By Allen Fox: One opponent that’s being mentioned for middleweight contender Andy Lee (27-1, 19 KO’s) for his next fight on the undercard of the Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin fight on March 17th is unbeaten Freddie Roach-trained contender Peter Quillin (26-0, 20 KO’s).

He’s one of several opponents that are being considered for the 27-year-old Lee to fight. Lee needs a quality fighter to get the attention of the boxing public because he’s still being put in safe fights even after six years as a pro. Lee needs a slight step up fight and Quillin would give him that.

Lee is wants to fight Sergio Martinez in the near future but to make that fight a more interesting one, Lee needs at least one solid win on his resume to give it some weight because he’s fought too many B level fighters and not fought anyone really risky yet. Lee was knocked out by Brian Vera, a decent 2nd tier fighter in 2008. It took Lee three years to finally face Vera again and avenge the defeat, which he did October in a 10 round unanimous decision victory.

Lee, #1 WBO, #3 WBA, #6 WBC, has fought the following guys in his last six fights:

Brian Vera
Alex Bunema
Craig McEwan
Troy Lowry (40-years-old)
Michael Walker
James Cook

Those are decent B level fighters but there’s no real quality there and that’s obviously hurt Lee in him winning over fans. He needs at least one good win and Quillin would be perfect for him.

Quillin, 28, has excellent right hand power but no jab to speak of, no inside game and not much of a left hook. Like a lot of Roach trained fighters, Quillin’s inside game is nonexistent. That’s where he’s very vulnerable. He also has no defense to a straight right hand, as we saw in his fight against the light hitting McEwan last November. Quillin did a good job of stopping McEwan in the 6th round and beating him quicker than Lee did earlier in the year in a hard fought 10th round TKO win. However, Quillin was hit a lot in that fight and if not for the fact that McEwan couldn’t punch. Quillin might have been in deep trouble.

Lee, a southpaw, can punch with excellent power with both hands, and if he’s able to land as frequently as McEwan did, I think this could be a huge mismatch. As it is, I see Lee winning this fight fairly easily. Quillin only has his pot shot right hand to rely on and little else going for him. He doesn’t throw a lot of punches and mainly just waits around to try take opponents out with one big shot. Lee would be all over him with right hooks and straight lefts. Lee also has an excellent jab and he’d be snapping Quillin’s head back all night with it.

I’d be surprised if Quillin’s management were to allow him to take the Lee fight because he’s still so raw even after six years as pro. Roach hasn’t done a whole lot in developing this guy’s skills and he would be over his head against Lee.