Lamont Peterson In Dangerous IBF Title Defense Against Dierry Jean

Washington D.C.’s top boxer makes his way back to the ring tonight as IBF champion Lamont Peterson puts his light welter crown on the line against the latest product of the Montreal fighter factory, Dierry Jean, at the D.C. Armory in Peterson’s hometown.

Peterson, 31-2-1 (16), has had more career ups, downs and twists than a roller coaster and to that end, is coming off a TKO loss to Argentine left hook artist Lucas Martin Matthyse last May in a catchweight bout in which Peterson’s belt wasn’t on offer.

Jean, 25-0 (17), won an IBF title eliminator by halting Cleotis Pendarvis a week before Peterson lost to Mathysse, and will be making his first appearance in world title bout.

This contest should be an absolute war once the feeling out process is dispensed with as both contestants are very offensive and like a good old-fashioned tear up. Add to the fact that both men’s defense largely consists of their own offense and it should be a memorable clash for as long as it lasts.

As similar as Peterson and Jean are in some respects, there are clear differences as well. The biggest contrast is big fight, top level experience; Peterson, who has participated in three world title scraps, two Interim world title bouts and two world title eliminators, has it and Jean doesn’t.

Peterson has faced world class operators Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, Matthysse and Victor Ortiz, going 1-2-1 against them, although that win, against Khan, was very controversial. The highlights of Jean’s CV aren’t as bright; Pendarvis, Ivan Cano and Francisco Lorenzo.

But make no mistake, the opponents Jean has been in with aren’t necessarily a reflection of his abilities, as he can really fight, he’s just being put in a world title contest before he’s been put in with any legitimate contenders at 140 pounds.

And that is what makes this one a bit harder than usual to guess how the outcome will turn out.

If Jean is a true world class fighter, as his handlers obviously believe him to be, then this is a good opportunity to take a shortcut to the top as Peterson is making a comeback after a shattering loss.

Peterson’s backers clearly consider the inexperienced Jean as a good selection to mount that comeback against and it will be very interesting to see which side will be proven correct.

Once the bell rings tonight at D.C. Armory, the distance at which this bout is waged could determine the final outcome as Jean prefers to fight at a distance while Peterson is most comfortable on the inside.

Both men are very hittable due to their overwhelming preoccupation with offense. Jean gets caught with right hands due to his low slung left and habit of lunging in with big rights with little regard to what may be coming back at him while Peterson just gets hit a lot, period.

Add the fact that each are also accomplished body punchers and we are probably seeing a classic war of attrition with the winner the fighter that can better take the punishment.

If Jean is successful in keeping away from the trenches during the first half of the fight and can time Peterson on the way in, the champ could be in for another loss inside the distance if the challenger possesses true concussive power.

If Jean does not have the pop in his punches to keep Peterson off, the second half of the contest should be a close quarters brawl and that could either be a good thing for the local man if Jean falls apart in his first real test or a bad thing of the challenger rises to the occasion and outfights the champion.

Peterson has proven himself to be a very good fighter but he also does not have a clear cut win over a world class opponent. If Jean is on that level, he should beat Peterson but if he is just another well-steered opponent out of Montreal, he will be exposed as such.

Either way, it should be a classic for as long as it lasts.

The undercard sees what could be another very good matchup, this time between light middleweights Gabe Rosado, 21-7 (13), and Jermell Charlo, 22-0 (11).

Charlo has been hailed as a future world champion due to his good performances on the way up, but he’s also been carefully steered to this point, with the highlight name on his resume being that of Demetrius Hopkins, who was defeated in a very close points verdict last June.

Carefully steered is not something that’s ever been done with Rosado, who learned on the job, getting thrown in at 12-3 after 13 bouts with world class operator Afredo Angulo, who in 2009 stopped Rosado in two.

Rosado went 9-1 over the next four years against varying levels of opposition when he obtained a world title shot, unfortunately at a higher weight class and possibly the most dangerous boxer in the sport, WBA middleweight king Gennady Golovkin in January of last year.

The Philadelphian was clearly outboxed but he proved his ability to take a punch as he ate serious leather from the very heavy-handed Kazakh and even had his moments here and there but was stopped on bad cuts in the seventh frame.

Next up for Rosado was highly touted undefeated prospect J’Leon Love, again at middleweight, this time for the NABF strap, and it was a very close bout, somewhat controversially awarded via split decision to Love, who was down in the sixth, but later ruled a no contest reportedly due to results of Love’s post-fight medical.

This past October, Rosado got another world title shot, once again at 160 pounds, challenging WBO boss Peter Qilllin. Rosado had a hard time early on, climb off the canvas in the second, but had turned the tables later in the fight and looked very good in the later rounds until he was cut in the ninth, prompting a stoppage loss in the tenth.

Rosado definitely has the edge in experience versus Charlo but will it be enough to offset the edge in quickness and ability enjoyed by the undefeated Houston man?

The obvious strategy for Charlo will be stay on the outside and target the scar tissue above Rosado’s eyes. Rosado will likely be very careful in his efforts to reduce distance between the two and if he can avoid Charlo’s jab and force a grueling fight on the inside.

What could be a very important factor in this one is that Rosado will be returning to light middleweight after facing three very good middleweights in succession.

If Rosado can use his lead right hand to take away Charlo’s confidence in the jab and force a slugfest, he should come out on top but if not, he’ll be just a steppingstone for Charlo on the way to a world title bout.