Lamont Peterson (33-3-1 17 KO) almost had a perfect game plan on Saturday night from Brooklyn, almost. Peterson lost to Danny Garcia (30-0 17 KO) by majority decision, 115-113 X2 and 114-114; however, we may have seen a different outcome had Peterson been a bit more active in the early rounds.
I saw what you did Peterson, I saw the game plan, it took a few moments but it became clear. Give away rounds early, frustrate and wear down Garcia, come on late and apply pressure, Garcia will fade.
Fact is, Garcia did fade and looked almost befuddled in the championship rounds but it was the early rounds that did Peterson in. Peterson stayed away so much early that Garcia had to stop in his tracks pound his gloves and motion him to fight. Garcia was frustrated throughout the fight as Peterson moved away utilizing the steps of a dancer, looked away not respecting what may be coming his way, shuffled his feet, and faked bolo punches.
Garcia was the rightful winner if only by the slightest of margins. The fight was Peterson’s had he chosen to begin his plan a bit sooner.
Post fight quotes-
Garcia-
“I feel great. I prepared for a war. He was moving a lot. I thought it was close, not going to lie,”
“It was definitely close the whole way through. I did enough to win and I’m happy with my performance.
Peterson-
“I did my part. I’m not calling it a robbery but it was a good fight, I don’t expect an easy journey for me to get where I’m going. I feel great. That’s probably the least contact I’ve ever had in a fight.”
Lee-Quillin
The co-feature on the Garcia-Peterson card was a hotly contested middleweight donnybrook between Andy Lee (36-2-1 24 KO) and Peter Quillin (31-0-1 22 KO) which resulted in a split draw, 113-113, 113-112 Lee, 113-112 Quillin.
Early, Quillin was landing solid shots coming out of an extremely tight guard. Towards the end of the first, he dropped Lee with an overhand right. Lee wobbled to his feet as Quillen moved in for the kill buckling Lee again with a left as the bell sounded.
Lee recovered enough to have a competitive second but was dropped again in the third; however, as usually happens between a southpaw and orthodox fighter, their feet being tangled may have contributed to Lee hitting the canvas.
Over the next three rounds, both fighters were giving as good as they were getting. In the seventh, Lee dropped Quillin for the first time in his career with right hook. Quillin wasn’t overly hurt by the shot and fought to the bell.
For the remainder of the fight, there were a lot of close rounds which could have gone either way.
Post Fight Quotes-
Andy Lee-
“It was a tough fight. I got dropped early because I was lazy, but I got the momentum late in the fight and boxed consistently,” Lee said. “I understand with two knockdowns, people felt he won. The decision was fair. I could have done better tonight.”
Peter Quillin-
“There’s a reason why judges are judges, they see it their way,” Quillin said afterward. “I respect the decision. There is a first time for everything. I’m grateful that I was going to get dropped that I was able to get back up and fight. I came here to fight and I was able to go 12 rounds. I could have kept going. I took a year off, and the motivation of losing my title got me going.”
Standing-8 