by Jorge Alarcon-Swaby
The highly anticipated rematch between British Superstar Amir Khan (28-2) and American Welterweight Champion Lamont Peterson (29-1) has been cancelled after Peterson’s drug test results came back and elevated levels of testosterone were found.
The bout was supposed to take place on May 19 in Las Vegas, but with the failed drug test by Peterson, Golden Boy Promotions has been forced to cancel the event after the Nevada State Athletic Commission denied Peterson a license to fight in the state.
Khan was very disappointed and went on Twitter to express his emotions. He said in a tweet “The fight is off! sorry everyone the only person to blame is Peterson, I’ll be looking for an opponent to fight June 30th”
It’s easy to understand Khan’s disappointment, simply because it was in fact Peterson who demanded that Khan take part in the random blood and urine testing administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. An agreement that Amir Khan gladly accepted.
To add spice to the situation, Team Peterson admitted that they used the same substance which was found before their first fight back in December of last year. A fight in which Peterson was granted a controversial split decision. With this confession, Golden Boy Promotions will most likely attempt to have Khan’s loss removed from his record and the bout turned into a “no contest“.
Khan has stated that he hopes to face a replacement opponent on June 30th, but that has not been confirmed by Golden Boy Promotions.
Whether Khan finds another opponent or not, it’s an unfortunate situation not only because boxing fans will miss out on what was poised to be another great classic fight between two great warriors, but both Peterson and Boxing itself have taken a huge negative hit to their reputation.
