Amir Khan, the WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion could make the first defence of the IBF belt against mandatory challenger Lamont Peterson, who has agreed to terms, according to sources here in Las Vegas.
The sites being considered for the HBO televised bout include Detroit, Washington and Montreal on Dec 10.
Peterson would not confirm that the agreement has been reached, having yet to speak to his manager and trainer, Barry Hunter, who was unavailable last night.
"I haven't spoken to my manager and my trainer, and they haven't told me for certain yet, but I knew that we were very, very close. I knew that we were very close to finalizing the deal for the last week or so, but it's not signed yet," Peterson told Telegraph Sport.
"Yes, this is the fight that I want right now. It's the fight that I was looking for, and it's a strong fight for me. It's the best fight that I can get, because I'm fighting the No. 1 guy in the 140-pound weight class and I'm fighting for the title. It's a fight I know that I can win."
Khan, 24, defeated Zab Judah, then the IBF titleholder, in July in Las Vegas.
Peterson, 27, (record – 29-1-1, 15 KOs) from Washington D.C. won an IBF eliminator with a 12th-round stoppage of Victor Cayo in July, earning the organization's No. 1 contender status.
"Look, everybody has weaknesses or flaws. Call them whatever you want to. It's up to me now to come up with a game plan with my coach and to come up with a plan to defeat Amir Khan in the ring," added Peterson.
"Any time that you're in a fight of this magnitude, then it's only going to lead to much, much bigger fights. And the winner of this fight will go on to be in really, really big fights after this."
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