Jacobs Eager To Finally Fight Quillin, Not Golovkin

By Keith Idec

Daniel Jacobs reiterated his desire to face Peter Quillin later this year during an open workout Wednesday to promote his middleweight title fight Saturday night against Sergio Mora.

When asked about the long-discussed, all-Brooklyn bout between him and Quillin becoming a reality if he overcomes Mora, Jacobs made it clear that’s the fight he wants next.

“I’ve been hearing that,” Jacobs said. “I’ve been hearing bits and pieces about that. That’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time, my whole career, actually – well, since I’ve returned [from cancer]. It’s something the fans have been asking for, surprisingly. Out of all the top middleweights in the division, they want to see me against Quillin. So hopefully we can make it happen.”

Jacobs, who last year said he wasn’t ready to challenge middleweight monster Gennady Golovkin, again seemed less than interested in facing Golovkin.

“That’s not really my job, to figure out how big is it, for it to happen,” Jacobs said regarding fighting Golovkin. “I mean, [a Golovkin fight is] something I eventually would want to happen. How soon? I’m not sure. But like I said before, Quillin is on my mind at this particular moment. So after Quillin, we’ll worry about the future.”

The 32-year-old Quillin (31-0-1, 22 KOs) settled for a split draw with England’s Andy Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs) in his last fight, April 11 at Barclays Center. The former WBO champion failed to make the middleweight of 160 pounds for the Lee fight, but has not moved up to super middleweight.

Jacobs (29-1, 26 KOs) will defend the WBA middleweight title against Los Angeles’ Mora (28-3, 9 KOs) in the first of two bouts ESPN will broadcast from Barclays Center (9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT). The 28-year-old Jacobs scored a fifth-round technical knockout win against Australia’s Jarrod Fletcher (18-3, 10 KOs) to win the then-vacant WBA middleweight championship last Aug. 9 at Barclays Center.

Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) won the interim WBA middleweight title in August 2010, when he knocked out Colombia’s Milton Nunez in the first round in Panama City. The WBA eventually elevated the Kazakh knockout artist to “super” champion status in the middleweight division. He’ll defend that 160-pound championship against Montreal’s David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs) on Oct. 17 at Madison Square Garden (HBO Pay-Per-View).