Washington - Philip Barton, British Deputy Ambassador welcomed Amir ‘King’ Khan to the U.S.A. today. The Unified Light Welterweight World Champion sized up his DC opponent Lamont ‘Havoc’ Peterson at a press conference to launch the biggest fight in the DC area in recent memory.

Khan, a 24 year old British boxer from Bolton, Lancashire, is set to fight the number one rated IBF contender and DC native, Peterson on December 10 at The Walter E. Washington Convention Center where the pair will fight it out for the WBA and IBF light-welterweight world champion titles live on HBO in the USA.

As an amateur, Khan became the youngest-ever British Olympic boxing medallist (silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics).  The fight comes as the U.K. gears up for one of its most exciting years in sports as London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Welcoming Amir Khan back to the U.S.A., British Deputy Ambassador, Philip Barton also paid tribute to Amir’s opponent Lamont Peterson , calling him: “A true son of D.C.”

Philip Barton went on to say:

“Amir, you may have ceded home advantage to Lamont.  But you - and he - should know this – there are a lot of us Brits here in Washington.  We have had some notable victories here over the years – we even managed to burn down the White House in 1814!

“So, rest assured, come 10 December, you’ll have your share of the local support – all of us looking forward to another great British victory.”

Amir Khan, talking about the upcoming fight said:

“It’s gonna be massive! We want to bring boxing back to Washington.”

Khan has already fought and won three U.S. fights, including the Boxing Writers Association of America 2010 Fight of the Year against Marcos Maidana.  His most recent fight was in July when he unified the titles by defeating former World Champion Zab Judah.