Anthony and Lamont Peterson Set for Big Fights

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Lightweight Anthony Peterson will face WBC king Humberto Soto (pictured above, on the left, against David Diaz), on June 5 at Yankee Stadium in New York, Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum told FanHouse.com. The fight would take place on the undercard of a WBA junior middleweight title defense by Yuri Foreman against former three-time world champion Miguel Cotto.

On Friday night, at the Texas Ballroom at the Gaylord Texan Hotel, in Grapevine, Texas, the 24-year-old Peterson scored a third-round knockout over 31-year-old Juan Ramon Cruz (16-8-1, 12 KOs), scoring three knockdowns along the way.

The victory was the 30th without a loss for Peterson, who earned his 20th career stoppage.

On Saturday at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, on the undercard of Pacquiao vs. Clottey, the 29-year-old Soto won a clash of former world champions by unanimous decision over Diaz (35-3-1, 17 KOs).

Soto rose to 52-7-2, with 32 knockouts, earning the WBC belt vacated by 28-year-old Edwin Valero (27-0, 27 KOs), who is rising to junior middleweight (140 pounds) to face Anthony's older brother, 26-year-old Lamont Peterson (27-1, 13 KOs), perhaps in Washington, D.C.

Lamont Peterson must first get past southpaw Damien Fuller (30-6-1, 14 KOs), on April 10 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

"The ideal place for [Valero-Peterson] would be Washington, D.C.," said Arum. "But we'll have to see. And, as far as when, probably in July."

Since winning a 12-round unanimous decision over Fernando Trejo in June 2008, Peterson, who has overcome a ligament injury in his right leg, has fought only twice, earning 10-round decisions over Javier Jauregui and Luis Antonio Arceo, respectively.

The Peterson brothers were signed by Arum in 2008.

In another fight on Friday night's card, former world heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) scored a second-round knockout of Nagy Aguilera (15-3, 10 KOs).

Peter has scored four straight knockouts since a 10-round majority decision loss to contender Eddie Chambers (35-1, 18 KOs) on March 27, having stopped Marcus McGee, Ronald Bellamy, and Gabe Brown, respectively, in three, two and four rounds.

Aguilera was coming off of November's first-round knockout of former world champion Oleg Maskaev (36-7, 27 KOs), whom he dropped once in the initial round, and later fired a number of unanswered blows that forced the referee to stop their bout.

It was the second straight first-round knockout for Aguilera.

Chambers will meet 33-year-old IBF and WBO king Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) on March 20. If Klitschko remains champion, Peter is in line to be his mandatory challenger, said Arum.

Although Alexander Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs), an earlier decision winner over Chambers, is the next in line to meet Klitschko, Arum said that he believes Povetkin "doesn't want to take the fight, which makes Peter the next mandatory."

Peter lost a unanimous decision to Klitschko, whom he floored twice during that bout, in December 2005.

Peter was also dethroned as WBC titlist by Klitscho's older brother, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs), by eighth-round knockout in October 2008.