Tickets Now On Sale For Unified Super Lightweight World Title Battle Taking
Place At The Mandalay Bay Events Center In Las Vegas!
WASHINGTON, DC (March 15, 2012) – On Saturday, May 19, 2012, fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev., as well as those watching around the world, will see one of boxing’s most intense grudge matches re-ignited when World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Lightweight Super World Champion and (IBF) Junior Welterweight World Champion Lamont “Havoc” Peterson faces former Two-Time World Champion Amir “King” Khan in the highly anticipated rematch of their December 10, 2011 fight in Washington, DC in which DC native Peterson scored a title winning but controversial split decision victory over the United Kingdom’s Khan.
“Peterson vs. Khan II: No Doubt,” a 12-round Unified Super Lightweight World Title Fight for Peterson’s WBA World Super Championship and IBF World Championship taking place Saturday, May 19 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Khan Promotions and Headbangers Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The fight will be telecast live on HBO World Championship Boxing at 10:45 p.m. ET/7:45 p.m. PT in the United States and live on Sky Sports 1 HD in the United Kingdom at 11:00 p.m. GMT (beginning with David Price vs. Sam Sexton for the British Heavyweight title from Liverpool, followed by Peterson vs. Khan II).
Both fighters have agreed to be subject to Olympic style drug testing which will include random blood and urine tests.
Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges, are available for purchase at the Mandalay Bay box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandaylaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for fans traveling from the United Kingdom are available for purchase online at www.sportscorporation.com or by calling +44 (0)845 163 0845.
“I feel really good about my decision,” said Peterson. “I went over every option available to me in terms of the fights that were on the table. I weighed each one of them looking at the pros and the cons and at the end of the day this is the one that made the most sense all the way across the board. I want everyone to know that, as champion, it has always been up to me what fight to take next. I was not persuaded by any of the controversy or anything else. I just can’t wait to fight. I told Khan after the press conference when I won that if it was up to me I would fight him on Sunday, but I had to get with my team to look at every option that was out there. I just want to be clear that I never said I wouldn’t fight him, but I wanted to take a look at everything that was out there before I made a decision. I’m happy with the terms of the fight. It’s at a neutral site and, when I beat him this time, he won’t have anything to complain about.”
“I’m delighted that I have finally been given the chance to avenge the result of my last fight,” said Khan. “It’s clear I wasn’t happy with what went on in the previous fight, but that takes nothing away from how Lamont Peterson fought. He showed tremendous heart that night, but now I have the chance to prove once and for all that I’m the very best in the division. I’m going to take care of business inside the ring and this fight is going to be just as exciting as the last one. The only difference is going to be in the outcome.”
“I said before their first fight that this was an opportunity to see the two best super lightweights in the world compete at the highest level of the sport and neither Amir Khan nor Lamont Peterson disappointed the fans,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “To see them fight again so soon after their first match on neutral ground in Las Vegas is a treat for boxing fans around the world.”
“We are pleased with the decision to fight Khan for the second time,” said Barry Hunter, manager and trainer of Lamont Peterson. “I was extremely proud of Lamont with respect to this process. He took his time and looked at all of his options and he decided this was the best option available. Our preparation for this fight will be the same, it is going to be a hard fight and we will be ready for the challenge.”
“The Lamont Peterson-Amir Khan rematch is one of the most anticipated fights of 2012 and we’re delighted that HBO World Championship Boxing will be the television home for this encounter,” said Kery Davis, senior vice president programming, HBO Sports. “These two world class athletes are outstanding examples of perseverance and dedication.”
“All of us at Sky Sports are extremely excited about the crucial re-match between Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan,” said Adam Smith, Executive Producer of Boxing on Sky Sports. “The first encounter was fabulous; moreover the reaction, controversy and questions coming out of that battle in Washington, add even more spice to the pot for their Vegas showdown on May 19. With David Price vs. Sam Sexton in Liverpool before THE most eagerly awaited rematch of the year from Las Vegas, May 19 will be a huge night for boxing fans on Sky Sports. There will be a bonus of extra programmes scheduled on Sky Sports during fight week too – including fascinating profiles on Peterson and Khan.”
