Boxing: Khan ‘awarded’ Peterson rematch by WBA

Ringside ‘mystery man’ was one of us, says International Boxing Federation.

LONDON: Promoters for British boxer Amir Khan have claimed that he has been offered a world title rematch with Lamont Peterson after the International Boxing Federation (IBF) revealed to them that the ‘mystery man’ seen ringside at last month’s fight was one of their officials.

Khan lost his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles after local opponent Peterson was awarded a controversial split-decision victory following their bout in Washington on December 10. The 25-year-old had questioned the performance of referee Joe Cooper and aired grievances over alleged inconsistencies with the judges’ scorecards, before turning his attention to the mystery individual at ringside.

Khan has already appealed against the defeat, but took to Twitter on Thursday to draw attention to the unidentified man’s actions during the fight.

There was no immediate identification of the man, but Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, now claims the IBF told him that he was one of their officials who was given accreditation for the fight despite not being directly involved in it.

“His name is Mustafa Ameen and the IBF have confirmed to us his name, and they have told us that he’s involved in an official capacity with the IBF,” Schaefer told Sky Sports News. “We have been informed by the WBA that they will order an immediate rematch. We received a verbal confirmation and we will get a written confirmation by Tuesday.”

Schaefer said he was also hopeful that the outcome of the fight will be changed to ‘no contest’, allowing Khan to retain his belts, but doubted that would happen.

“It’s difficult to guess the no-contest ruling. I certainly hope this could happen.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2012.