PBC on NBC: Peterson Edges Diaz

Former IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson took another step in getting back to another crack at a world title on Saturday afternoon as he edged Felix Diaz over 12 rounds. His duel with the 2008 Olympic gold medalist was the headliner of Premier Boxing Champions’ return to NBC at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va.

Peterson controlled the pace of the fight early with his rapid-fire jab and long reach. “Havoc” was more than willing to stand and bang with his much shorter adversary, which led to several instances of terrific action throughout the encounter.

But the welterweight duel was no walk in the park for Peterson, who was shaken up a few times when the scrappy Dominican nailed him with lead lefts and counter right hooks. Diaz was a relentless fighter when he needed to be, but he was most effective in the middle rounds when he used his brilliant footwork and head movement to elude the vast majority of Lamont’s attacks.

Rounds four through seven were controlled mostly by Diaz, who proved to be difficult target to hit. He jabbed his way inside, dug thudding shots to the body and then vanished before Peterson could react. However, Peterson and his team figured how to thwart the rally and began applying an avalanche of pressure.

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Peterson started wailing away at Diaz’ body again and drilled him with dozens of left hooks. “Havoc” rallied in the latter stages of the fight and though Diaz (17-1, 8 KOs) stole the 12th round, the Washington, D.C.-area native had done enough to win the fight.

While one ringside judge scored it a draw at 114-114, that margin was offset by the two others who favored Peterson 117-111 and 116-112. Sherdog.com also had it for Peterson (34-3-1, 17 KOs), but by a closer score of 115-113.

In the wild and controversial co-main event, welterweights Terrel Williams and Prichard Colon made referee Joseph Cooper earn his money every step of the way. Colon, the highly-touted Puerto Rican, was the heavy favorite going in but when things got tough for “Digget,” he made things rough for everybody, including himself.

Williams didn’t come all the way from Los Angels to allow Colon to walk all over him and he took as good as he gave during the first half of their 10-round affair. Every time Colon popped him with a good shot, Williams gritted his teeth and returned the favor. The two-way action was entertaining throughout, but when Colon was badly rocked by a pair of left hooks in the fifth, all hell broke loose.

Colon tied his foe up to clear his head, but once on the inside, he unloaded a deliberate uppercut to Williams’ groin. Williams crumbled in a heap, writhed in agony on the canvas and then began rolling around like he was putting out a fire. Cooper gave Williams plenty of time to recover and eventually deducted two points from Colon. When Williams finally got to his feet, he angrily yelled at his rival and tore into him when the action resumed.

Things were chippy and intense for the next few rounds but when Colon, who had been rocked a few more times, tried running away from the American. Williams was all over him and when they clinched again, Terrel was in the process of throwing a series of rights. Colon bent down and turned his back, but Williams continued to punch anyway and Prichard was blasted directly on the back of the head. Colon went down and held his head, which prompted Cooper to take a point from Williams.

Colon recovered and came back into the fight, but he was eventually wobbled by a left hook in the ninth. After a combo felled the Puerto Rican, Colon rose to his feet and tried to fight back. A sizzling left uppercut, followed by a right cross, dropped Prichard face first but again he was able to beat the count and survive the round.

Things got interesting when Colon’s corner began cutting off his gloves in between rounds, allegedly thinking the fight was over. Cooper initially told them that there was still one more round, but Colon’s team continued to undress his hands. Almost the full rest period had passed by the time his team tried putting his gloves back on, which elicited an angry protest from Williams’ head trainer, Joe Goossen. Finally, Cooper – after discussing it with ringside officials – decided to disqualify Colon (16-1, 13 KOs) for the blatant infraction.

Williams (15-0, 12 KOs) seemed irritated after the fight that he didn’t get the win via TKO, but he’d take the win either way.

Update: Colon suffered from dizzy spells and vomiting in his dressing before fainting. He was rushed to nearby Inova Fairfax Hospital where emergency surgery was performed to stop bleeding on the brain. He remains in a coma.