By Keith Idec
Daniel Jacobs isn’t overly concerned because light-punching Sergio Mora dropped him during the first round of his last fight.
Jacobs actually considers it a blessing in disguise because it reminded the WBA middleweight title-holder that he needs to be more mindful of defense, especially against a powerful puncher like Peter Quillin.
“It was my fault that situation happened because I just knew I was gonna knock out Sergio Mora,” Jacobs said on a conference call Thursday to promote his Dec. 5 , all-Brooklyn battle against Quillin at Barclays Center. “So I came in carelessly, with my hands down, and in throwing an overhand right I got caught with the perfect shot. It happens. At the end of the day, that was a great learning experience for me, to be able to be a little bit more cautious, and be a little bit more defensive-minded, even when you have a guy hurt.
“Because when a guy’s hurt, he still could be dangerous. So going into a fight with a guy like Peter Quillin, you know, it was a perfect lesson for me to learn in my previous fight because now my defense is tight and now I’m defensive-minded. … I wouldn’t say [I’m] defense-first. It’s just being a little bit more defense-minded. And [after] that lesson that I learned from Sergio Mora, I’m pretty sure it won’t happen in this fight.”
Jacobs (30-1, 27 KOs) defeated Los Angeles’ Mora (28-4-2, 9 KOs) by second-round technical knockout once Mora sustained an ankle injury while falling toward a second knockdown in their Aug. 1 fight at Barclays Center.
Quillin (32-0-1, 23 KOs) is well aware of Mora dropping Jacobs, but the former WBO middleweight champion doesn’t consider it a factor entering their 12-round, 160-pound championship match (Showtime).
“I honestly don’t think about that because every fight and every fighter is different,” Quillin said. “For me, if I think about that too much, then I’ll be drowned in the fact that that could happen. And actually those types of things can happen to you.”
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.
