Danny Jacobs defeats Peter Quillin via first round TKO

Photo by: Edward Diller/DiBella Entertainment

In a surprise finish to what was expected to be a very competitive bout, WBA Middleweight World Champion Daniel Jacobs shocked undefeated challenger Peter Quillin with a first round TKO on Saturday in front of 8,443 fans at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

"I hope he's okay," 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."

Brooklyn's Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs) won the "Battle For Brooklyn," a matchup of top middleweights facing off in the prime of their career in their hometown.

One minute into the fight, Jacobs landed a straight right to Quillin's temple and pounced with an onslaught of punches while his opponent was against the ropes. Quillin, on very wobbly legs, stumbled forward and referee Harvey Dock looked in Quillin's eyes and halted the fight without the challenger ever touching the canvas.  Quillin did not protest the stoppage.

Photo by: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME 

After the fight, Dock told reporter Jim Gray that Quillin (32-1-1, 23 KOs) could not comprehend where he was and "was not able to continue."

Quillin and Jacobs are friends who both learned the sweet science in the gyms of Brooklyn.  In the promotion leading up to the fight, both boxers displayed class and respect toward each other, and after the fight, the good sportsmanship continued.

"I can't think of a better person to lose to than Danny Jacobs," said Quillin.

Jacobs echoed those sentiments.

"Me and Peter go back to the Golden Glove days," said Jacobs. "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."

The fight, which only lasted 1:25, begged the question of a potential rematch.

"I definitely would give him a rematch," Jacobs continued. "I'm willing to fight him next if that's what the fans want."

Quillin seemed to disagree with the stoppage until watching the replay during his post-fight interview.

"That's right on the temple," Quillin said.  "In the moment you don't know what happens until you see it in the replay."

In the undercard, Jesus Cuellar defended his WBA Featherweight World Championship with a unanimous decision over Jonathan Oquendo.

"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."

Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) was the busier fighter from the outset, throwing nearly 1,000 punches in the 12-round championship fight, compared to just 637 for the challenger.  Cuellar initiated the action and pressed forward, but his Puerto Rican opponent would not engage for most of the bout.

Oquendo (26-5, 16 KOs), who was cut over his left eye from an accidental clash of heads in the fifth, was knocked down midway through the fourth.  Replays showed that Oquendo tangled his feet with his southpaw opponent.

The win, which was scored 116-111 twice, 120-107, likely sets up a major fight at 126 pounds for the Argentine Cuellar in 2016.

"First we're going to rest and then we're going to determine what's next," Cuellar said. "We'll have two more fights at featherweight and then move up in weight.  Hopefully we get Leo Santa Cruz next."

After the fight, Oquendo acknowledged that he didn't properly implement his game plan.

"I have to give credit to Cuellar.  I never got to use my game plan and he fought a good fight and he's a good champion," Oquendo said. "I needed to start more aggressive but I started boxing. That was my mistake. The head butt made it hard for me to see as well."

Long Island's Chris Algieri defeated Erick Bone via 10-round unanimous decision (95-94, 97-92 twice) in a fast-paced, all-action fight.

"Erick said that he was going to have surprises, but I had a few of my own in there," Algieri said.  "I boxed a little bit and slugged more than I should have, but I was just having fun.  He's got a good punch, he's an underestimated fighter and you could tell he was in great shape."

The back-and-forth fight featured plenty of in-fighting in the center of the ring.  Algieri (21-2, 8 KOs), who landed 49 percent of his power shots, floored Bone (16-3, 8 KOs) with 20 seconds left in the eighth round.  However, upon replay, the knockdown looked more like Bone's foot became tangled with Algieri.

The ninth-round featured non-stop action, with each fighter throwing over 100 punches, but it was clear that the Ecuadorian Bone was gassed and had little left in his punches as the fight neared the end.

"This is big," said Algieri.  "Bone is a real tough guy and I felt in control.  I thought the fight was mine the whole way.  I wanted to get the knockout, but he was in great shape.  I'm looking forward to big fights in 2016."

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services