Hometown hero Lamont Peterson (33-3-1, 17 KOs) worked out for the media Thursday at the Bald Eagle Recreation Center in Southeast Washington, D.C. as he prepares for 12-round showdown against Olympic Gold Medalist Felix Diaz Jr.(17-0, 8 KOs). The PBC on NBC main event bout takes place next Saturday, October 17 at EagleBank Arena at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC televised coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
Peterson’s younger brother Anthony (35-1, 23 KOs), who will also be featured on next weekend’s fight card, also worked out and spoke to the media about his own fight and supporting his brother.
Below are what Lamont and Anthony Peterson had to say as well as their trainer Barry Hunter:
LAMONT PETERSON
“I’m still a 140 pounder. Any fight that comes in at 140 pounds, I will take it. If there’s no title involved or anything like that, I would fight anyone at 147, 154, any opportunity that makes sense, I will take it.
“I know a little bit about my opponent. I remember him from the amateur days. Fighting on the Dominican team in the Pan Am games and places like that where he would compete.
“I remember watching him fight. He is a pretty tough guy. He was losing big and he actually came back and won the fight so I know he has a lot of heart. At the end of the day, I don’t think if he has enough experience. He might show some experience, but I’m not going to look at it
“Its going to get tough in there. Fighting me is like being thrown into cold water…it shocks you.
“I love action and my game plan is to go in there and give fans a fun fight and show them some drama. It’s a great night of boxing over all.
“Boxing is always going to give me motivation. I love it. I am a prideful person so I am going to train hard no matter who it is. I’m going to train hard. Fans know and the boxing world knows I’m still here and I’m still learning and always getting better.
“October 17 I am anxious to show that I still want to get better and show that there are still a lot of things that people haven’t seen me do.
“I would like to avenge some defeats that I’ve had. I’m better than anyone I’ve ever lost to…I’d like to have the opportunity to go out and prove that I’m better than the people I lost to.
“I am going to show that I am confident and conditioned. This fight I trained just as hard as I have for any other fight.
“I’m sure I’ve sparred at least 500 rounds this camp. There were some weeks this camp that I would spar up to 20 rounds every day.”
ANTHONY PETERSON
“Its going to be a great event for all of us. Lamont and I fought on the same card back August at Barclays Center, but the time before that was December 2011 at the Convention Center in DC, so it is going to be a great night for both of us.
We are grown men now. We are experienced veterans. We know what goes on in this sport and we are going to go in there and handle our business.
“I am going to be a lightweight for a long time.
“There are only two fighters in this world I will not fight – my brother and my newphew and that’s it.”
BARRY HUNTER, Petersons’ Trainer
“I think sometimes we put too much emphasis on belts. The fight game is the fight game and it should be the best against the best.
“Training camp was great. This is what we do all day is everyday. Attitude is everything. Lamont has a fighter’s mentality. For the most part, between fighting and being with his daughter – these are the two things that make him the most happy.
“People don’t realize that before Lamont fought Amir Khan in DC, there was a 20 year window that we had big time fighting in the DC area. A lot of what you see in this area by way of fighting, you have to give Lamont and this squad a whole lot of credit for bringing boxing back to DC.
“If you look at the #FreeBoxingForAll t-shirts that a lot of fighters and fans wear, it doesn’t say boxing for me, or for Lamont – it says boxing for all. In the past it has been treated like an underground sport and people didn’t really know what was going on. Since the start of PBC, it is starting to get more exposure.”
