Lamont Peterson wants to fight Danny Garcia before moving to 147

Despite getting destroyed by Lucas Matthysse in his last fight, Lamont Peterson maintains that his goal is to be the top fighter at 140 pounds. The IBF titlist recognizes that in order to do this he must face Matthysse's conqueror Danny Garcia first.

Will it ever happen? Who knows for sure, but Peterson claims that he doesn't want to leave the weight class until he is recognized as the best in the division. If that's the case, he had better hope the fight comes sooner rather than later, as he even acknowledges that he wants to move up to 147 right now.

In an article at Boxing Scene, Peterson discusses a potential fight with Garcia, and why he wants it so badly.

"Of course it's a fight that interests me; he's holding two of the titles at the weight class and he's considered to be the best fighter at the weight class. Of course getting a shot at the crown is very important because the reason why I stay at the weight class is because I want to be the number one fighter before I move up to 147 pounds.

"As long as my body can handle the weight at 140 then I'll stay. But the minute I feel like I can't make it anymore, I'll move up. But honestly in my mind, I really want to move up to 147 at this point.

"My thoughts on Danny Garcia are he's a really good fighter. He's proven himself over and over again. He's a strong fighter and takes a good punch. He shows up every night and every time he has a fight he shows up and he wins. So I got a lot of respect for him and hopefully one day we can fight."

I have a hard time picturing Peterson getting a fight with Garcia any time soon. Maybe a year from now, if Peterson has a couple of nice comeback wins and Garcia is still at 140 and looking for opponents. But that's a big 'maybe'. A loss to a fellow top fighter doesn't mean the end of the world, but when someone gets blown out the way Peterson did against Matthysse, it tends to get etched into his reputation.

After Garcia defeated Matthysse in September, what is there for him to ever gain from beating Peterson? It would be an all-risk, no-reward type of deal and those fights don't happen often in boxing. Again, maybe a year or 18 months down the road, but not now.

Peterson, ranked fourth at junior welterweight by Bad Left Hook, will return January 25th on Showtime to take on Dierry Jean, ranked 10th. It's a legitimate fight and Jean is a live dog.