The crazy thing about this, is that Peterson was the one who demanding stricter drug testing for the fight. Peterson won a disputed decision against Khan in DC to become the Junior Welterweight championship a few months ago.
Since there was such a big dispute over the outcome a rematch was order and scheduled to take place on May 19th. That is a bit up in the air now.
Unified junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson, due to face Amir Khan in a much anticipated rematch on May 19 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, has tested positive for a banned substance, putting the fight in jeopardy.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Peterson tested positive for synthetic testosterone following a random test in March. It is unclear why the result is just coming to light.
Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) and Khan (26-2, 18 KOs), of England, waged one of the best fights of 2011 in Peterson’s hometown of Washington, D.C. Peterson won a split decision in the Dec. 10 showdown, claiming two titles in a fight that ended in a storm of controversy.
Khan was docked two points on questionable calls by referee Joe Cooper for pushing, a call rarely made. Khan complained that Cooper never warned Peterson for leading with his head. Golden Boy also raised questions about judge George Hill’s scoring of the seventh round, which appeared to read 10-10 on the scorecard but was crossed out to read 10-8 in Peterson’s favor.
And there was the was the much-publicized issue of the so-called “mystery man” at ringside, who turned out to be Mustafa Ameen, who is affiliated with the IBF and had a credential arranged as a courtesy from the organization, but was not at the fight in an official capacity. However, he was seen on video at ringside apparently touching the scoring slips, which is against the rules, and distracting a judge. He was later seen in the ring apparently celebrating with the Peterson team after the fight.