(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Instead of trading right hooks in the ring, Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan have been trading verbal jabs in the press since their December bout ended in a controversial win for the D.C. native.

As we reported earlier this week, ever since Khan lost his championship belts to Peterson in a fight at the Washington Convention Center, he has been accusing a shady figure who sat ring-side of interfering with one of the judges. Why should that matter? Well, the fight was called by the referees, and plenty of boxing aficionados said that Khan should have gotten the win.

An appeal hearing has been set for January 18 in New York, which could lead to a rematch between the two. Until then, though, Peterson’s trainer himself has come out swinging, accusing Khan of being a sore loser and trying to use the thinnest of pretexts to provoke a rematch:

Khan blames everyone and everything but his performance and lack of ability to make adjustments in the ring for his loss. He claims that the Ring Announcer privately stated he won, then that the referee’s discretionary actions should be overruled, then a mystery man in a black hat with no association to the Peterson Camp somehow affected the outcome of the bout, and also that the judges did not score the Bout correctly. Each claim is boldly false, but because Golden Boy and Khan have the financial resources to file protests and lawyers to create questionable accusations we are forced to address these issues. We will not let these foul tactics take away from Lamont’s hard work, dedication and monumental victory.

Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At Large), a former vice-chair of the D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission, seemed dismissive of the controversy, saying that it was “manufactured” and part and parcel of what happens in the sport.

“That’s what happens in boxing…it’s all about marketing,” he said.

Calls and emails to the current commission have not yet been returned, but we’ll update if they are.