Junior welterweight Lamont Peterson improved his record to 33-2-1 (17 KO) by outclassing and eventually overwhelming Edgar Santana on Showtime.
Santana, 29-5 (20 KO), came forward from the opening bell but couldn’t muster much consistent offense, and was overwhelmed by Peterson’s better technique and accuracy. In the end, Peterson’s measured, careful approach rendered Santana an uncultured rube in comparison.
Peterson found a way to move backward and fall outside of danger, then spring forth and freeze Santana with left hooks and other well-timed shots in the first round or two. But in round 3, Santana’s pressure appeared to finally make a mark, with Peterson looking to clinch inside and avoid the wild caveman rushes from his foe.
In round 4, however, Peterson’s counters began to look more and more disgusting, and Santana was clutching his eye and looking to stay upright only 30 seconds in. As Peterson slowed, Santana found a brief opening, but Peterson’s body shots and winging, roundhouse swats had Santana again locked up in philosophical daydream.
The 5th and 6th rounds saw body shots and hooks from Peterson immobilizing Santana. That was it. Santana followed along, his output dropped, and he couldn’t adjust
Santana found brief success in round 7, but it was as likely caused by Peterson’s quick drop in output and temporary disinterest as anything else, and it still wasn’t much of a round to score for Santana. Again in round 8, Santana got the spontaneous idea that he should probably throw punches, and managed to land a handful of meaningful hooks and uppercuts, but it just couldn’t last. When Peterson began to assert himself and again attacked Santana’s body, the round became as one-sided as the bout should have been.
Between rounds, Santana’s corner more or less threatened to pull the plug, telling their charge that he was wasting his chance by not throwing enough. The result was a bit more energy for Santana, but it only meant he lost more energetically. Peterson closed round 9 strong, using his legs to keep Santana guessing with angles. Round 10 was more of the same, until the ringside physician prompted the referee to intervene as Santana continued to absorb punches.
Santana, 35-years-old and potentially spent, should be viewed as an opponent for Peterson to beat on the road to facing Danny Garcia.
In the post-fight interview with Showtime’s Jim Gray, Peterson hinted that the match-up should be made, depending on the results of Garcia-Salka, but admitted his performance against Santana could have been more explosive.
Nonetheless, Peterson took one step away from his past PED issues and loss to Lucas Matthysse, and toward a showdown against one of the top few fighters at junior welterweight.
(Peterson, left, Santana, right; Amanda Kwok, Showtime)
