By Jake Donovan
As the fourth quarter of the boxing schedule continued to load up with middleweight action, speculation surfaced as to what was in store for the likes of Daniel Jacobs and Peter Quillin.
The answer: a head-on collision.
While three fights are officially in the books (Andy Lee vs. Billy Joe Saunders, Oct. 10; Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux, Oct. 17; Miguel Cotto vs. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Nov. 21), there is still some work to be done before Jacobs vs. Quillin can be made official. Quillin first has to get past Australia’s Michael Zarafa (17-1, 9KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout on September 12 at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. The bout airs live during an afternoon edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC.
Assuming the former middleweight champ prevails, it’s on to a tentatively planned December 5 showdown at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, from where both fighters hail.
“It's a fight that's a long time coming,” Ron Rizzo, DiBella Entertainment VP of Operations told BoxingScene.com. “If Peter gets through his fight in September, then we move to a fight that both guys truly deserve.”
Once finalized, the bout will mark the second straight appearance at Barclays Center for both fighters.
Jacobs (30-1, 27KOs) did his part to lead to the upcoming fight, albeit in anti-climactic fashion in claiming a 2nd round injury stoppage win over Sergio Mora in the very same venue. Both fighters hit the deck in the opening round, but Jacobs was hailed as the winner after Mora fractured his right ankle on his way to the canvas during a knockdown in round two and was unable to continue.
The bout was Jacobs’ fourth at Barclays, a 30-minute train ride from the Brownsville section of Brooklyn where he was raised. His first appearance was dually celebrated – it marked the first ever boxing event at the newly erected arena in Oct. ’12, and also marked his triumphant ring return after overcoming a battle with osteosarcoma, a severe form of bone cancer that nearly claimed his life.
Less than two years after his return, Jacobs became the first cancer survivor in history to claim a major title (even if a secondary version of the belt). The feat took place at Barclays last August, stopping Jarrod Fletcher in five rounds to win a middleweight belt. He has since defended twice – a 12th round stoppage of Caleb Plant this past April in Chicago, followed by his stoppage win over Mora.
Quillin (31-0-1, 22KOs) also saw his championship roots sewn at Barclays, to which he can walk from his Brooklyn home. The Cuban-American claimed his first title with a 12-round win over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam on the same inaugural show at the venue that hosted Jacobs’ comeback fight.
The rest of his reign wasn’t quite as celebrated. Three defenses followed before vacating the crown last summer rather than proceeding with a mandatory defense versus Matt Korobov.
Speculation ran rampant that Quillin dumped the belt at the request of adviser Al Haymon given the politics involved; Korobov is promoted by Top Rank, run by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who for years has feuded with Haymon.
The middleweight himself attributed the move to coming at a period in his life that also marked the birth of his child and wanting to spend quality time in the final months with his Eric Munson, Quillin’s uncle and father figure who passed away following a lengthy bout with pancreatic cancer.
His lone fight since then came in April, fighting to a 12-round draw with Lee, who—with a knockout win over Korobov last December—owns the very belt Quillin willingly relinquished. The draw verdict was fitting, as Lee would have remained champion anyway, since Quillin was unable to make the middleweight limit during the pre-fight weigh-in.
Despite his recent follies, the charismatic middleweight is viewed as one of the good guys of the sport, the same type of appreciation bestowed upon Jacobs.
“There's no two greater people. You talk about a fight that New Yorkers can embrace, these guys are gentle,” notes Rizzo. “You can't put a black hat on one and call him the villain, but this fight doesn't need that. It’s just a great match.”
Further details of the possible clash—such as confirmation of venue and network (either NBC or ESPN) will not be confirmed until after the outcome of Quillin’s fight on the September 12 PBC on NBC show.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
