning the fight put Peterson in position to fight the winner of Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia.