Junior Welterweight

After a waiting game that has lasted a few months, junior welterweight boxer Lamont Peterson has been cleared to keep his IBF title after failing his drug test due to anabolic steroids before his since canceled bout with former titlist Amir Khan (per Boxing Scene).

The IBF awarded Peterson the belt even with the failed drug test because the levels were found to be consistent with levels used for therapy purposes. Any levels that would suggest enhancement in testosterone occurred after an independent test was run by the IBF.

Peterson admitted to taking testosterone pellets last year before his first bout with Khan in December of 2011, when he won the IBF bout from Khan. He has to feel good about the findings, as many felt he was a cheat after the positive test.

This news means Peterson can resume his career, which was surging before the drug test dilemma. The first stop on his return to being an elite-level fighter will be against mandatory challenger Zab Judah sometime in the near future.

Judah was awarded the mandatory challenger status by defeating Vernon Paris by TKO in an elimination bout this past March in New York (per USA Today).

The winner of the Peterson-Judah fight would be setting themselves up for a possible unification bout with newly crowned WBA super, Ring and WBC junior welterweight title holder Danny Garcia—who beat Khan after filling Peterson's spot after the failed drug test—sometime next year.

With the recent string of positive drug tests that have rocked the boxing world, it is good to see at least one of those unfortunate events was found to be not of the cheating nature, clearing up one of the controversies in a sport that needs all the good news it can get.

On June 4, 2005, at 38-0 (26 KOs), Ricky Hatton stepped into the ring for the biggest challenge of his then-young career. Hatton was matching up against Kostya Tszyu, 31-1 (25 KOs).

Tszyu was, and is still, regarded as one of the greatest fighters to ever lace up the gloves in the light welterweight division, and was deservedly a big favorite in the fight. 

With Tszyu, there's just nothing that he couldn't do well in the ring. He had well above average hand and foot speed, and excellent balance and coordination. He could defend well and he had terrific punching power. He was essentially a perfect all-around boxer that could punch.

No glaring weaknesses emerged when looking at him. 

And going into the Hatton fight, he had a near-perfect record. He hadn't lost in eight years. To put it bluntly, if this fight was fought on paper, Tszyu would win 100/100 times. He's just the better overall fighter. 

In Ricky Hatton, you have a brawling, wrestling fighter who loves to mix it up and fight on the inside. Hatton's mauling style is designed to wear his opponents down. That, along with his debilitating body punching, had allowed him to overwhelm all 38 opponents that he'd faced up to that point in his pro career. 

Hatton doesn't have the prettiest style, but it's effective—particularly if the referee allows him to use his tactics and doesn't break the fighters excessively fast, as was the case when Ricky Hatton fought Floyd Mayweather in 2007, when Joe Cortez broke the fighters before they'd even clinch. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVyfpFauZOE

Anyway, the stage was set for the Tszyu-Hatton showdown for 140-pound supremacy at a totally sold-out M.E.N. Arena, with over 22,000 people in attendance, most there to cheer Hatton on.

Just for the record, in a poll taken by Boxingscene.com before the fight, out of 18 experts, only two picked Hatton. 

Most of those picking Tszyu picked him by KO. 

When the fight finally got started in front of the raucous crowd, Hatton got off to a good start, getting inside and roughing his opponent up. But as the fight approached the middle rounds, Tszyu looked to be getting more comfortable, and could possibly be cruising to a nice victory, as most had predicted. 

However, after the fourth round, the tide started to turn, as Hatton started to come on stronger. He was able to get to Tszyu's body and began to tire the great champion down. After 10 rounds, many, including myself, had the fight even at five rounds apiece.

These two rounds would determine the winner. Whoever wanted it more was going to win the title. 

That man was Hatton. In the 11th round, he pounded Tszyu and clearly took the frame. Tszyu looked exhausted. Like he had nothing left. 

And he didn't. Before the bell for the 12th, Tszyu told his corner he was finished and retired on his stool. 

Ricky Hatton was now the light welterweight champion of the world, in front of a huge crowd of his own fans. It was an awesome sight to see, as Hatton jumped out of the ring and ran into the crowd to hug his family, before addressing the crowd directly, telling them how much he appreciated their support. 

It was a great night of boxing in Manchester, and it was a memorable one as well. It was the best night of Ricky Hatton's career and he deserved his victory. 

He may not have been the better fighter over the course of his career and he certainly didn't have Tszyu's level of talent, but on the night, he just wanted it more and fought the best fight he could. That was enough to pull off the improbable upset. 

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In November of 2008, Ricky Hatton knocked out Paul Malignaggi in Round 11 of their bout. Since then neither fighter has mentioned each other, and Malignaggi was left without an opportunity to avenge his loss. Both fighters went their separate ways, and both have had fairly successful careers.

