NEW YORK — WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs stopped previously undefeated challenger Peter Quillin at 1:25 of the first round in an all-Brooklyn bout Saturday night at Barclays Center.
Jacobs improved to 31-1 with his 28th knockout.
Jacobs landed a straight right to Quillin's temple a minute into the fight and followed with a flurry of punches while his opponent was against the ropes. Quillin (32-1-1) stumbled forward and referee Harvey Dock stopped the fight.
''I hope he's OK,'' Jacobs said. ''I was patient and when I came with an uppercut I knew I hurt him and that's when I went for the kill. I told him I love him. Me and Peter go back to the Golden Glove days. I respect him to death, but I knew this fight would be my night. There are no lucky shots in boxing. Obviously, I caught him with a shot. Once I knew I had him hurt I kept going.''
Quillin seemed to disagree with the stoppage until watching the replay.
''That's right on the temple,'' Quillin said. ''In the moment you don't know what happens until you see it in the replay. This is a time you sit with your family and figure out what you have to do. I have a lot of options, maybe a rematch is the best option. I can't think of a better person to lose to than Danny Jacobs.''
On the undercard, Jesus Cuellar successfully defended his WBA featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Jonathan Oquendo.
Cuellar (28-1) received winning scores of 116-111, 116-111 and 120-107. Oquendo dropped to 26-5.
''We knew the fight would be difficult but we accomplished everything we wanted to during training camp,'' Cuellar said. ''The only thing that was left was the knockout, but because of the movement of his head it was impossible.''
