By Bill Phanco: IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s) looks to be finally about to defend his IBF title after having won it over a year ago in defeating former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan in December 2011. Peterson and #4 IBF Kendall Holt (28-5, 16 KO’s) could be facing each other on February 22nd on ESPN2 at the D.C Armory in Washington, DC.
The only thing that could possibly get in the way of the fight not taking place in February is if Top Rank promoter Bob Arum sets up a rematch between Peterson and Top Rank promoted WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley. That fight obviously would be the more interesting bout for Peterson because it would likely pay a lot more than his simple title defense against the 31-year-old Holt.
There’s really not much point in a Peterson-Bradley rematch, though, because Peterson was soundly beaten by Bradley four years ago in a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision loss in December 2009, and who wants to see a replay of that fight? It just kind of shows how little there is for Bradley to fight in the division that Arum is considering pooling from the light welterweight division to find Bradley a beatable opponent with a name.
I can’t imagine the IBF allowing Peterson to further put off making his first defense of his IBF title just so he can face Bradley for his WBO welterweight title, and I would expect Peterson to be stripped of his title if he takes that fight.
If the Holt-Peterson fight takes place it should be a competitive one unless Holt doesn’t have his mind right for the fight. He looked good in losing to Danny Garcia by a 12 round decision in October 2011. Holt also looked really good in destroying Tim Coleman by a 2nd round knockout in March 2012. However, Holt looked terrible in his loss to Kaizer Mabuza in February 2010.
I don’t think he honestly wanted to be out there that night because the intensity wasn’t there for Holt in that fight. That’s the thing about him. When he’s mentally there and ready fight, Holt is very hard to beat, but sometimes he just doesn’t he seems to wilt under intense adversity.