Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson: Post-Fight Report Card

by Cliff Rold

When he’s warmed up and gets into a fight, Lamont Peterson is one of the better pressure fighters in boxing. His strength is his inside skill.

In rounds eight, eleven, and twelve, he showed how good he could be. If his scrap with Danny Garcia were a street fight, he won. At the end of the night, he beat up Garcia more than the other way around.

The problem in boxing is that it isn’t scored on a simple who-kicked-who’s-ass harder scale. It’s scored three minutes at a time.

This scribe thought Peterson did enough to win on that basis too, seeing it 7-4-1 in rounds. That was a muddy score. There were a lot of close rounds, rounds where Peterson appeared to be dictating the pace but crossing the line between boxing and running.

Garcia didn’t appear here to do quite enough in a lot of those rounds. For others, the few shots he got in when Peterson simply wasn’t doing anything more than flashing a jab was enough.

Peterson left it in the hands of the judges.

He didn’t have to.  

Let’s go the report card.

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Garcia A; Peterson B/Post: B+; B+

When Peterson watches the tape back from Saturday, he’s going to see six critical minutes than may have cost him everything. Early, Peterson decided to box and move in a way that isn’t always his custom. It worked in spots. In the eighth, he did what works best for him.

He came forward. He banged the body. He forced Garcia to the back foot.

Then, in round nine, he stopped and went back to boxing. Garcia was visibly tired after eight. The body shots were getting to him.

And Peterson went back to boxing.

It was inexplicable. Had he maintained his forward posture, he might have won the decision. He might have stopped Garcia. Garcia showed in Peterson’s three best rounds that he didn’t have an answer for the pressure.

He did have some answer for the boxing. He walked forward, landed in spots, and gave a judging edge to those who prefer ‘making’ a fight. Every fight is unique and what one sees working one night might not be the same another even in a similar style match.

At the end, it was hard not think Peterson found a way to lose more than Garcia won. Garcia, outside drubbing an overmatched Rod Salka, has not impressed since his win over Lucas Matthysse. He’s clearly a good fighter, but he’s flawed. That he remains undefeated despite those flaws will eventually get him a very large payday.

Peterson will wonder what if should Garcia get to that point down the road.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 20-5 (Including staff picks for Salido-Martinez and Lee-Quillin)

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at