Telegraph Sport has learnt that the sites being considered for the HBO televised bout include Detroit, Washington DC and Montreal on Dec 10. Washington is emerging as the favoured venue. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, told Telegraph Sport that Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, would be one of the invited VIP guests. Khan attended a dinner at the White House at the behest of Mrs Clinton last week.
"I haven't spoken to my manager and my trainer, and they haven't told me for certain yet, but I knew that we are 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.
However, Schaefer later confirmed that the fight was all but signed.
Peterson added: "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," said 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."
Meanwhile, Khan's most sought-after opponent Floyd Mayweather Jnr faces WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz here on Saturday, in a fight he is expected to win, and maintain his 41-fight unbeaten run. However, Danny Garcia, the trainer of Ortiz, said he expected no favours for Mayweather from veteran referee Joe Cortez, labelling the ring artist "a sneaky, dirty fighter".
Garcia made no bones about the concern held having Cortez refereeing the contest at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"Yes, Floyd is a sneaky, dirty fighter," Garcia told Telegraph Sport. But then, many great boxing champions have been, right under referees' noses. It just comes with the territory. Call it sleight of hand, or whatever… Muhammad Ali used to hold his opponents by the back of the head with one glove – and let fly with the other. He got away with it. Time and again.
Mayweather knows how to mix it. Sure, he is brilliant defensively, but has the canny ability to look after himself in the ring. Par excellence. Garcia, as expected, believes his man has a method for Mayweather. He also believes that too many of Mayweather's opponents have fought him "in the same way".
"They show him respect," said Garcia. "The only thing I told Victor from studying Floyd is I see a lot of his elbow. That's illegal. The same as Victor kicking him. The elbow can cut, or break his nose. Floyd is a sneaky, dirty fighter."
"Using the shoulder is one thing; but when you use the elbow that's when you don't want to fight. That's what Floyd does. I like Joe Cortez [as referee], but I want a clean fight. We are here to beat Mayweather."
"Mayweather also turns his back, and if he does that, which you can't do in boxing, Victor will hit him in his back. We think Mayweather will run."
Garcia also studied Mayweather's contest with Ricky Hatton, who was knocked out by the American in the same ring here in 2008. "Hatton was putting pressure on him, but he had no defence, jumping in with his hands down, leaving his jaw up. Floyd waited for that and he got him good. Victor would have beaten Hatton, too. Hatton was too small, too open for Floyd Mayweather."
I expect Ortiz to pose some problems for Mayweather in the opening salvos, perhaps until the fifth round, until the unbeaten five-weight world champion takes over, and wins on points, or by a late stoppage.
Amir Khan to face Lamont Peterson in IBF light-welterweight defence
