• Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson

Peterson 'ready to die' against Khan

Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson have scores to settle following a controversial first meeting © Getty Images

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WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion Lamont Peterson has vowed to lay it all on the line in his rematch with Amir Khan, insisting he is "ready to die" in order to keep hold of his titles.

The pair will meet for a second time on May 19 in Las Vegas, following a highly controversial points win for Peterson in their first battle, which took place last December.

In that fight, referee Joe Cooper deducted two points from Khan for pushing - and the Brit subsequently complained about the involvement of mystery man Mustafa Ameen, who was seen handling the judges' scorecards at ringside.

The WBA ordered a rematch - which, despite initial protestations from Peterson, eventually came to pass. Khan claimed that Peterson had been offered a "massive deal", such was the former champion's desire to get his hands back on the belts.

But at a London press conference on Tuesday, Peterson outlined his determination not to surrender his titles. "The reason I decided to take the rematch was not because of anything Team Khan said," Peterson said. "I don't have to prove myself to anyone. I took the rematch because the first was a great fight.

"I can only tell Team Khan that nothing shady happened in [Washington] DC [venue for their first battle]. I'm pretty sure they won't take my word on it.

"I'll be training just as hard as you. I've been training ever since our last fight, so I'm prepared. And I'm ready to die in that ring to keep my titles."

For his part, Khan conceded he had made too many errors both before and during that December night in Washington, and vowed to fare far better in what will be a "huge" encounter for him.

"This next fight, we're going to change a lot of things in camp, we're going to train hard and not make any mistakes at all," Khan said. "This is a huge fight for us. It's a winnable fight for us, I know we made a few mistakes in the December fight. I still thought I won it - I still watch the fight and it hurts me what went on.

"This next one's going to be even tougher because we know what to expect from each other. I started training earlier for this fight, just to get back into gym and in shape.

"I want the titles back, I want to bring them back to Britain. We'll see a different Amir Khan in the fight."

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