Lamont Peterson vs Zab Judah: November Fight Discussed For IBF Title

Lamont Peterson and Zab Judah are discussing a possible November fight in Washington, D.C., for Peterson's IBF junior welterweight title, according to RingTV.com.

Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO) hasn't fought since December 2011, when he upset Amir Khan in D.C., a controversial decision in a fight that become even more hotly-disputed when Peterson failed a VADA drug test before a scheduled May 19 rematch with Khan, and admitted that he had used a testosterone pellet prior to their first fight, as well.

But while the WBA chose to strip Peterson of their title and return it to Khan -- which he then promptly lost to Danny Garcia -- the IBF chose to keep Peterson as their 140-pound champion, and ordered a fight with Judah, who had won an IBF eliminator in March against Vernon Paris.

Whether or not Judah deserved another title eliminator is up for debate, but he got it and won in very impressive fashion, totally outclassing and dismantling Paris in Brooklyn. He did what was asked of him, and he'll get his shot because he's famous. This isn't an Olusegun Ajose situation where he's going to be waiting a year for a title shot and then get half of one in the end.

There has been talk of Peterson moving up to 147 pounds, too, and possibly facing Timothy Bradley in a rematch. Bradley beat Peterson convincingly back in 2009.

Peterson's manager and trainer Barry Hunter says that this is the fight, though:

"Zab is next on the list. He's the next man in line, he deserves the chance, and we're going to give him the chance. Zab and Lamont are friends, and all of us have a family-type of relationship, but at the end of the day, it's business."

It will be interesting to see if one of the two major networks (1) is interested in this fight, and (2) has the budget for it, even if it does get done. November 17 will have either a Golden Boy or TMT show on Showtime, reportedly, and Adrien Broner has November 3 on HBO. Peterson and Judah aren't Golden Boy guys, but Judah might be a TMT guy, though he's apparently negotiating this deal himself, despite recently working with Main Events, who have reached an agreement of some sort here to let Zab do what he wants. Showtime has Mares vs Moreno on November 10, and Top Rank says they plan to run a show that night, too. November 24 is open, for now, but Golden Boy has mentioned that date, too.