At a certain point in his career, boxing became just a job to Lamont Peterson.
The District native said he hadn’t enjoyed boxing since the early days of becoming a professional. Yes, Peterson (35-3-1, 17 knockouts) won titles and fought in big fights, but he said the business aspect of the sport soured the experience.
Still, Peterson said he knows his career will come to an end eventually. That’s why at 33 years old, Peterson is starting to appreciate the sport all over again.
“I just want to enjoy what’s left,” Peterson said. “For the most part, it’s just about enjoying these last moments. It’s getting to the point now where the pressure is off me … I can actually enjoy boxing again.”
As his career enters its latter stage, Peterson still has an enormous task ahead of him.
Peterson fights Saturday against IBF champion Errol Spence (22-0, 19 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The fight, televised by Showtime, will be Peterson’s seventh title fight of his career and his 40th professional bout.
Peterson has fought some of the sport’s most prominent names in the last decade, and Spence will be another matchup where the 33-year-old will face a boxer who’s dubbed as a rising star.
Spence, a former 2012 Olympian who won the IBF belt with an 11th-round knockout over Kell Brook last May, is a heavy favorite — with Las Vegas oddsmakers pegging Peterson as an 11/1 underdog.
“I would never look at myself as an underdog,” Peterson said. “I wouldn’t be getting into the ring if I thought I could lose.”
Peterson said he feels better about boxing these days because, for one, he’s not as hungry. When Peterson used to hold media workouts at the Bald Eagle Recreation Center, he was crabby and was short with his answers. The truth, he said, was that he was always starving in the lead-up to a fight.
But Peterson fully moved up to welterweight in his last fight, fighting at 147 pounds rather than the junior welterweight (140 pounds) division where he spent most of his career. His first full bout at the division was successful — winning a WBA welterweight title against David Avanesyan in unanimous decision in February 2017. (Peterson later had to vacate his title to fight Spence)
Peterson said he is also feeling better physically. Before his fight with Avanesyan, Peterson suffered a left shoulder injury. Concerned, he went to multiple doctors to get a second opinion and some of them recommended surgery.
Peterson, though, opted to let the shoulder heal on its own and an 11-month layoff has helped.
Barry Hunter, Peterson’s longtime trainer, said Peterson is in “a calm place right now.”
“He ain’t fighting that weight demon no more,” Hunter said. “Fighting at this level and not having weight issues on your body for a fight like this is a really, really good thing.”
It’s understandable how Peterson could have soured on boxing, too, given how many times he has come up short.
In his first title fight, he lost a one-sided fight to Tim Bradley. When he eventually became a unified world champion by upsetting Amir Khan, the rematch was eventually canceled when Peterson failed a pre-fight drug test for synthetic testosterone in 2012.
Peterson pleaded the testosterone was prescribed by a doctor, but that didn’t stop the Khan camp from labeling Peterson “a cheater.” He was stripped of one belt, while allowing to keep the other.
More recently, Peterson lost a contested majority decision to Danny Garcia in Brooklyn in 2015, Peterson, and others, felt he won and even last week, the boxer didn’t want to discuss the fight.
Hunter, though, said Peterson has handled the adversity of his career well. The trainer pointed to Peterson’s well-known upbringing — where Peterson and his brother, Anthony, were homeless at age 10 before being brought in by Hunter — as a reason why.
Peterson, Hunter said, has also been counted out at various points of his career.
“He wasn’t supposed to a win a world title,” Hunter said. “He’s won three. This is a comfortable position for us. This is the norm.”
Peterson said he’s satisfied with the way his career has unfolded. Facing an up-and-comer like Spence, he said, is also exciting.
“It’s fun to actually go through this whole training camp mentally and physically, it’s all a great feeling,” Peterson said. “I’m anxious — it’s like a puzzle. All these pieces have got to come together. You have that picture and until then, it’s like a blind puzzle.
“You don’t know what it’s like until it all comes together and the picture I imagine, when I put this puzzle together, is going to be a great one.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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