IBF junior welterweight champ Peterson defends crown vs. Holt Feb. 22

Washington, DC, United States (4E Sports) – International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson will defend his crown against former champion Kendall Holt Feb. 22 in the main event of an ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” card at DC Armory in Washington.

Gary Shaw, Holt’s promoter, won the right to promote the fight with an offer of $50,000 during the IBF purse bid last month.

However, Shaw has entered into a partnership agreement with Barry Hunter, Peterson’s manager/trainer and father figure, to arrange the fight in the champion’s hometown of Washington.

From the $50,000 bid, Peterson would earn $37,500 or 75 percent of the winning bid while Holt is slated to get the remaining 25 percent of the bid or $12,500. Shaw assured that both fighters will earn more.

“I’ve been talking to Barry all along trying to work this out. We went to a purse bid so we could protect the fight and make sure we had time to get it all worked out,” Shaw said.

“Barry and I are partners and we’re gonna split up the money and make our own deals with the fighters. Kendall will make more than $12,500 and Lamont will make more than $37,500,” he added.

Aside from the license fee from ESPN, the fight is expected to generate a mid-six-figure gate in Washington.

In his last fight more than a year ago, Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) attracted more than 8,000 fans at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center when he won the World Boxing Association and IBF titles from Amir Khan via controversial split decision.

Peterson was slated to face Khan for a seven-figure purse in a rematch May 19 but tested positive for synthetic testosterone, a banned substance, in a random pre-fight urine test performed by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

Due to the positive test, the fight was cancelled and the WBA stripped Peterson of his title belt.

For its part, the IBF allowed Peterson to keep its version of the 140-pound title and ordered him to face mandatory challenger Zab Judah.

However, when Judah opted to fight Danny Garcia, the IBF ordered Peterson to face Holt, the next leading available contender.

“I think it’s a wonderful fight for Kendall,” Shaw said. “These are two fighters who are both going to come to win. I don’t think the fight is going to go to a decision. Kendall can really punch. I’ve always believed he was the biggest puncher in the 140-pound division. And I have a lot of respect for Lamont Peterson. Look what he did to Khan. At the end of the day, he won the fight.”

Holt (28-5, 16 KOs), 31, of Paterson, N.J., held a version of the junior welterweight title from 2008 to 2009 he snatched from Ricardo Torres via first-round knockout.

Holt defeated Demetrius Hopkins in December 2008 via split decision but lost his belt by unanimous decision to Timothy Bradley Jr. in an April 2009 unification fight.

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