What Happened to Lamont Peterson?
By Faisal “Fayz” Masood
On September 25, 2004 a 20yr old Lamont Peterson made his debut fighting on the undercard of Glenn Johnson Vs Roy Jones, JR. Peterson stopped his opponent in just 22 seconds. On the same night his brother Anthony also made a winning start to his pro career with a first round knockout. It was the kind of story movie writers love, one that could seamlessly fit into a Rocky movie.
Lamont Peterson had been left without parents from an early age, one of 12 siblings his father was sent to prison and his mother unable to care for the children abandoned them. Left homeless at the age of the 10, Lamont and his younger brother Anthony were often forced to sleep on park benches and abandoned cars, growing up they were forced to fend for themselves but one day coming out of the shelter they were noticed by a boxing coach who would go on to mentor them and craft them into professional boxers. The rise of the Peterson story was the kind you would see in YouTube motivational videos, living proof that it is never over unless you give up.
Boxing can be so similar to life, when it knocks you down, you have the ability to get up or stay down, just because life deals you a bad hand (or a big punch) it doesn’t mean the fight is over or you cannot turn it around. The sport of boxing is often credited for its ability to turn lives around, to give hope to those who had struggled in the past and were wanting something to change their direction and their futures – Lamont Peterson was the poster boy for this claim.
The fairy tale story reached its peak when on December 10th of 2011 Lamont Peterson faced Amir Khan in his home town of Washington D.C. A risky move by Khan, the champion to travel overseas to the home of the challenger but Peterson was seen as the heavy underdog and Khan, fresh off an impressive win over Zab Judah was at the height of his powers. The fight was close and controversial. Despite suffering knock downs, Peterson ploughed forward through Khan’s flurries and brought the fight to Khan, almost stalking him around the ring and sticking to him like glue. In an effort to keep Peterson off him, Khan resorted to pushing which resulted in Khan controversially being docked two points. The deducted points would prove pivotal in the final scoring as Peterson edged to a victory with a split decision victory. The win meant Peterson was now the WBA and IBF light welterweight world champion.
The story only had more twists when it emerged Peterson had failed a drug test. The new champion admitted to taking testosterone pellets for low levels of the hormone and was duly stripped of his WBA title, as if there hadn’t already been enough controversy, the IBF decided it wouldn’t strip Peterson of the title for ‘therapeutic’ use of the steroid.
Despite the setback of a failed drug test and a looming ban from the sport, Peterson was now 30-1-1 as a fighter, his only loss coming to Timothy Bradley, who was at the time the undefeated WBO light welterweight champion, the draw on his record came against Victor Ortiz, the 23yr old was a rising star in the sport back in 2010 when the pair faced off. The future looked bright for Peterson.
Yet on January 20, 2018 Peterson looked a shell of his former shelf as he was beaten both physically and mentally by Errol Spence, JR. A fight in which Spence, JR. dominated so much that he looked like he had another level or two to get up to if he needed it, but it was never required as Peterson took 161 shots from Spence, JR. whilst landing just 45 of his own in the eight rounds before his trainer mercifully called it time for the night.
The fight was just the eighth time Peterson had stepped into the ring since winning the title against Amir Khan in 2011, of those eight fights Peterson has now lost three of those, to Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia and now Errol Spence, JR. His record has fallen to 35-4-1, 17KO’s
For a fighter once on top of the world, in a lucrative division having risen up from a tough upbringing to defy the odds this is especially baffling. Has the hunger left Peterson? Or was it a limited skill set which his grit and determination was unable to overcome every time he stepped up in class or stepped up in weight? Spence, JR. was clearly the bigger and more powerful man in the ring Saturday night, would Peterson be better served returning to the light welterweight division?
Peterson soon turns 34, in a sport in which 34 used to seem as the end years of your career. How much time does he have left to prevent becoming the fighter the rising stars of the sport use as a stepping stone to success? 34 is no longer seen as old in boxing, advancements in nutrition and training methods means fighters can go on performing at the highest level into their late 30’s, even later for some fighters but the reversal in fortunes for Peterson, who defied so many odds to become world champion shows that not every fairy tale has a happy ending. Inactivity is one of the biggest demons a boxer can face, ring rust can bring a fighter down and ruin his career and Peterson’s lack of fighting over the past 6yrs could be seen as the single biggest reason he was unable to kick on from his world title victory and become a serious name in his division, where Peterson’s story goes from here is anyone’s guess.
Check out Fayz’s available books for download on Amazon. He also runs his own Personal Training site and blog over at Fayz Fitness.
Strength and Conditioning for Boxing – Workout Hits to get you Fighting Fit
The Boxing Cheat Sheet – Your Ultimate Guide to Ring Survival
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