By John F. McKenna (McJack)
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is pushing for the governing bodies of the WBA and IBF to rule a no contest in the controversial fight on December 10 in which Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) lost his titles to new WBA/IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s).
The controversy began when referee Joe Cooper took the unusual step of deducting two points from Khan for pushing and shoving off. It was a move that even famed boxing historian Bert Sugar said that he had never seen before in his long career of watching boxing events. The two point deduction resulted in Peterson winning the fight by a close margin in his hometown of Washington, D.C.
The controversy continues to grow almost by the day with new revelations coming out. Amir himself noticed when reviewing the tape of the fight a “mystery man” who seemed to be interfering with the WBA judging supervisor. The judging supervisor sat next to the “mystery man” with his head down instead of keeping an eye on the proceedings.
The World Boxing Association (WBA) has already acknowledged the need for a rematch between Khan and Peterson, while the International Boxing Federation (IBF) has remained silent on the issue. At this point Schaefer is not satisfied with just a rematch, he wants the fight declared a “no contest”. Schaefer, who said that there will be other revelations coming out regarding the fight, had the following to say in an interview with Sporting Life.com:
“We are finding things out by the minute, almost, that are astonishing and shocking. We are going to work closely with Amir Khan’s attorney in London to get to the bottom of this. Hopefully we will have more things to disclose in a day or so.
“What I think would be the right thing to do would be to declare a no-contest and therefore Amir would retain both titles. I do believe there is enough controversy to warrant the no-contest decision.”
WBA vice president Gilbert Mendoza added his voice to those who are calling for a rematch. Peterson’s trainer and manager Barry Hunter would not comment on the controversy that has tainted his fighter’s victory. Peterson had said after the fight that he would give Khan a rematch but recently neither he nor Peterson would comment on whether or not Amir would get a rematch.
There will be a hearing before the WBA and IBF on January 18 to discuss all the controversy that has surrounded the Khan – Peterson fight. There had not been a major fight in Washinton, D.C. in decades and it had been hoped that the December 10 fight held there would usher in a new era of boxing in D.C.