Now, after four years, it seems that Paulie is interested in facing Hatton in October in Brooklyn, and he might actually get his wish. There are pictures and various rumors circulating that Hatton is back in the gym and is looking good.

In a recent interview posted on BoxingScene, Malignaggi said the following:

“I am trying to find out if the rumors are true. If they are then of course I am interested. It is always nice to be able to go back and avenge your loss.”

Hatton went on to explain why their previous fight was a fluke, and why this time things will be different:

“There is just no way Ricky Hatton can beat me. I say that respectfully. He did his thing. He was an iconic figure in boxing but I eat those styles up. If you watched me the entire 2008 you will see it was sub par. It wasn’t just the Hatton fight. It was an inner (team) problem that I should have fixed a long time before that but I didn’t. I would love to fight Hatton on October 20^th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. After that I will give him the third fight in the UK to settle the trilogy,” concluded Malignaggi

Personally, I find it funny when a fighter that lost to his former foe states that there is no way they could lose to that person, despite the fact that such a result has already happened. Of course it is clear why Malignaggi wants Hatton, and it has to be due to the fact that Hatton had a long break, and will likely show ring rust in his possible comeback fight.

It is entirely possible that Paulie believes that this is a perfect opportunity to fight a famous name, avenge his loss and do this all with considerable ease.

Ring rust is in my opinion a very questionable concept, and is not always true. When fighters come back with the drive and the intention to make a splash in the boxing community, they want the limelight and do their best to impress the public. If Hatton and Malignaggi ever meet again, I would not be surprised if Paulie kisses the canvas yet again.

Hatton is a very motivated fighter, and has never come to fight in a suboptimal shape. Not only that, but he is the kind of boxer who will take the fight to you, and Paulie’s questionable power might not be enough to stop Hatton in his tracks.

As far as a comeback fight for Hatton, it would be a good one. I always liked Ricky, and would be cheering for his return.

Zab Judah has earned a title shot against IBF junior welterweight world champion, Lamont Peterson, with his March knockout of the previously undefeated Vernon Paris (26-1, 15 KO).

Dan Rafael of ESPN reports that Judah (42-7, 29 KO) plans to pursue Peterson, pending a Nevada hearing on whether to strip Peterson of his IBF title due to recent positive drug test results.

Judah recently signed with Floyd Mayweather's new promotional company, TMT (The Money Team), after his promotional contract with Kathy Duva's Main Events ran out.

If Judah can't land a fight with Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO) as a result of him being stripped, he'll face the next highest-ranked contender in the undefeated Mike Alvarado (33-0, 23 KO) for the vacant IBF title.

50 Cent, Mayweather's best friend and co-owner of TMT, has already received his promoter's license in New York.

With Judah being a popular Brooklyn native, TMT could have Judah headline a fight card at the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn for his world championship title match.

For more news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @justindavidtate.

According to Sportinglife.com, Amir Khan says no one is to blame but himself for Saturday's shocking defeat at the hands of Danny Garcia. However, he did insinuate that he’s leaving his options open in regard to keeping Freddie Roach as his coach.

Freddie's a great trainer. I'm taking the whole blame, it was my fault[...]There are a few things we shouldn't have done in training camp and could have done differently, but me and Freddie will sit down and talk through it.

But I was the one in the ring, I'm the one making the mistakes and I'm not blaming anyone. My team did a great job and I'm not pointing the finger at anyone.

In what was meant to be a routine fight for Khan manifested itself into a nightmare scenario as Garcia ripped up the form book.

“Swift,” in devastating fashion, captured the Briton’s newly reinstated WBA belt via fourth-round TKO to add to his WBC light welterweight crown and vacant Ring title, which was up for grabs that night.

The fight marked Khan’s second successive defeat, following his split decision loss to Lamont Peterson back in December of 2011 which resulted in him relinquishing both the IBF and WBA titles. However, after it was revealed Lamont had failed a drug test, the latter belt was returned him.

That said, the Garcia fight has left a bad taste in the mouth of the 25-year-old Khan (26-3, 18 KOs)—so much so that he’s now evaluating his present predicament regarding the whole Roach set-up. As such, he hasn’t ruled out a new trainer.

I'm going to look at my options, sit down with my team this week. At the moment I'm happy with Freddie but there are a few things that I want to change.

I'm going to speak to my team, see how they feel about things, and take it from there. It's not something I'm going to jump in and make a decision (about). I'm going to take my time, maybe watch the fight a few more times, see where I need improve and see if Freddie can improve me.

If I do pick another trainer I need a trainer who can take me to where I want to be.

 For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

Few boxers face the constant scrutiny Amir Khan is subjected to. While Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have become globally recognized crossover stars, many fans and writers had pegged Khan for such a lofty status, not withstanding his already rabid following in the United Kingdom.

