Daniel Jacobs stuns Peter Quillin with knockout in 85 seconds

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer

NEW YORK -- Crown Daniel Jacobs the king of Brooklyn. And it took only 85 seconds.

In a shocking result, Jacobs badly hurt and stopped his Brooklyn neighborhood friend, "Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillin, in a first-round knockout victory to retain his secondary middleweight title Saturday night at the Barclays Center, where the crowd of 8,442 was bitterly disappointed by the stoppage.

But Jacobs badly hurt Quillin twice -- although he did not knock him down -- and by the time referee Harvey Dock wrapped his arms around Quillin to signal an end to the bout, Quillin's legs were gone, he was glassy-eyed and he did not seem to know where he was.

Jacobs retained his 160-pound belt for the third time, barely broke a sweat while doing it, and claimed borough bragging rights in a fight that had been talked about for the past few years.

Although Jacobs and Quillin -- who earned $1.5 million apiece -- kept things cordial during the buildup to the fight, they had to put their friendship aside. After the fight, there was nothing but love between them as they embraced.

"I told him I love him," Jacobs said. "He's a brother of mine. Me and Peter Quillin go back to the Golden Gloves days. I have nothing but respect for him, his family -- but I knew it would be my night."

Said Quillin, "There's no one better to lose to than Danny Jacobs."

Quillin came out as the aggressor, but Jacobs was patient as he tried to counter with a right hand over Quillin's lazy jab. After missing a couple of times, Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs), 28, landed a clean overhand right over the jab and badly rocked Quillin.

"Right on the temple," Quillin said as he watched a Showtime replay of the first punch that hurt him. "That was a good shot."

Jacobs followed up and Quillin fell into the ropes, although Dock did not call it a knockdown.

"I was throwing big shots," Jacobs said. "There's no lucky shots in boxing. Obviously, I caught him with a shot. Once I knew I had him hurt, I kept going."

Quillin (32-1-1, 23 KOs), 32, was in serious trouble, and Jacobs went to him and unloaded a barrage of punches. He eventually caught him with two clean right hands to the head. The second one badly hurt Quillin, who staggered to the side and lost his legs. He hopped around momentarily in cartoon-like fashion in an attempt to regain his legs, but they were gone, and so was Quillin, as Dock stepped in to wave off the fight. The crowd, which had been on its feet from the opening bell, roared in disbelief.

"Once I had him hurt, I was thinking to myself, 'Oh, my God, ref stop the fight,'" Jacobs said. "The best man won today.

"I was able to catch him with the right. I saw his eyes and it looked like his equilibrium was off. I'm not a referee, but if I was, I probably would have still given him another opportunity to continue."

Added Quillin: "This is what happens in the game of boxing. You go up there and sometimes you come up short like that."

According to CompuBox punch statistics, Jacobs landed 27 of 53 punches (51 percent) while Quillin connected on just two of 16 blows (12 percent).

Jacobs did not gloat over his career-best victory.

"I want to say thank you to Peter Quillin for allowing me to bless the ring with him," Jacobs said. "He's a fine gentleman. I hope he's OK. Speed kills, talent and skill. I was patient and I came with an uppercut, I knew I hurt him and I went for the kill."

Quillin, a former titleholder, vacated his belt last year rather than make a mandatory defense because he said he wanted to spend time with his newborn son as well as his dying uncle, who had been a second father to him. He battled to a draw with world titleholder Andy Lee in April but could not win the belt because he missed weight at the weigh-in the previous day. But he was in tremendous condition to face Jacobs and made no excuses.

"This is what a fight is all about. He's fighting something I can't understand," Quillin said of Jacobs, who was able to resume his career after surviving a rare form of bone cancer that nearly killed him. "I'm fulfilled by fighting someone with such a great story. I aim to inspire people, win or lose."

When the prospect of a rematch came up, Quillin did not jump at it.

"I think this is a time to sit with your family and think what you will do," Quillin said. "I think I have options. Maybe a rematch."

Jacobs said he was open to giving Quillin a second fight.

"I definitely would give him a rematch," Jacobs said. "I want to fight the best out there but I'm willing to fight him next if that's what the fans want. He's fighting for the same things I'm fighting for."