On Saturday, December 5, 2015, Daniel Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs) silenced critics with an emphatic first-round stoppage victory over the previously unbeaten Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (32-1-1, 23 KOs).
Going into the fight, many boxing fans and writers–including myself–questioned Jacobs’ ability to take Quillin’s power punches.
But to our surprise, the fight never ended up being about Jacobs keeping Quillin off of him or how Jacobs would handle Kid Chocolate’s power shots.
Instead, Jacobs seized control of the fight early on after he landed a solid right hand that shook Quillin to his core.
“I was surprised he was hurt that quick,” said a jubilant Jacobs during the post-fight press conference.
Jacobs smelled blood and immediately pounced on Quillin, bombarding him with a barrage of punches until he landed one last cracking right that sent a spaghetti-legged Quillin into the ropes where referee Harvey Dock decided to stop the fight.
“Peter was on shaky legs,” said Jacobs. “It’s a coin toss, he [Dock] could have stopped it, he could not have stopped it. If I was Peter I would have taken a knee.”
Although the pre-fight media predictions were pretty much even for the Battle of Brooklyn, the Showtime fan vote that was posted immediately before the first bell did have Quillin ahead 55 percent to 45 percent in terms of who would win.
“Peter is one the best middleweights in the world,” said Jacobs. “This is an upset. Fans thought he would win.”
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if advisor Al Haymon sets up an immediate rematch between Jacobs and Quillin, or if the new king of Brooklyn will go back to facing low-level opposition.
“I want to fight the best,” said Jacobs. “Every fighter has flaws, I’m just getting better and better.”
“No, I’m not the best middleweight in the division. It’s not my job to see where I fit in the division,” said Jacobs.
Most people would argue that Gennady Golovkin–who holds the IBF middleweight title, IBO middleweight title, the interim WBC middleweight title and the WBA Super world middleweight title–is the best fighter in the division.
But a fight to settle the score between the “regular” and “super” WBA title holders–Jacobs and Golovkin–is highly unlikely.
Who would you like to see Daniel Jacobs fight next?
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All quotes obtained first hand by Vladimir Lik
All photos by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
