Link: Jake Donovan (BoxingScene.com)
Lightweight prospect-becoming-contender Anthony Peterson is being very honest about his most recent performance, a lopsided but uninspiring decision win over knockaround veteran Fernando Trejo:
"It wasn't good enough. ... I still have a bad taste in my mouth from that fight. I don't like it when guys give a bad performance, then start calling out the world. You won't hear me calling anyone out any time soon. ... Right now, I'm calling out Anthony Peterson."
What a refreshing change of pace from the norm. Peterson knows that his performance wasn't up to snuff given the expectations put on him (fair or unfair), and he's not acting like he deserves a title shot or a big payday because of that fight.
The fight saw Peterson seem to lack any real killer instinct whatsoever, as he fwah!ed his way to a pretty routine domination of Trejo, who was outgunned from the word "go." Trejo clearly did not have the toolbox to do this job, while Peterson did. Still, Peterson seemed content with a simple cleaning instead of a full-scale remodeling, when knocking down some drywall was definitely in order.
He went on to say this:
"It was a good fight, but not a great fight. I like great fights."
Anyone agree that it was a "good" fight? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
It was a boring fight. It was a bad fight. It was an unappealing fight. It was anything but a good fight. The bout had no excitement, no drama, no ebb and flow, and no real destruction. A one-sided fight can be a good fight (Diaz-Pacquiao was very entertaining), but this wasn't a case in point.
But let's forget about it for now. He won, and that's enough to move forward. After all, Andre Dirrell erased the demons of a much more pathetic performance last year against Curtis Stevens by squashing Anthony Hanshaw in May. If Dirrell can recover some of his reputation as a fighter to want to see fighting, then Peterson certainly can.
Right now, it appears that Anthony is in line to face Jose Reyes on the August 2 undercard of the Joshua Clottey-Zab Judah fight on HBO. That fight has been rumored for a while, and Peterson says he'll be ready by then. Could be a risky move, but it could also be just what he needs.