ESPN Boxing

WASHINGTON -- Lamont Peterson is in no doubt.

There's no doubt, he says, that Amir Khan deserved to lose the two points that referee Joe Cooper deducted for pushing the last time he and Peterson tangled in the ring -- two points that ensured Peterson would emerge victorious and with two junior welterweight belts in front of a hometown Washington, D.C., crowd last December.

In fact, Peterson says, his opponent's actions weren't so much pushing as elbowing, and he has the evidence -- in the form of camera angles and emergency room treatments -- to prove it.

"Look at the tape," he said after Thursday's press conference in D.C. to announce a May 19 rematch with Khan at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. "I'm not just going to sit here and say something five or six times that I can't go back and prove to you. I had a fracture right [below his right eye], from elbows. From him pulling down on my head, I had a lot of swelling on my neck. Watch the fight again; I'm not going to say anything I can't prove. He's so uncomfortable with me being so close, when his arms go past my head, he would automatically pull down and push away."

Equally, Amir Khan is no doubt.

There's no doubt, he asserts, that even with those two point deductions, he really won the fight three months ago.

"At all the press conferences, I've said I won the fight," he said. "Not once has he said he won the fight, because he knows he didn't win that fight."

Still, Khan acknowledges that perhaps he did push Peterson more than he should have done, and vows that he won't do it again.

"When he does come inside, instead of pushing him away, maybe taking a side step or working him, standing there and fighting him," he said by way of explaining a strategy for the rematch. "Lamont comes in very square-on, so it's very hard to get the angles, so that's maybe why I did push. But we won't be doing any of that now. I'll be hitting him. He'll be the guy walking back. I'll be a totally different Amir Khan in this fight. You'll see new things, you'll see new styles."

The former champion is ready with praise for his successor's heart, chin and ability; he was also taken aback by Peterson's strength, a function of the American outweighing the Brit by several pounds on fight night. It was for that reason, as much as any other, that Khan retreated repeatedly to the ropes in the fight's second half, allowing Peterson to dig in with body shots and uppercuts that swung the momentum in his favor.

"There are a few things that we're going to change in making the weight," Khan said. "I'm going to speak to Alex [Ariza, Khan's strength and conditioning coach] about it. When I go into the fight, I'm going to be a bit heavier. I did feel the weight difference between me and the weight [at which] he came into the fight. He was very heavy, and I could feel the pressure he was putting on. But we're going to sort that out; we don't need to be on the ropes."

Khan will, however, if necessary, slug it out in the center of the ring: "We're going to work with him, go toe to toe if he wants to, work on the inside -- we normally don't work on the inside, but this time we're going to be working on the inside. Now I know what to do, and I'm not going to make as many mistakes."

The last time the two fighters were here, in the Altitude Room of the W Hotel, the balcony of which provides an up-close-and-personal view of the east wing of the White House, it was to promote their first fight. The atmosphere then was raucous and enthusiastic in anticipation of big-time boxing returning to the nation's capital. Britain's deputy ambassador reminded those assembled of his country's assault on the aforementioned White House, 200 years previously. Khan spoke glowingly of the town and talked up his willingness to face his challenger on his home turf. And Peterson, looking -- as he does still -- shy and almost embarrassed by the attention, expressed his appreciation for the opportunity.

Three months later, the love was a little less in evidence.

"I'd like to say it's good to be back here, but ..." Khan's manager, Asif Vali, began before stopping in midstream. "It is good to be here, but we're here for a reason." If it weren't for those two lost points, he said later, "We wouldn't be sat here."

Those point deductions, delivered by a referee from D.C., were part of a fusillade of complaints from Team Khan, culminating in a frame-by-frame dissection of the movements of a "mystery man" ringside who helped fuel, at least on the eastern side of the Atlantic, almost immediate demands for the rematch.

Peterson admits that the complaints, the insinuations that he was not the rightful champion, grated:

"I was a little bit more upset with the fans and some of the media [than with Khan], because I feel as though the media at times entertains stories like that a little bit too much, whereas you can really look at the tape from whatever angle you want and see that he was fouling, and they should have took points. Then after it was stated that the so-called mystery man clearly didn't touch any judges' scorecards, after you eliminate all these allegations, I think there should be no more controversy to the win. I think that controversy should be eliminated."

