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Amir Khan set for title defense on Lamont Peterson’s turf

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It’s usually a contender who begrudgingly accepts a fight in a champion’s hometown for the sake of having a title shot.

Amir Khan has flipped tradition, going to Washington for a World Boxing Assn. junior-welterweight bout against challenger Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15 knockouts), a native of the District of Columbia.

“The home crowd is a lot of pressure,” Khan, 25, said this week of his sixth title defense, which will be televised by HBO (6:45 p.m. PST). “He might crack. I think he’ll fight with his heart and all his dreams will go out the window.

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“I made the same mistake before.”

Khan (26-1, 18 knockouts) suffered his only loss when Breidis Prescott knocked him out in 2008 in the first round of their bout in Manchester, England, near Khan’s hometown of Bolton.

There were 20,000 in attendance, a far cry from the underwhelming Las Vegas traffic Khan has generated in recent bouts against Marcos Maidana (the 2010 fight of the year) and Zab Judah (a fifth-round knockout).

“But you have so many friends and family to deal with, you forget about the game plan,” Khan said.

The fighters weighed in Friday, with Khan weighing 139 pounds to Peterson’s 140.

“I’m getting more nervous, because Peterson’s a dangerous guy,” fight promoter Oscar De La Hoya said. “But Amir wants to fight anybody and everybody.

“He’s doing what fighters rarely do, go into an opponent’s backyard. I’ve asked him, ‘Are you nervous?’ He says no, this is what it takes to be a global superstar. He gets it.”

Khan, trained by Freddie Roach at Hollywood’s Wild Card Boxing Club, said he aims to become the first man to knock out Peterson.

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Peterson, 27, has lost only to unbeaten World Boxing Organization junior-welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, in a December 2009 fight in Rancho Mirage.

A year later, Peterson rallied to outbox Ventura’s Victor Ortiz and gain a draw against the former world welterweight champion.

“I’m confident I can outbox anyone,” Khan said. “He’s going to think he needs to do that to win, but I promise you, he can’t outbox me. I’m taller, stronger, faster and have a lot more ring smarts. If he gets hurt, I’m going to finish him off.

“I know I can’t look bad here. I have to win convincingly.”

Khan envisions a next fight against either Bradley or World Boxing Council junior-welterweight champion Erik Morales, followed by a bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in late 2012.

First, there is the task of broadening his global appeal Saturday.

Khan said he enjoyed touring Washington’s monuments and landmarks earlier in the week.

“I have lots of fans here, a lot of different nationalities, and a lot of them are coming to the fight,” Khan said. “I might surprise Peterson when he sees the number.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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