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| Kid Chocolate was on full blast at Foxwoods |
Mashantucket
— Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin is sick of answering
the same question. You know the one. Was it really a good move to give
up your WBO middleweight title and a million dollar plus payday against
Matt Korobov to follow boxing's Pied Piper, Al Haymon, into an unknown
fistic future? According to Quillin, it definitely was. "When somebody
can revive boxing the way he's done, you have to respect that," Quillin
told me in regards to the controversial figure. In his second fight
under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner, Quillin, Brooklyn, NY, 160, 32-0-1, 23 KOs,
now beltless and coming off a disputed draw against current WBO
middleweight champion Andy Lee, took on an unknown Australian named Michael Zerafa,
Melbourne, Australia, 162, 17-2, 9 KOs, at Foxwoods Casino in
Mashantucket, Connecticut last Saturday afternoon at the Grand Theater,
formerly known as the MGM Grand.
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| "Pretty Boy" got hit by flying chocolate |
It was a showcase fight for
Quillin and he shined brightly as the powerful puncher that he still is. Scrappy but not terribly skilled, Zerafa managed to avoid a
patient Quillin's power early in the fight, even landing a hard right
hand and an uppercut in the third round that got Quillin's attention and
won the underdog the round on my card from press row. As the pace
picked up in the fourth, Quillin began to pick his opponent off with the
jab and sneaky left hooks. In the fifth, an entertaining fist fight
finally broke out and Quillin took his chance to pounce, pulverizing
Zerafa with a clubbing right hand on the ropes that sent the Aussie down
and out, flat on his back, where he was taken from the ring on a yellow
stretcher that matched his bright ring attire.
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| Zerafa was taken out on a stretcher |
The official
time of the scary knockout was 1:06 of the fifth. The winner then
jaw-jacked back and forth with "regular" WBA middleweight champion Danny "Miracle Man" Jacobs,
seated ringside as an announcer for PBC, and the pair are reportedly
scheduled to tussle December 5 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, this
according to promoter Lou DiBella. During the post-fight presser,
Quillin was handed a cell phone by DiBella and on the other end was his
battered opponent, Michael Zerafa, calling from the local hospital to
say that he was fine. The fighters exchanged pleasantries before an
emotional Quillin reminded the media in attendance that boxing is a
sport and that the last thing he wants to do is hurt somebody
permanently.
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| What the future looks like |
The card, aired on NBC television and
promoted by DiBella Entertainment, also featured an IBF super
welterweight championship title fight between the aging champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage (Detroit, MI, 153, 34-6, 19 KOs) and undefeated upstart challenger Jermall Charlo (Houston, TX, 153, 22-0, 17 KOs). Twin brother of Jermell Charlo,
boxing fans can be excused if they can't tell the pair apart. The
brothers look incredibly similar and both have recently seen world title
opportunities slip through their fingers. Not to be outdone, Charlo did
his best to distinguish himself from his own kin as early as the first
round with a chopping right hand that sent Bundrage crashing to the
canvas with a stunned look of shock on his face. Charlo pressed his
overwhelming speed advantage in the second round, scoring another
knockdown against the defending champion, this time off a short left
hook. The in-ring disaster for Bundrage continued unabated into the
third round which saw Charlo nearly blow "K9" out of the ring with two
more knockdowns, the second of which caused referee John Callas to call a
halt at 2:33.
With the dominating knockout victory, Charlo is now the
IBF junior middleweight champion and he put the entire 154 pound
division on notice that he is a true force to be reckoned with. "I am
the future of boxing," proclaimed the proud new champion in the ring
with his brother Jermell by his side. After an impressive performance
like that on network television, he might just be right.
Said the
defeated but upbeat 42 year-old ex-champion, "You win some and you lose
some."
In the third televised fight of the day, Hugo Centeno (Oxnard, CA, 161, 23-0, 12 KOs) defeated Lukasz Maciec
(Poland, 159, 22-3-1, 5 KOs) by unanimous decision in an eight
rounder. Neat and tidy, Centeno resembles polished junior welterweight
Jose Benavidez in the ring and he used his advantages in size and skill
to outpoint his plodding Polish opponent by score of 79-73, 79-73, and
78-74.
Undercard Results: Super featherweight Gary Stark Jr. (Staten Island, NY, 25-3, 8 KOs) defeated Anthony Napunyi
(Kenya, 15-16, 8 KOs) by six round unanimous decision (59-55, 58-56,
58-56) in the opening bout of the afternoon. Bantamweight prospect Antonio "Another" Russell (Washington, DC, 4-0, 3 KOs) overwhelmed Manuel Rubalcava (Mexico, 2-15) to score a second round knockout at 1:26. Super featherweight Titus Williams (Elmont, NY, 2-0, 1 KO) crushed Benjamin Burgos (New York, NY, 2-13-1) with an overhand right for the knockout in the first round of a scheduled four. Light heavyweight Marcus Browne (Staten Island, NY, 16-0, 12 KOs) blasted out a faded Gabriel Campillo
(Madrid, Spain, 25-8-1, 12 KOs) in the first round with an impressive
display of power, scoring two knockdowns to bring about a compassionate
stoppage from Arthur Mercante Jr. at :55 of the first.
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| Credentialed coverage |
Campillo, who came in overweight by two pounds, hasn't been the same since he was crushed by
Sergey "The Krusher" Kovalev in 2013 at nearby Mohegan Sun. Female super bantamweight sensation
Shelito Vincent (Providence, RI, 15-0, 1 KO) outworked and outclassed
Brittany Cruz
(Thornton, CO, 10-7-2-2) over the eight round distance, winning by
unanimous decision. Cruz came to the ring with a smirk on her face but
Vincent managed to wipe it off with a methodical attack on the inside of
her taller, leaner opponent. Super featherweight
Bryant Cruz (Port Chester, NY, 16-0, 8 KOs) defeated
Jonathan Perez
(Columbia, 33-13) by a wide eight round unanimous decision in an
entertaining scrap that went off in the ring after the NBC broadcast
ended. Fans who stuck around saw a nice little fight to end the night. Perez thought he won the bout and so did a few folks seated at
ringside.
Images & Words by Jeffrey Freeman
Originally published on The Sweet Science
