Khan vs. Peterson Kicks off an Exciting Period for British Fight Fans

As 2011 draws to a close, the next few months should have British boxing fans on the edge of their seats.

Scheduled to fight in December are British titleholders Amir Khan and Carl Froch, former British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion Derek Chisora and up and coming Welterweight Kell Brook.

Khan goes into his Dec. 10 bout with Lamont Peterson as the heavy betting favourite. Unless Khan has an off day, his movement and slick style should be enough to beat the steady, yet unspectacular Peterson.

Fighting in Washington D.C, Peterson has the hometown advantage, though Khan will likely have the backing of a sizable chunk of the 12,000 crowd in the Washington Convention Centre.

Lamont will rely on landing the cleaner punches and trying to hit Khan's oft-questioned chin, which he believes is there to be hit. In reality, Khan's greater volume of punches should bring him a victory.

A week later in Atlantic City, Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic finally comes to a close when Nottingham-born Carl Froch faces Andre Ward for supremacy in the Super Middleweight Division.

On the same card, unbeaten Kell Brook makes his stateside debut against Luis Galarza. Galarza has been picked specifically to not give Brook too much trouble and gain exposure in the U.S. Brook should look to take full advantage of the opportunity and will look to knock Galarza out early.

Before these, the first fight of British interest is Derek Chisora's bout with 'The Nordic Nightmare' Robert Helenius on Dec. 3.

Chisora's career has derailed somewhat in 2011. The year started with the possibility of a large payday against Wladimir Klitschko. After this was sidelined due to Klitschko's fight with David Haye, Chisora lost to Tyson Fury in July, making any possible fight with Klitschko a long way off.

Chisora's attempts to get his career back on track with a win against Helenius will likely be futile. Helenius is possibly the best heavyweight away from the Klitschko's and Chisora is simply too slow to contend with the hard-hitting Finn. He would do well to make it through all 12 rounds.

Away from scheduled bouts, there are plenty of fights in the pipeline with British boxers.

The biggest of these potential fights is a possible match-up between Scotland's Ricky Burns and Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez.

After defeating the hard hitting Michael Katsidis in impressive fashion, Burn's became the mandatory challenger to Marquez's WBO belt. However after Marquez's great performance against Manny Pacquiao, he may be after a bigger payday than Burns could offer.

Away from Marquez, Burns may look to an all-British fight with London's Kevin Mitchell, a fight in which he would be the heavy favourite.

WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly is looking to add the WBA title to his quickly expanding list of honours. The unbeaten Welshman is hoping to take on current titleholder Beibut Shumenov early in 2012 as he bids to unify the division.

Tyson Fury is looking to continue turning heads, possibly against Bermane Stiverne. The Canadian is ranked third by the WBC and is looking to challenge Vitali Klitschko. This could be derailed if Klitschko can make a fight against David Haye.

If Haye decides to come out of retirement to make the fight then Stiverne could end up fighting Fury, who would see it as a great opportunity to realise his goal of fighting a Klitschko.

If a fight against Stiverne cannot be made then Fury has expressed an interest in fighting WBC 'regular' champion Alexander Povetkin. Povetkin is a dangerous competitor and there is a good chance that Fury is not ready for him. Stiverne would be a much better bet.

Hopefully these fights can be made and fans can enjoy an exciting 2012.

What are your thoughts on the state of British boxing at the moment? Who are the winners and losers in the fights mentioned? Comment below!