JM: Lamont, first off I would like to congratulate you on your victory on against Amir Khan this past Saturday. How did it feel to win the championship in your home town?
Lamont Peterson: “It was great. I put my all into the fight, and my training camp. To be able to fight an elite champion in D.C. was great. It was the perfect timing for everything. Everybody was excited about the fight, and I stepped up and won the [IBF and WBA] titles.”
JM: Was there any one element that Khan brought into the ring that surprised you?
Lamont Peterson: No. Everything he did, we pretty much expected coming in. We knew he would be fast, we knew he would have decent power. We had a few certain game plans in mind, just in case things didn?t work in our favor. The great thing is that we only had to use two of them. I had taken control of the fight, and didn?t need to use another game plan that we had in mind.
JM: Do you feel that referee Joe Cooper?s decision to deduct points from Khan in the seventh and twelfth rounds for excessive pushing was unwarranted or unnecessary?
Lamont Peterson: I am not a referee. The referee constantly warned Khan not to push me. He was pushing, and pulling my head down. To be honest, I thought he would?ve taken a point away for holding my head down, but instead he took a point away for pushing. Khan did push a lot, but I didn?t mind him pushing me, to be honest. Pushing is a foul. I didn?t really care about the pushing, that?s why I didn?t complain about it. I did complain to the ref about Khan pushing down on my head though, because my back started to get tight, and I already had some problems with my neck going into the fight. So, the pushing and pulling on my head did bother me. The ref did warn him, and he didn?t just take the points away for no reason, Khan was pushing all night. Its part of boxing, whether the ref took the points away, you weren?t going to hear any crying from me. In the last round, I wasn?t sure if the ref took a point away for pushing or hitting on the break. With all this controversy, and Khan crying about point deductions, he should see that he didn?t knock me down but he got credit for a knockdown. The first time, I was moving away and tripped over his foot, and the second time I hit Khan, Khan didn?t hit me, and I slipped, and went down. After that I realized I was off balance when I was backing up, and decided to switch game plans.
