Lamont Peterson has a simple answer for anyone questioning the importance of his April 11 non-title clash against fellow 140-pound champion Danny Garcia.
Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson will meet in the ring on April 11 in a fight that will be broadcast live in prime time on NBC.
"Styles make fights," said Peterson, who will meet Garcia at a catch weight of 143 pounds in a prime-time bout on NBC. "So you never know what it’s going to be until you get into the ring."
There are some who consider Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) an overwhelming favorite over Peterson given his unanimous-decision win over Lucas Matthysse in September 2013.
That fight came on the heels of Matthysse’s third-round technical knockout of Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) in a 141-pound catch-weight non-title fight in May 2013.
But Garcia also dismisses the notion that the fight is a mismatch, or that its importance is lessened since no title is at stake.
"That doesn’t matter. This is a fight that the fans want to see," Garcia said. "I'm going to show the world why I’m one of the best fighters in the world."
Garcia and Peterson both fought on the same card in Brooklyn, New York, in August, when each fighter knocked out his opponent.
Garcia floored Rod Salka three times in gaining a second-round KO in a non-title bout at a catch weight of 142 pounds, and Peterson defended his title with a 10th-round stoppage of Edgar Santana.
