Former WBO middleweight champion, Peter Quillin (32-0-1, 23ko), has warned Brooklyn rival Daniel Jacobs that he will be out to take his WBA (reg) title on Saturday night in their 160 lb clash for local bragging rights.
Quillin – who has been lambasted by fans for perceived ‘ducking’ after vacating his title for a career high payday rather than fight Russia’s Matty Korobov last year, has also claimed that local-buzz is fervent ahead of the clash, which is being seen as of little real consequence for the division due to both men publicly hedging over the issue of a future fight with dominant Kazakh champion [IBF/WBA (sup)], Gennady Golovkin over recent times.
“The buzz around Brooklyn is I am the new champ. I came to New York with a small city mindset but big city dreams and now they are all coming true,” Quillin said, before expressing mild regret at having to beat-up a ‘friendly rival’ in order to pursue his wider world title ambitions, which don’t seem to include the feared Golovkin.
“My prediction for Saturday? A new champion of the world.
“I’ve never been in this kind of moment before where I had to fight one of my friends. You never want to hurt your friend, but in this fight, I want to hurt Danny so what does that tell you about our friendship right there?
“It’s going to be sort of like July 4th but on Dec. 5th. You are going to expect fireworks, two determined guys throwing punches trying to win for two different reasons and you’re going to get an entertaining fight.”
“I just have to let my hands go and not have a worry in the world because when you’re in there, you’re in there and there’s no way you can leave unless you leave in a stretcher, hand up or with a draw,” he added.
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