By Allan Fox: Peter Quillin (28-0, 20 KO’s) did a great job of knocking down WBO middleweight champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam six times en route to winning a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night to capture his WBO 160 pound title. That was definitely a good first step for the 29-year-old Quillin in making a name for himself in the sport. But fans want more from him than that.
They want to see Quillin take on the biggest names and the best fighters at middleweight, and not look to avoid the top guys. One top guy that hardcore boxing fans badly want to see Quillin fight next is WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s).
This is the guy that no one seems to be in a big hurry to fight after the way that Golovkin blew through a really tough fighter in Grzegorz Proksa last September in a 5th round TKO. Proksa has power in the same league as Quillin and is arguably tougher guy to fight because of his southpaw stance and what not. But Golovkin just moved Proksa down and knocked him down three times in the fight before the bout was eventually halted.
Quillin is pretty much a no name in the United States. He’s fought on some undercards but he’s not well known among casual boxing fans is more or less in the same boat at Golovkin in terms of being an unknown in America. Quillin would like to get fights against the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez, but that of course isn’t going to happen. Chavez Jr. fights for Top Rank, and Martinez isn’t going to waste time fighting an unknown like Quillin.
This means that if Quillin is going to make a name for himself he’s going to have to take some chances and fight the likes of Golovkin to make it happen. Quillin won’t make a name for himself just defending his WBO title against the little known contenders they have ranked, because there’s nobody ranked that will give him much of anything. Quillin will be resigned to fighting on undercards for his entire career unless he takes a body step and goes after Golovkin. He’s not going to get a fight against IBF middleweight champion Daniel Geale because he’s already booked up with fights well into next year, he’s not going to get Chavez Jr, and he’s not going to get a fight with Martinez as I’ve previously said. Quillin won’t pick up a name by simply defending his WBO title over and over again against the weak opposition they have ranked. No, the only thing he can do is take on Golovkin to try and hold down multiple titles.
I wish I could say that Quillin will take the chance to fight Golovkin but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Quillin looked awfully vulnerable in beating N’Dam last Saturday and Golovkin would be a real nightmare for him because all those shots that N’Dam was hitting Quillin with last Saturday would be potential knockout shots for Golovkin if he were the one landing them. Quillin showed a serious hole in his game with his inability to fight on the inside. That’s an area where Golovkin is an expert and I can see him getting in close and knocking Quillin out cold in two or three rounds.
Quillin’s promoters will likely keep him away from Golovkin for the remainder of his career unless Golovkin suddenly starts to lose it at some point.
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