On Saturday, Danny Garcia (24-0, 15 KO) stopped Khan (26-3, 18 KO) in the fourth round of their junior welterweight unification fight in what amounted to a significant upset. Naturally, given how Khan was floored multiple times, the questions regarding his suspect chin, which are omnipresent every time he fights, are again at the forefront in the post-fight discussions about Khan’s stunning defeat.

Garcia deserves full credit for his resilient performance and spectacular finish, but any discussion about Khan’s imminent demise or general legitimacy is premature.

Before getting into the specifics of Khan-Garcia, it must first be pointed out that the fight was part of an important bounce-back weekend for boxing. In light of recent steroid scandals and dubious decisions, this past weekend produced two entertaining fight cards with spectacular main events: David Haye-Dereck Chisora and, of course, Khan-Garcia.

It seems that boxing is stuck in a perpetual healing process where Band-Aids are being applied to massive flesh wounds, and it is because of fighters like Khan that boxing can, and will, continue to take steps forward.

The first reason to like Khan is because of his obvious class, and his dazzling array of skills were on display over the first two-and-a-half rounds of his fight against Garcia. Khan’s hand speed and fleet movement were evident, and he landed his straight right hand at will.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZm3PBw2aJU

Even as Khan continuously beat Garcia to the punch, the fight featured furious exchanges, and the lingering memories of Khan having been floored and stopped in the past made every flurry and counter shot by both fighters meaningful and possibly fight-ending.

Had Khan chosen to work behind his jab and his stinging right hand, he could have likely cruised to a unanimous decision. However, it is this dilemma and paradoxical fighting style that is at the core of the enigmatic Khan. Of course, it is fair to criticize Khan for choosing to stand in the pocket with Garcia and go for the knockout. With his superior speed and skills, Khan could easily revert to being a cautious boxer whose primary focus is to protect his most glaring weakness.

“Caution,” however, doesn’t seem to enter Amir Khan’s vocabulary, and it is his aggression, heart and fighting spirit that make him such a compelling boxer.

What the Khan debate boils down to is expectations. Is Khan one day going to reach the absolute pinnacle of the sport the way Mayweather and Pacquiao have? After losing to Garcia, the easy answer is “no,” though at 25, Khan will have plenty of opportunities to make amends.

Fans and writers also need to think about how many fighters actually reach the level of Mayweather or Pacquiao. Boxers who become transcendent crossover stars or cultural icons are few and far between, and it is perfectly reasonable if Khan does not ascend to that level. If Khan falls short of being the next Pacquiao or De La Hoya, he shouldn’t be considered a failure.

The fact is that Khan will remain a championship-level fighter for years to come, and it seems perfectly plausible to expect him to have another significant title reign in (perhaps) multiple weight classes. Obviously, the precise nature of Khan’s future success is mere conjecture and up for debate, but regardless of what happens, people will be watching.

It is Khan’s combination of sublime skills and natural ability, coupled with the omnipresent threat of being knocked out that will continue to make him the principal draw in most of his fights.

Danny Garcia deserves immense credit for knocking Khan out, but it has to be noted that Khan’s aggressiveness, disproportionately large heart and slugging instinct were key factors that contributed to his demise. All of Khan’s fights carry an element of the sublime, but it is the undercurrent of collapse that makes his moments of brilliance all the more memorable.

Writers and fans should not write off Amir Khan. While he might not become an all-time great, Khan represents everything that is right with boxing: He’ll fight anyone, he’ll take less money to make significant fights, he’ll travel to his opponent’s backyard and he’s absolutely thrilling to watch.

So, while no athlete should be immune to reasonable criticism, let’s not forget to acknowledge Amir Khan’s virtues and be excited for his future prospects—even if they involve more defeats.

After all the hype was placed on Amir Khan to come in and beat Danny "Swift" Garcia, that all went out the window Saturday night, as Garcia took Khan out in a stunning fourth-round TKO victory.

Khan came out early and was dominating the action in Round 1, appearing to be too quick for the largely untested Garcia.

Garcia fought back and took a close second round, as the two began to open up on each other in the round.

The third round saw Garcia land a vicious counter shot, sending Khan crashing to the canvas in spectacular fashion.Khan somehow made it out of Round 3, even though he clearly was still dazed and close to being out on his feet.

The fourth round saw Khan take a barrage of power shots, but survive the early portion of the round. Khan then began to land a few shots of his own, but his choice to begin throwing shots while still dazed ultimately hurt in him in the end.

Garcia landed another power shot on Khan, to which referee, Kenny Bayless, gave Khan a standing count, ultimately stopping the bout, giving Garcia the unlikely victory.

