WBA and IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson appeared on D.C. radio Thursday afternoon to defend his competitive honor after his scheduled re-match with Amir Khan was canceled due to a positive test for synthetic testosterone.
Appearing on the Mike Wise Show on 106.7 The Fan, Peterson acknowledged that he had begun taking soy-based testosterone in November, while in training for his first fight with Khan, to treat hypogonadism.
"I was going through camp and started feeling dizziness." Peterson said. "I felt like my energy was gone."
Peterson said that the testosterone pellets he took were slow-releasing, and did not begin to work until 8-12 weeks after he began taking them. He said that this explained the fact that he passed drug tests before and after the first Khan fight in December 2011.
Ironically, it was Peterson's camp who insisted on random drug testing before the re-match, which had been scheduled for May 19 in Las Vegas.
"We were trying to make a statement to step up and start doing random drug testing because there are people out there cheating." said Peterson, who added that he did not believe that Amir Khan was using any illegal substances.
When asked why he did not inform the Nevada State Athletic Commission that he was taking the pellets, Peterson said that the testosterone was therapeutic, and therefore not illegal.
Peterson's trainer Barry Hunter also stepped forward to defend his fighter, saying, "If he was dirty, I'd be the first to throw him under the bus. But I know this man, I know who he is.
It just doesn't sit right."