Jacobs Thinks Quillin Will Make 160 Pounds This Time

By Keith Idec

The last time Peter Quillin attempted to make weight the day before a middleweight title fight at Barclays Center, Quillin couldn’t get down to the 160-pound limit.

The former WBO middleweight champion promises that it won’t happen again Friday, when he is scheduled to get on the scale for his showdown with WBA title-holder Daniel Jacobs on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

“At that point I thought I couldn’t make [160] anymore,” Quillin told BoxingScene.com regarding his failure to make weight for his draw with Andy Lee on April 11 at Barclays Center. “But my last fight I showed people I could. I made weight last time, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

The 32-year-old Quillin (32-0-1, 23 KOs) weighed in at 160 pounds for his fifth-round knockout of Australia’s Michael Zerafa (17-2, 9 KOs) on Sept. 12 in Mashantucket, Connecticut. He couldn’t get lower than 160½ pounds for his fight against England’s Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs), who retained his WBO middleweight championship when their fight was scored even.

Jacobs (30-1, 27 KOs) doesn’t anticipate Quillin having another problem at Friday’s weigh-in, either.

“I don’t expect any issues,” Jacobs said. “Any smart man who knows the opportunities that will come after a victory in this fight, and how it could change their lives, I feel like everyone will be responsible, everyone will make sure everything’s the way it needs to be and I think he’ll come in on weight.”

The 28-year-old Jacobs acknowledged, though, that it’s much more difficult to make 160 pounds now that he’s older.

“It’s not as easy as when I was 23,” Jacobs said. “The last three pounds are always the roughest, but it’s not a big deal. It comes with the territory.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.