With the huge win, Garica now has the WBA, WBC and The Ring junior welterweight titles and appears to be a star on the rise.

Khan will have to regroup after a shocking loss and contemplate his move to the welterweight division, where there are still some big fights to be had, even with this shocking loss.

On Saturday night WBA junior welterweight champion, Amir Khan, will face WBC champ, Danny Garcia, in a three-title unification bout at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and i will be there ringside to give you the blow-by-blow action.

Not only are the two fighters putting their respective belts on the line Saturday, but the vacant The Ring title will also be awarded to the winner of the bout.

Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) is one of boxing's biggest rising stars and a win over Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) will only get him one step closer to a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather down the line.

Garcia is looking to keep his undefeated record intact in addition to gaining the marquee win of his career; which should put him on the map.

The two fighters camps have been going back-and-forth during pre-fight press conferences and there should be plenty of action once Khan and Garcia are in the ring.

Khan vowed to knock Garcia out and Garcia has guaranteed to back up his overly vocal father/trainer, Angel Garcia's trash talk that has come before each of his fights and push his win streak to 24.

Check back later tonight for all the action between Khan and Garcia, as well as full recaps of the undercard bouts live from the Mandalay Bay. 

As always, stay tuned to Bleacher Report's boxing page for up to date news, previews, opinions and everything else that happens in and out of the ring.

Follow me on Twitter: Follow @mickakers

Both Amir Khan and Danny Garcia came in at 139 pounds to make the 140-pound junior welterweight limit, making the Saturday night three-title junior welterweight unification bout official.

Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) will put up his recently reinstated WBA title up for grabs as Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) will put up his WBC title on the line, in addition to the vacant Ring title also being awarded to the winner of the fight Saturday.

Khan is coming into the bout as a heavy favorite, currently at 4-to-1 (per Bovada Sportsbook) and is widely being picked to win on Saturday night.

Garcia's camp thinks the overly pro-Khan stance by the majority of the media is bogus and Danny's father/trainer let the world know at the final press conference on Wednesday.

"The writers got their foot so deep in their throat, that they don't know how to get it out after this. That's how deep they got their foot in their throat," an angered Garcia Sr. said.

Khan is looking to continue his path towards a hopeful showdown with one of the bigger-name fighters the welterweight division has to offer, mainly Floyd Mayweather.

Garcia, on the other hand, is looking to gain the marquee win of his 23-fight career Saturday night to hopefully boost his star power to the next level.

Even though the world didn't get the Khan-Lamont Peterson rematch they were hoping to see, the fight Saturday night with Garcia will still be an exciting fight. We will either see a star continue to shine or a new one being born right before our eyes.

Mick Akers is a Boxing Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand via press conference.

If there wasn't enough hype surrounding the Amir Khan vs. Danny Garcia junior welterweight unification bout, the buzz should begin to grow after a spirited final press conference that went down Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fighters themselves didn't get the hype train rolling, instead Garcia's father and trainer, Angel Garcia, gave a intense speech and called out Khan in the process.

Angel said, "Khan, listen. He is a superstar, but that's all he got's. Honestly. If he would have won the silver medal in America, they would have looked at you like, you didn't win gold."

After belittling Khan's silver medal performance in the 2004 Olympics, Angel went on to let Khan know that Danny was going to continue his undefeated ways.

"This fight right here is going to show the world, it's going to show the world who's the boss, Danny's the boss... you can laugh all you want, but you're going to be crying July 14th, that goes to you right there," (pointing to Khan's entourage.)

Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, took the stage shortly after and threw a slight jab at the overzealous Angel Garcia.

"We had a great training camp, we are ready for this fight. We had a little switch in gears from opponents, but no major setbacks. We had a great training camp and you're going to see the best Amir Khan yet. Danny I wish you luck and your dad, I'm not so sure of," Roach said.

Building off what his father started, Danny took to the stage and thew his own verbal jabs at Khan shortly after.

Garcia explained: "I just want to say one thing. My dad has talked s---23 times, against 23 opponents and I backed it up 23 times. Come Saturday, he talked s--- 24 times, and I will back it up 24 times."

Not taking it kindly to Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) and his camps words, Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) took the stage in his own defense and gave the world a guarantee that is very unlike the WBA champ.

"I can promise you, promise you and I have never done this. I will knock Danny Garcia out, I will take the world titles home," Khan exclaimed.

After the fight, the stare down ensued, to where the two fighters and their camps exchanged trash talk and the elder Garcia continued his antics, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.

With Khan guaranteeing a KO victory and Garcia's camp uttering disrespect for Khan's camp, the fight on Saturday will be an event boxing fans can't miss. The action should be plentiful and a new unified junior welterweight champ will be crowned.

Mick Akers is a Boxing Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand via press conference.