Photo by Brant Wilson/RBRBoxing
On Saturday, December 5, 2015, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin suffered a devastating first-round knockout loss at the hands of WBA “regular” champion, Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
The fight was billed as the “Battle for Brooklyn” and many people expected a tough, close contest. But, as is often the case in boxing, the unexpected happened when Jacobs landed a huge right hand early on which sent the undefeated challenger reeling until Harvey Dock stepped in to call a halt to the action.
Perhaps too tough for his own good, Quillin tried to survive Jacobs’ “rumble” onslaught with movement and power punches of his own, instead of clinching or even taking a knee.
Quillin acknowledged before the fight that this was the biggest opportunity of his career and with such a disastrous outcome, one could have understood if Quillin would have avoided any post-fight interviews.
But in what was his greatest showing of strength and class, Quillin stood tall in defeat and gave credit where it was due.
“Danny is fighting with a great story, he’s inspiring a lot of people and who better to lose to than someone who is fighting for a bigger reason than I could ever imagine,” said Quillin to Showtime Boxing‘s Jim Gray during the post-fight interview.
The fight stoppage was mildy debated by Showtime Boxing’s commentating team and many boxing fans took to social media to voice their varying levels of displeasure about Dock’s decision to wave off the bout.
@301whereimfrom count him out or allow him to continue….I've seen boxers survive this.
— Jimmy (@Gatmaan) December 6, 2015
@RBRBoxing i think it was a quick one but right. Peter's health is the most important to look After
— yili (@chilloyilo) December 6, 2015
Quillin spoke about the stoppage and the difficult job Dock and all referee’s have.
“Harvey was doing his job. I always send prayers for Prichard Colon. The people who have those jobs have to do what they can to avoid those situations,” said Quillin.
Quillin continued to reflect on his loss at the post-fight press conference, stating that a move to Super Middleweight might be in his near future.
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered”]I’m glad you guys can see me here. I’m still the person that I was before the setback. I can handle this with a humble heart. I can take a setback, this happens in life. As for a rematch, anything is possible. I need to talk it over with the people who mean a lot to me. Of course I want one, but we need to think of the next plan. I’m considering going to 168, but I need to sit down and think about the best logical situation for Peter Quilin. – Peter Quillin[/otw_shortcode_quote]
Should Quillin decide to move up in weight, there are a lot of fighters who are aligned with Al Haymon that could provide exciting matchups for Quillin including Lucian Bute, James DeGale, the Dirrell brothers–Anthony and Andre–and Badou Jack, to name a few.
Do you think Peter Quillin should seek an immediate rematch with Daniel Jacobs or explore his options at 168 pounds?
Press conference quotes obtained first hand by Vladimir Lik
Header photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