No matter what came afterward, however, Peterson will always have that moment when he was announced as champion in his hometown, just a few blocks from where he and younger brother Anthony spent part of their childhood sleeping on the streets.

"It was just a dream come true," he said, smiling. "You just go back to all those hard days at the gym. I just think about sacrificing weekends, the late nights, missing proms, things like that, for boxing. I actually got an 'F' in English one time because I was supposed to take a final exam in ninth grade and Junior Olympics was coming, and I just took off.

"I don't want this to end. I want to train hard, make sure this train keeps going. Each time I win, it's a bigger paycheck. I just want to keep training and keep going because I know that when I do lose, it's all over."

Despite the obvious respect he has for his opponent, Khan would be perfectly happy for it all to be over by the morning of May 20.

"I did not fight at my best [in December], and I still think I won the fight. On May 19, I'll be at my best, I'll make my weight professionally, I'll be very strong in the fight, so I don't think anything will go wrong. All I want is a neutral fight -- a neutral and a fair fight. We want a referee who's not from England, who's not from Washington. I can promise you, 100 percent, that I will win the fight."

No doubt.

We know that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't be fighting each other in the first half of 2012. And we know who Mayweather will be fighting instead on May 5: Miguel Cotto.

So that leaves one part of the spring-season super-duper-star equation left to be revealed, and that's PacMan's June 9 opponent.

Initially, the list of options included four names: Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley Jr. and Lamont Peterson. Then Mayweather's name was added. Then it was scratched out. Then Cotto crossed himself off.

That leaves three. All indications coming out of every corner of the boxing world suggest that it will be officially announced next week that Bradley will get the assignment.

Nothing against Bradley, an excellent fighter by any measure, but it's time to say what not enough people seem to be saying: This fight should have gone to Marquez. In every conceivable way, he's a better opponent for Pacquiao than Bradley. In fact, as he's proven repeatedly, he's a better opponent for Pacquiao than anyone not named Floyd Mayweather.

In terms of entertainment value, every Pacquiao-Marquez bout is a fight of the year candidate. Every Bradley bout is a technical draw candidate.

From a business perspective, Marquez is the fourth-most bankable name in boxing (behind Pacquiao, Mayweather and Cotto) and his third fight with Pacquiao last November generated an estimated 1.4 million pay-per-view buys. Bradley doesn't have a fan base, meaning a Pac-Bradley pay-per-view will draw however many buys the Filipino legend can draw with just his name and face on the poster.

With regard to who deserves the fight more, the majority of fans believe Marquez deserved the victory over Pacquiao last time out -- in a fight nearly everyone expected PacMan to win by knockout, by the way. Bradley is the top-rated junior welterweight in the world, but his lone fight in the past 12 months, against a used-up Joel Casamayor, hardly qualifies him for a shot at the people's champ.

Looking at what's best for the fans, for fairness and for the folks counting the receipts, it's Marquez over Bradley all day long. So why was Marquez never given serious consideration for a fourth fight with Pacquiao in June? Why was Cotto the frontrunner initially, and why is it Bradley now?

The only explanation that makes sense is that Marquez fought a little too well for his good in November. Say what you will about Bob Arum and his team at Top Rank, but there are no dummies working in that Las Vegas office. Goal No. 1 is to not let Pacquiao lose (except maybe against Mayweather, when Manny is a fight or two away from retirement). And with Marquez, the third fight illustrated that at any weight and on any date, JMM gives Pacquiao fits.

Again, there's nothing wrong with a Pacquiao-Bradley fight. The man known as "Desert Storm" is a top-10 pound-for-pounder and a credible foe.

But he's no Marquez. Not in terms of name value, not in terms of in-ring excitement and not in terms of what's best for the sport.

I guess the Mexican master was never getting a fourth fight against Pacquiao, no matter what transpired last November.

If Marquez had gotten bowled over, as many predicted, it would have provided a conclusive end to their trilogy.

Instead, we got an ending inconclusive enough to ensure that another chapter won't be written.