When some people say ‘boxing saved my life,’ it’s nothing more than a cliché. When Lamont “Havoc” Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s) says it, the phrase has a literal meaning. One of 12 children forced to grow up much too fast on the mean streets of Washington, DC, a 10-year old Lamont, along with his eight-year old brother Anthony, dealt with issues no child should have to. Left homeless and to fend for themselves as their father was in prison and their mother battled her own issue s, the brothers found salvation when they met Barry Hunter, a local boxing coach who treated them like they were his own children. Almost immediately, the brothers showed a gift for boxing. With hard work, and eventually a stable living environment, they shined as amateurs with Lamont nearly making the 2004 Olympics. By the end of 2005, the buzz was getting louder about Peterson; not just about his talent in the ring and his 15-0 professional record, but also about Lamont and his brother’s amazing story. A busy schedule of fights, an undefeated record and the compilation of numerous regional titles led to his steady rise in the 140 lb. ratings. Peterson got his shot at a world title in April of 2009 when he took on fellow unbeaten Willy Blain for the WBO Interim Junior Welterweight Title. A dominating performance by Peterson ended with Blain forced to retire due to injury in the seventh round. Peterson finally had a world title belt in his possession. In December of 2009, he got the opportunity to fight for the regular WBO title, but he was decisioned by Timothy Bradley and handed his first pro loss. Peterson would bounce back with a win in his next fight in April of 2010 before fighting to a 10 round draw with future Welterweight World Champion Victor Ortiz in December of 2010 (at Mandalay Bay). He earned his December 2011 world title shot against Khan with a 12th round knockout of Victor Cayo in an IBF elimination bout on July 29 of last year. On December 10, 2011, his title fight against Khan captivated the boxing world and all of Washington, DC. In one of the feel-good stories in all of sports last year, the hometown favorite but underdog Peterson won the unified world championship over the favored World Champion Khan not far from the mean streets that he and his brother had wandered homeless as children. After the struggles he endured to get to the top of the boxing world, taking away the titles that Peterson worked so hard for will be an extremely tall task for Khan.
Amir “King” Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s), who despite being just 25 years old, is already a star in the United Kingdom, selling out huge arenas and racking up impressive pay per view numbers. Considered one of the sport’s future stars, Khan has sailed to the heights of the amateur and professional boxing worlds, however he is far from finished on his quest to becoming the best of his era. An accomplished amateur who earned a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens at just 17 years old, the Bolton, England native took the professional game by storm in 2005 and, with the exception of a brief bump in the road in 2008 when he was upset by Breidis Prescott, Khan has since been unstoppable. Khan first became a world champion in 2009 when he defeated WBA Super Lightweight World Champion Andreas Kotelnik in July of that year. Khan defended the crown five times, first knocking out previously undefeated Dmitriy Salita in less than one round. Next, in his United States debut at Madison Square Garden in May of 2010, he dominated the always tough Paul Malignaggi en route to an eleventh round technical knockout win. On December 11, 2010 at Mandalay Bay, Khan battled Marcos Maidana in what was eventually named the Boxing Writers Association of America 2010 Fight of the Year. The fight saw Khan dominate the early rounds, scoring a first round knockdown, but Maidana closed the gap in the later rounds. Khan displayed some extremely impressive fortitude in surviving a vicious tenth round onslaught by Maidana in which the British star looked to be on the brink of being knocked out. Khan made it out of the round on his feet and came out swinging in the eleventh and twelfth rounds, sealing the unanimous decision victory in an instant classic. On April 16, 2011, Khan retained his title by defeating European Champion Paul McCloskey via technical decision in front of a sell-out crowd of over 17,000 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. Next came a July 23, 2011 win over then IBF Junior Welterweight Champion Zab Judah, making Khan the unified 140 lb. world champion. Next up was an IBF mandatory bout against Lamont Peterson, leading us to this much anticipated rematch. There’s more on the line than ever before for Khan who wants nothing more than to regain the titles he feels should still be his today.
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