Andy Lee-Peter Quillin: BScene Staff Predictions

By Jake Donovan

Adrien Broner opened up the first ever Premier Boxing Champions event on NBC, though his win over John Molina Jr. was preceded by his showing up above the contracted limit for their televised opener.

Peter Quillin opens up the second edition of PBC on NBC, as he faces Andy Lee in a scheduled 12-round middleweight bout. The bout is a non-title affair, due to Quillin failing to shrink down to the 160 lb. divisional limit.

Hopefully that trend changes in future PBC telecasts. For now, we are still left with a favorable matchup as the pair of Top 10 middleweights collide at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The bout serves in chief support to a 12-round catchweight bout between top junior welterweights Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson.

How we even reached this point is a bizarre tale in and of itself. Lee landed in the right place at the right time in fighting for a vacant title last December. Quillin was due to defend versus then-unbeaten Matt Korobov, a routine mandatory title fight that would have netted both fighters career-high paydays.

Citing familial issues—his wife recently giving birth and his uncle battling with (and ultimately succumbing to) cancer—Quillin opted to vacate his title, thus giving up a $1.4 million payday.

Korobov went on to fight for the vacant title, with Lee emerging from the mix after another middleweight—Billy Joe Saunders—passed on the fight to instead face countryman Chris Eubank in an all-Brit grudge match.

Lee (34-2, 24KOs) went on to win the title, scoring a come-from-behind 6th round knockout, to go along with his come-from-behind 5th round knockout of John Jackson earlier in the year. The Irish southpaw claimed his first major belt, doing so on his second try after suffering a 7th round knockout at the hands of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in their June ’12 tilt in Texas.

The intention for Quillin was to ride out the storm and contend for his old title. The Cuban-American—based out of Brooklyn, in fact within walking distance of Barclays Center—has been out of the ring since a 12-round decision over Lucas Konecny last April, a period of inactivity brought on by his decision to pass on the aforementioned planned title fight with Korobov.

While a win is still very much a possibility on Saturday, regaining his old title is no longer on the table. Lee will remain champ regardless of the outcome, after Quillin failed in two separate attempts to get down to 160 lbs.

The two camps agreed to proceed with the fight, which plays in primetime on free-to-air NBC.

Read on to see how the staff at BoxingScene.com believes the middleweight action plays out.

BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: ANDY LEE vs. PETER QUILLIN

Ryan Burton (Lee TKO11): “Quillin will be winning on the cards but the Irishman's flair for the dramatic will surface again with a late TKO.”

Jake Donovan (Quillin Dec.): “Perhaps the storybook ending would be for Lee to once again find a way to pull a rabbit out of a hat with yet another miracle KO. The style mismatch here suggests that his luck runs out. The wild card could be whether Quillin actually gave an honest effort in trying to get down to 160 lbs. Assuming his energy isn’t sapped, Kid Chocolate remains unbeaten—though still beltless—by fight’s end.”

Lyle Fitzsimmons (Quillin Dec.): “Lee is tough as nails, so this will be a serious litmus test for Quillin. If he’s more than just flash, he should start a second reign. If he’s anything less, Lee will prove it.”

Peter Lim (Quillin TKO): “The more well-rounded and defensively sound Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) should win this bout easily provided he doesn't walk into one of Lee's sneaky, jaw-shattering right hooks. Given the way Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) electrocuted his last two opponents with that punch, you can be sure Quillin has been training to avoid it like the Ebola virus. Quillin will land the first and last punch of every exchange, break Lee down and stop him in the middle rounds.”

John MacDonald (Quillin Mid-To-Late Stoppage): “The champion has proven he possesses the power to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but this will likely be a battle of chins and Quillin has the better whiskers.”

Takahiro Onaga (Quillin TKO9): “Lee's Irish luck runs out. Quillin wins but missing weight prevents him from reclaiming his old title.”

Cliff Rold (Quillin KO): “Lee had a nice Cinderella run in 2014. The glass slipper shatters Saturday as Quillin reminds everyone what happens when miracle shots can't bail out the too-fragile Lee.”

Victor Salazar (Quillin late KO): For all the negativity Quillin may or may not have brought on himself, he still can fight. Andy Lee has proven he can by out boxed by the likes of Craig Mcewan, Matt Korobov, and even John Jackson. However he has the equalizer in the right hook that has knocked out those 3 previous opponents mentioned. However I think Eric Brown will have Quillin prepared for just that and Quillin who can crack himself will score a late stoppage against Andy Lee.

Reynaldo Sanchez (Quillin UD): Lee up set the world against Korobov when he beat the Russian last December. Quillin avoid the Korobov match and now he need to put his better to get a chance.

Alexey Sukachev (Lee KO7): Quillin is a favorite, all right. But I don't believe you can get off the fight for no reason and without any carma punishment. Carma is a bitch, and she will strike right at Peter with a left hook of the champion right when he is far ahead on points.

Stacey Verbeek (Lee late TKO): “Lee has stated that he plans to come out fast against Quillin to dictate the tone and take advantage of Quillin's rust and more conservative style. Getting behind on the scorecards early will then force Quillin to come forward open up and subject himself to Lee's mighty right hand resulting in Lee winning by a late round TKO.”

Totals:

Quillin–8

Lee–3

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox