Khan withdraws IBF appeal in search of rematch

Amir Khan has dropped his appeal with the International Boxing Federation for an immediate rematch to avenge his controversial defeat to Lamont Peterson.

London: Amir Khan has dropped his appeal with the International Boxing Federation as the Briton seeks an immediate rematch to avenge his controversial defeat to Lamont Peterson in Washington last month, his U.S. promoters said in a statement on Tuesday. Golden Boy Promotions attributed the late withdrawal, barely 24 hours before the scheduled hearing, to the fact that "there was only to be partial representation of fight officials involved with the December 10, 2011 bout...".

Khan (26-2) lost two versions of his light-welterweight world titles in Peterson`s hometown on a split decision, although the World Boxing Association has already ordered a rematch. "Golden Boy Promotions and Team Khan are pleased to have been vindicated by the World Boxing Association`s WBA.L recent decision to mandate an immediate rematch and still hope that Mr. Peterson will honour earlier statements in which he asserted that he would be happy to agree to a rematch," a statement on Khan`s website said. "In that vein, Golden Boy Promotions and Team Khan would agree to a 50-50 split of worldwide revenues derived from a rematch (including those derived from the United Kingdom) should Mr. Peterson agree to participate and hope that this will be both financially and professionally satisfying to Mr. Peterson and his team," the statement added. After Peterson`s (30-1-1) surprise victory, Khan`s team initially questioned the performance of referee Joseph Cooper, who deducted points from the Briton in the seventh and 12th rounds for pushing. Khan also questioned the appearance of a mystery man at ringside with the 27-year-old`s Peterson`s camp, accusing him of "interfering" with the scorecards belonging to the judges. Bureau Report