• Age: 23 (3-16-85)
• Residence: Washington, D.C.
• Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
• Record: 26-0, 19 KOs
• Height: 5’8”
• Reach: 74”
• Manager: Barry Hunter
• Trainers: Barry Hunter, Patrice Harris (Anthony’s brother-in-law), Marvin Thomas (conditioning)

Ranked WBO #1, WBC #5, IBF #10 at 135 pounds…

Former NABO lightweight champion, two successful defenses...

2003 National Golden Gloves amateur champion, 132 pounds…

2001 Junior Olympic National amateur champion, 132 pounds…

At the age of 23, Anthony is a three-year pro. The WBO’s number one ranked contender at 135 pounds, he is the younger brother of jr. welterweight contender Lamont Peterson.

A former amateur standout, Anthony has stayed active in the ring, given impressive performances and made good progress as a pro.

He is coming off a TKO win against Jose izquierdo in his last fight in January, 2008.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com: Peterson...dominated Izquierdo en route to the impressive stoppage. Peterson scored a knockdown in the seventh round and two more in the eighth. Izquierdo was dead tired in the eighth and lost a point for excessive holding. A few moments later came the final knockdown and Izquierdo, a native of Cuba living in Mexico, had no intention of getting up. Time for Peterson, like his brother, to step up the competition in a major way. He’s ready for a quality contender.

Fightwriter.com’s Graham Houston reported, “I made this fight a more competitive bout than did the oddsmakers.... Gradually, though, the superior punching power and physical strength of Peterson began to tell on Izquierdo.

For five rounds the Cuban had been doing a good job of hustling and bustling, at times clearly outworking Peterson, but in the sixth it was obvious that the D.C. lightweight prospect was starting to hurt his opponent. Once Peterson sensed Izquierdo was weakening he certainly opened up impressively enough....

Peterson seemed to confirm his potential.... I liked Peterson’s hand speed, the jab and the double left hook (under and over). He can bang a bit with either hand, and when he has a man going he does what a professional boxer should do - he steps up the pace to try to close the show.

Anthony and Lamont will receive the Boxing Writers Association of America’s 2007 award for “perseverance in overcoming adversity” at the annual BWAA awards banquet on May 1 in Los Angeles.

Co-manager and head trainer Barry Hunter first met the brothers when Anthony was eight years old and Lamont was 10 and introduced them to boxing. They had been homeless and living on the streets in Washington, D.C.

Barry said, “When Lamont and Anthony first came into the gym, I never trained them like a regular junior or amateur. In fact, they used to get into trouble a lot of times when they were younger fighting in the juniors, because they fought so much like pros.

“It’s been an amazing ride. Once God puts forth a blueprint for you, all you got to do is just kind of pretty much stick to the plan, and you should be successful.”

One of the recent additions to their training program has been a conditioning coach.

Barry Hunter said, “I had pretty much known of Marvin Thomas, the conditioning guy, and he had tracked me down a couple of times and wanted to talk about getting into our program.

“Marvin is pretty extreme when it comes to conditioning, he’s almost like I am when it comes to training. He has a good spirit about him - he fit perfectly into our program because he was just like us. We really didn’t have to bring him up to par with anything, it was almost like putting a fish in water. We put him in there and he blended right in. He started to swim.”

Anthony said, “Since we’ve been working with Marvin, I see more power and determination. That’s all I see, power and more determination. Stamina, I get that from my running.

“Marvin, he’s vicious. Aw, man, he’s doing a whole lot of new things with us. Pullups, pushups, the whole nine - I mean everything. It’s like nonstop, everything is like, high speed.

“In 2008, I see a world championship, being victorious, and just being a good kid. It’s been three years, it’s been a change. If we’re not ready now, we’ll never be ready.

“I’m more relaxed now, more calm. Polished skills. The mental game is more solid. That’s the main thing.

“I feel excellent. I never felt like this before. I feel a lot stronger, I just feel so powerful right now. You’ll see when I get in the ring. You’ll see the results.”

Anthony had several impressive wins during his amateur career, including wins against current pro prospects Victor Ortiz and Anthony Dirrell.

Key Fights – 2008 - in his last fight on 1-4-08 in Biloxi, MS, he TKO’d late substitute Jose Izquierdo (16-1-1): Izquierdo gave a good effort and the early rounds were fast-paced and exciting, but Anthony consistently outworked him, landed the harder punches, and steadily wore him down; Anthony scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 7th round; he scored another knockdown in the 8th with series of punches – Izquierdo got up, but was penalized one point for holding; Anthony knocked him down again moments later with a right hand and the referee stopped the fight at 0:54; after the fight, Anthony said, “It was a good victory for me. I always felt I was in charge. The guy was determined and a little awkward, but I made the adjustments I had to make. Fighting a last minute sub, I didn’t really know what to expect. But I got the job done, which is what counts. I am ready to fight next whoever they put in front of me.”...

2007 – on 11-17-07 in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, he TKO’d Oscar Leon (27-6): the fight was on the undercard of the Zab Judah-Ryan Davis main event at the Casablanca Casino; Anthony scored two knockdowns and stopped Leon in the 5th round...

