Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson rematch finally cancelled – Boxing News
After the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s final decision of not granting a fighting license to Lamont Peterson, the grudge rematch between Khan and Peterson has been cancelled. Amir Khan, who was training hard for the fight, is now finding his next opponent
to fight on May 30.
Khan tweeted through his Twitter, “The fight is off! Sorry everyone. The only person to blame is Lamont Peterson.”
Both the fighters were scheduled to meet in the ring on May 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Khan, who lost his titles to Peterson in December last year, was eager to face Peterson in the ring, as it was his only opportunity to get his titles back. However,
now it seems like Khan will have to settle down with another opponent and probably he will not have a title shot.
On the issue, Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission remarked, “We were willing to have the hearing if Peterson requested it in writing. But just because there is a hearing doesn't mean he would have gotten a license. Golden
Boy felt it was too close to the fight.”
On the other hand, Golden Boy Promotions’ CEO Richard Schaefer said that he is trying his best to set a new opponent and fight date for Khan soon. He added, “We are now in discussions with HBO and looking at July 7 or July 14, one of those two dates. I am
waiting to hear back from HBO, but I will sit down with Amir on Thursday and we'll talk about opponents.”
Schaefer also said that he is very upset with the whole situation. He further said that using testosterone or any other performance-enhancing drug is illegal and there is no room for it in any sport. However, he said, he is more disappointed about the fact
that Peterson did not disclose the issue earlier and that VADA negligence in informing Golden Boy Promotions is shocking. According to Schaefer, if they had known about the issue earlier, they could have saved the entire event but at this point in time it
just had to get cancelled.
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