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Next level: Jacobs’ star rises higher after first-round TKO of Quillin

Next level: Jacobs’ star rises higher after first-round TKO of Quillin
Photo by Steve Schnibbe

A mega-star is born.

Danny Jacobs used three big right hands and a few lighting-quick flurries to earn a dramatic technical knockout of Peter Quillin at 1:25 of the first round in a World Boxing Association middleweight title bout in front of a 8,443-strong crowd at Barclays Center on Dec. 5. The Brownsville boxer and cancer survivor saw the previously unbeaten Downtown denizen Quillin stagger after a hard right-hander in the first round and never let up. Jacobs could see in Quillin’s eyes that he was hurt, so he rushed his staggering opponent, throwing punch after punch after punch.

“When I came in with the heavy shot, I knew I hurt him,” Jacobs said. “Then when I went in for the kill.”

Quillin (32–1–1, 23 knockouts) escaped for a moment, but Jacobs (31–1–0, 28 knockouts) landed two more hard rights to Quillin’s left temple and watched him stumble into the ropes. Quillin wobbled, and his eyes glazed over as he rose. Referee Harvey Dock stopped fight. Quillin never took a knee to compose himself.

“I was able to catch him with the right, and I seen his eyes,” Jacobs said. “It looked like his equilibration was off. So I just corralled him and threw big shots.”

Quillin saw no controversy in the stoppage and felt the referee had his long-term health in mind.

“Harvey was definitely doing his job,” he said.

Jacobs’ aggression quickly ended a fight that was two years in the making. He has been calling out Quillin, the former World Boxing Organization champ, in hopes of landing a fight that would help his career and settle the battle for who is the best fighter from Brooklyn.

Promoter Lou DiBella said Jacobs is more than Brooklyn’s best after his display of speed, accuracy, and power.

“He’s a big star,” DiBella said. “He is one of the best middleweights in the world.”

Jacobs said he wasn’t sure if he was a superstar.

But the results don’t lie.

The victory is Jacobs’ third title defense and the most impressive of the bunch. It puts him in the running for a championship unification bout in the future against International Boxing Federation champ Gennady Golovkin, World Boxing Council title holder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, or World Boxing Organization champion Andy Lee. Jacobs is willing to fight any of them and is open to taking on the Irish fighter Lee around St. Patrick Day.

“I feel like I am on fire now,” Jacobs said “I’m willing to take on the best.”

He had to wait until he was a champ himself to get a shot at Quillin, a fighter he has been friendly with since their days fighting in the Golden Gloves. Jacobs is willing to give him a rematch, but Quillin may not immediately take him up on that.

Quillin, who is 1–1–1 in his last three fights, took the defeat in stride. He’s a husband and father, so having it happen at this point in his career allowed him to be humble in defeat and look at the big picture.

“I don’t want to talk like this is the end of ‘Kid Chocolate,’ ” he said, referring to his boxing nickname. “It’s just a different plan that I didn’t know about.”

And Jacobs’ stock continues to soar. Others talk about him as the sport’s new superstar, but Jacobs doesn’t see himself that way just yet.

“I still have a lot to prove,” he said. “I’m a young champion. I’m the new kid on the block.”