On 9-1-07 in Tunica, MS, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Marteze Logan (25-28-2): the fight was co-featured at Fitzgeralds Casino; Logan gave a determined effort, but Anthony consistently outworked him and landed the harder punches; Anthony was penalized one point for low blows, but won by scores of 79-71, 79-71, 78-72...

2ND NABO JW TITLE DEFENSE - on 5-25-07 in Washington, DC, he TKO’d lefthander Luis Ernesto Jose (27-4-2): the bout headlined at the D.C. Armory, and was the first time Anthony fought in his hometown since June, 2005; Jose gave a good effort but was wild and inaccurate with many of his punches, and Anthony dominated the fight; he staggered Jose several times - with a right hand in the 3rd round, another right hand in the 4th, a left hook in the 7th round, and a series of punches late in the 8th; Jose was down two times in the 9th round – the first time was ruled a slip, the second time a knockdown – he got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:37; after the fight, Anthony said, “We came home to put on a show tonight, and that is exactly what we did. Our fans, our friends, the city showed out for us, and we showed out for them. Anybody in the top 10. Anyone they’ve got for me, I’m ready to fight.”...

1ST NABO JW TITLE DEFENSE - on 1-5-07 in Biloxi, MS, he knocked out Juan Garza (30-2): the fight headined at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino and was the first fight on the Mississippi Coast since August 20, 2005, nine days before Hurricane Katrina destroyed the area; it was a fast-paced, exciting fight; Anthony started fast and appeared to have the edge in the 1st and 2nd rounds, but Garza stepped up his pace and outworked him in the 3rd; Anthony came on strongly in the 4th round – he rocked Garza with a right hand, then scored a knockdown moments later with a left hook to the body - which seemed to do the most damage - followed by a right hand to the head; Garza went down to his hands and knees, then rolled over on his back and was counted out at 1:37; after the fight, Anthony said, “My coach told me to jab and come back with the right hand. I’m a headhunter. I knew he had a strong chin, so I went to the body.”...

2006 – on 11-18-06 in Tunica, MS, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against former WBO bantamweight world champion Alfred Kotey (24-13-1): the fight headlined at Fitzgerald’s Casino, and Anthony dominated; he jabbed and boxed effectively, and shut out Kotey 80-72 on all three scorecards...

On 9-1-06 in E. Peoria, IL, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Armando Cordova (21-26-2): Lamont co-headlined with his brother Anthony at the Par-A-Dice Casino, and dominated the fight...

On 8-4-06 in Memphis, TN, he knocked out Jose Soto (18-3-2): Anthony quickly overpowered Soto; he scored a knockdown with a left hook to the temple-right hand to the body combination that put Soto flat on his back in the 1st round; he scored another knockdown with a left hook to the chin that dropped Soto flat on his face in the 2nd round – he got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:51; after the fight, Anthony said, “My corner was telling me that his hands were too high. They told me to go to the body, and they were right. I knew it hurt him because he grunted when I hit him, and then he went down.”...

WON VACANT NABO L TITLE - on 6-16-06 in Memphis, TN, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Adan Hernandez (14-4): Anthony dominated the fight; he kept a fast pace, consistently outworked Hernandez, and won by scores of 120-108, 120-108, 119-109...

On 4-28-06 in New Town, ND, he TKO’d previously undefeated Jermaine White (13-0): Anthony quickly overpowered White - he scored a knockdown in the 1st round and a standing-8 count in the 2nd; Anthony rocked White with a series of punches in the 3rd round, and the referee stopped the fight after the round; after the fight, Anthony said, “I am a dog. There are killers out there everyday. I know White was undefeated, but he did not show me anything. He came out strong, but had nothing on his punches. I threw a lot of bombs in the first round, and I knew I could take him out in three or four rounds.”…

On 3-11-06 in Tunica, MS, he TKO’d Steve Verdin (5-26-2): Anthony dominated the fight, and Verdin did not continue after the 3rd round…

On 1-28-06 in Tunica he TKO’d Manuel Bocanegra (6-7-1): Anthony staggered Bocanegra in the 2nd round, and Bocanegra’s corner stopped the fight after the round…

2005 - on 10-15-05 in Lula, MS, he TKO’d Roy Bohannon (13-2): Anthony dominated, and Bohannon’s corner stopped the fight after the 4th round…

On 9-2-05 in Little Rock, AR, he TKO’d Jorge Reyes (21-21-2) at 1:38 of the 2nd round…

On 8-20-05 in Biloxi, MS, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Johnny Walker (18-16): scored 60-54, 60-54, 60-52…

On 7-26-05 in Memphis he TKO’d Carlos Valdez (8-5): at 1:21 of the 6th round…

On 6-18-05 in Memphis he knocked out John Middlebrooks (3-0): at 0:28 of the 1st round…

On 6-11-05 in Washington, DC, he TKO’d Wayne Fletcher (4-10-1): at 2:26 of the 6th round…

On 5-22-05 in Choctaw, MS, he knocked out Mario Lacey (7-9-4): at 2:20 of the 2nd round…

