Lamont Peterson: If I had to predict, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will beat Manny Pacquiao

Lamont Peterson wasn’t sure Wednesday night where he will be watching the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao megafight set for Saturday night, but whether it would be with friends from the gym or at home, he was sure he’ll be in front of a television.

The first time he watches, Peterson will try to have a good time. He’ll join in the emotions and fun of the moment. The second time, he’ll be doing homework. The Washington native expects his next fight to be in the welterweight division (147 pounds), where Mayweather, Pacquiao and many more dollars roam.

Peterson (33-3-1) is the most recent IBF junior welterweight champion, having been stripped of the belt even though his April 11 majority decision loss to Danny Garcia was held at a catch weight of 143 pounds. He, like many, feels he won the fight, though he’s diplomatic enough to acknowledge judges have a difficult job. He does not expect a rematch.

Peterson is doing light training now in preparation for his next fight, which he says will be in Washington in late July. He’ll filter through names in the next few weeks and hopes to have an opponent within a month.

But, Saturday night will come first. Peterson said he sparred with Mayweather on consecutive days in Las Vegas in 2009. They worked eight four-minute rounds with 15-second breaks. The next day, they sparred for 13 four-minute rounds with 15-second breaks for the first 10 rounds. He said there were no breaks in between the final three rounds.

Here’s how he sees Saturday night’s fight:

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“[Mayweather] shouldn’t move the way he moved with [Marcos] Maidana, just moving around the ring a lot. I think he should move enough to be ready to counter when Pacquiao does come in and he overshoots a shot. You’ve got to be there to sit back and counter. As soon as Pacquiao jumps in with an attack, [Juan Manuel] Marquez always took one little step back and countered. Every time. So, I think Floyd … I know Floyd’s going to do that a lot. I’m pretty sure he watched the tapes of Marquez and Pacquiao fights, so I know he’s going to use that a lot. Though, I think Floyd will have to move, but not move a lot. Make sure he counters and make sure to keep his jab up there and he’ll definitely win the fight.

“For Pacquiao, he’s going to come in. He’s going to use a relentless attack. I think he feints before he comes in — kind of like a girl jumping double-dutch. When a girl is jumping rope, it’s kind of like you don’t know when she’s going in. He’s got that big rhythm to his boxing style. I think if he can trade Floyd off and Floyd can’t really get the timing on what kind of counter he needs, probably get in there and maybe hurt Floyd. I think he would have to hurt Floyd early to get Floyd in a defensive stance, and I think he can do a better job and hurt Floyd in the fight if he hurt Floyd early.”

Mayweather is a master of the shoulder roll. Though, Peterson doesn’t see that as much of a factor in the middle of the ring against a southpaw like Pacquiao.

“When I sparred him, it was hard to hit him when he was out in the open, it was pretty normal. You could touch him ­— I would not say it was easy to touch him — but you could touch him. When he gets on the ropes, it’s extremely hard to get him. I know the shoulder roll thing … I’m almost sure of this: Floyd won’t use the shoulder roll against Pacquiao. I’m not one who really uses the shoulder roll much in a fight. In sparring, I might mess around with it a bit. What I’ve learned from using it and playing around with it, it don’t work well [against] southpaws.

“If you think about it, it’s designed to roll right hands from orthodox fighters. You’re going to hide away from the right hand to come back with a counter. If you think about orthodox stance, left leg out, right leg back, and he’s using the left shoulder so the right hand can go off it, but Pacquiao’s left hand is coming from a different angle. Really, an angle that Floyd likes to hide in. You’ll see Floyd with his hands up and moving, but also with his hands down, trying to move his head so he can see the shots coming. I don’t think he’ll go to the shoulder roll too much.”

“If I had to give you a straight prediction, I’d go with Mayweather. I think Floyd’s going to know how to use his size advantage against Pacquiao. Floyd is excellent at timing a fighter. Pacquiao is going to leave himself open a lot, trying to use his reckless attack. That’s just how it works. It works for him. Sometimes, like in the Marquez fight, it goes against him. I think, if I had to predict here and now, it would be Floyd. But, if Pacquiao wins, I wouldn’t be surprised.”