Around the Net: Victor Ortiz vs Lamont Peterson Pre-Fight Edition

While Amir Khan vs Marcos Maidana is the feature attraction of Saturday night's HBO double-header, the show's opening clash between Victor Ortiz and Lamont Peterson has a chance to be the better and more entertaining fight.  Ortiz can really crack, while the well-rounded Peterson doesn't mind mixing it up and the potential is there for the 140lb contenders to deliver some quality action.

Plenty is on the line as well for both fighters.  Ortiz is in the process of trying to rebuild his image following last year's upset loss to Maidana, while Peterson is still trying to establish his credentials as a legitimate threat in the division, having come up short in his one big chance against Timothy Bradley.

Is Ortiz still the kind of aggressive bankable fighter he showed glimpses of before Maidana?  Is Peterson a real championship talent, or maybe just a lower top level 10 fighter?

We should have a better idea of both men's future capabilities after Saturday night's battle.  For now let's take a look around the net at some of the pre-fight buzz...

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Peterson has the speed and skills to test Ortiz, who has boxed a bit more "within himself" since Maidana broke his will. Against Campbell and Hector Alatorre, Ortiz laid off the gas pedal substantially and never really went for the knockout, though he did finally turn it up and finish off Alatorre in the final round of their fight.

Ortiz has talent, but a win over Peterson would definitely be the best of his career to date. Peterson is in his prime at age 26, has height (5'9") equal to Ortiz and reach (74" to 70") in his favor, and can box. This is in some ways a make-or-break contest for both men. A loss for Ortiz really, really hurts his stock, and hiding him against washed-up fighters or never-weres won't be acceptable anymore. A loss for Peterson drops him to fringe contender status.

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Both men are fast here, and both men can box well, so things match up fairly evenly in that regard. Peterson is longer-armed and probably a bit better defensively. Under fire early against Bradley, Peterson fought his ass off, maybe too much, because he got off his game plan, too. But he's got the heart edge for that reason. Ortiz' heart will be pissed upon until he proves himself in a sticky situation, given how he quit against Maidana. Where Ortiz really has the edge is in power -- he has fight-changing stuff, while Peterson only has knockouts in half his wins despite mostly fighting journeymen.

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Was Team Peterson "coerced?" Or did they willingly agree to sign some sort of options contract in order to land a major fight on HBO?

And is there really a difference between the two? After all, Peterson has already seen some of the darker aspects of the boxing business, and may be merely giving in to the status quo.

ESPN - Lamont Peterson jumps at chance to fight Victor Ortiz

So when the Golden Boy and HBO search for an Ortiz opponent reached three deep, they looked to Lamont Peterson to see if he was interested.

Interested? How about so interested that Peterson (28-1, 14 KOs) and Hunter accepted the fight without knowing any terms other than the opponent and date. They hadn't asked about the money. Didn't know how many rounds it would be scheduled for (it's 10). Didn't know about options on Peterson's future fights, which would be important since he was a promotional free agent after his contract with Top Rank had expired.

The way Peterson saw it, all of that would get worked out. He just wanted to fight and put himself back in the position for a championship and big money.

Boxing FanHouse - Victor Ortiz-Lamont Peterson: A Fight For Redemption

"To me, I fought terribly, but I learned a lot as far as preparing for a fight. A lot of times, I think that I was training so hard to the point where I was taking the fight out of me before I even got into the ring," said Peterson, who takes a record of 28-1, with 14 knockouts against Ortiz.

"But anytime that you fight, of course you're going to feel as though you learned something and you've gotten a little better," said Peterson. "So I've just kind of learned to prepare without beating myself up."

The victory launched Bradley (27-0, 11 knockouts) into a deal with HBO, which, two fights later, has the Pasadena Springs, Calif., resident positioned for a $1 million pay day on Jan. 29 opposite southpaw Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 ) at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Peterson (28-1, 14 KOs) struggled to get fights.

ESPN - Victor Ortiz completely past Marcos Maidana meltdown

"I still to this day haven't seen the fight," he says. "After that knockdown, I don't even remember getting up. I thought I was asleep."

The lack of recollection perhaps has helped him move on.

"That happened that night and I left it there. Never took it home with me," he says.

But he recognizes that maybe what happened to him that night was a signal.

"Maybe I started thinking I was getting too good too fast, but I was grounded pretty quick," he says. "Every fight since my defeat, I just pay greater attention to my coaches and work on my mistakes. I have a lot of confidence in my team right now, because I haven't slacked at all. I followed my diet, I followed my training regimen, I listened to all my coaches."

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In fact, Ortiz says not that much was taken from his loss to Maidana.

"I really didn't learn a whole lot besides the fact that any fighter can have an off-night," he said. "That's the only thing I learned. That was it."

Whether it was denial or the fact that Ortiz is a tad annoyed at the constant second-guessing that has come with that loss, he seems to have a rather dismissive attitude of what took place that night and how it may or may not have shaped him. But it's clear; a win over Peterson re-legitimizes him in the eyes of many fans and pundits.

"Absolutely," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy. "I think after he lost against Maidana, we brought him back and he performed spectacularly in those fights and now this is another step-up. This is a big step up; this is a giant step and so we'll see after Saturday night where Victor is. He beats Peterson, he's right back where he was."