On 4-30-05 in Lula he TKO’d Martin Quiroz (2-7): in the 5th round…

On 4-23-05 in Tunica he TKO’d Michael Moss (10-26-2): in the 4th round…

On 4-9-05 in El Paso, TX, he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Edgar Pedraza (2-11-2): scored 40-36 on all three scorecards…

He debuted at the age of 19 on 9-25-04 in Memphis and knocked out Toris Smith (1-15) in the 2nd round…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: A lifelong resident of Washington, D.C., Anthony has six brothers and five sisters...his father was at one time the manager of a grocery store, but became involved in drug abuse, lost his job, and was in and out of jail...the family lost their house, as well, and Anthony and Lamont were homeless for a time...they lived in a homeless shelter for about two years before living on the streets again, sometimes sleeping in a Greyhound Bus station...

Anthony said, “I went through all of that stuff with Lamont. My brother and I did a lot of stuff together as kids, but I always ended up in Georgetown. I used to hang out with this guy named James, he was 17. He would take me to Georgetown a lot and showed me how everything worked. It was a few times I went by myself, because I already had it figured out.

“I was seven years old, up in Georgetown making money. I was pickpocketing people and stealing. That’s the first order, to survive. At this particular time, I don’t know what Lamont was doing, but I know what I was doing. I would hang out by the most common part, it’s like a movie theater, and then they got food courts and all like that. This was back in like, 1992. It was a whole bunch of stuff down there, and I saw those people walking around and I knew they had a lot of money.

“What I’d do, I’d go in the arcade game, where they’re paying attention to the game and not paying attention to me. So I would go in they pocket and take they money. My hands were so small, I never got caught. I used to come home with at least 100 dollars a day. You got to survive. And that’s why every time I fight, I point to my chest. I got ‘Survival A+’ on the right side of my chest. I got that when I was young, when I was about 17. I got it because it had meaning behind it, plus my coach had had it.

“I started boxing like, three months after Lamont did. I only did it because he was doing it. I didn’t know nothing about no boxing. I didn’t even like boxing. I wanted to be an actor when I was younger. I would go to a lot of talent shows, singing and dancing.

“Actually, Barry Hunter came in there one day. There was about five of us, and we walked in. Out of curiosity, I ran downstairs to see who this man was that was taking my brother to the gym every day. You know, I’m a showoff, and I stepped out of the crowd and I was throwing punches. He liked me. He was like, ‘I like you. You can fight a little bit.’ He told me to come up to the gym next week. I was so proud that he picked me out of the other children. I didn’t like it, though. They did too much exercise and stuff. They made me work, and I was just being the actor.”…

Barry Hunter said, “Lamont came into his own when he turned open class in the amateurs, that’s when he did most of his damage. He exploded. At the time that he did that, Anthony had broke his hand, I think it was just before the Golden Gloves in ’02, so we took him out. And that’s when everything kind of changed hands a little bit. Anthony came back and won the Gloves in ’03, we didn’t think he was going to make it back that fast. He was just as good as his brother was. He was just doing it.”...

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS: 2004 Olympic Box Offs, Cleveland, Oh., 132 pounds: on 2-27-04 he lost a 24-13 decision against Vicente Escobedo of Woodland, Calif…

2004 Olympic Trials, Tunica, Miss. - SILVER MEDALIST, 125 pounds: in the semifinals on 2-18-04 he won a 14-8 decision against Victor Ortiz of Oxnard, Calif.; in the finals on 2-20-04 he lost a 22-14 decision against Vicente Escobedo of Woodland, Calif. - Escobedo went on to make the Olympic team; in the challenger’s bracket on 2-21-04 he won a 26-19 decision against Karl Dargan of Philadelphia, Penn…

2003 National Golden Gloves, Las Vegas, Nev. - GOLD MEDALIST, 132 pounds: in his first fight on 5-27-04 he stopped Tony Cervantes of Kansas City, Mo.; in his second fight on 5-28-04 he won a 5-0 decision against Andres Chipres of Las Vegas, Nev.; in the quarterfinals on 5-29-04 he won a 5-0 decision against Rashad Ganaway of Little Rock, Ark.; in the semifinals on 5-30-04 he won a 3-2 decision against Danny Jimenez of Commerce, Calif.; in the finals on 5-31-04 he won a 5-0 decision against Jose Orozco of Fort Worth, Texas…

2001 National Junior Olympics, Marquette, Mich. - GOLD MEDALIST, 132 pounds: in his first fight he won a 5-0 decision against Travante Anderson of Jackson, Tenn.; in the quarterfinals he won a 5-0 decision against Michael Ortiz of Sylmar, Cal.; in the semifinals he won a 5-0 decision against DeAndre Latimore of St. Louis, Mo.; in the finals he won a 4-1 decision against Anthony Dirrell of Flint, Mich…

STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style, good skills and movement…has good punching power...has good natural athletic ability…physically strong, is always in good condition...had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 26 fights…119 total rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 4.5 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 73 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 1 (1-0)...9 rounds – 1 (1-0)...8 rounds – 3 (3-0)…