Peter Quillin made the first defense of his WBO Middleweight Title tonight against the tough game Fernando Guerrero at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
In the build up leading up to the fight both men showed each other a great deal of respect with neither of them talking one bit of trash to the other. All of that went out the window tonight once the bell rang, as they each put on spirited effort which resulted in a very entertaining fight.
In the opening round both men came out working behind the jab. The majority of the round was fought in the center of the ring. Surprisingly the shorter Guerrero stayed on the outside using his jab as a range finder. Quillin landed the only telling punch which was a sharp right hand with one minute to go in the round.
Quillin controlled round two with his jab setting up his power shots well behind it. He landed a big left hook early on that visibly shook Guerrero. As the round wore on Quillin landed a perfect one two that sent Guerrero to the canvass. Guerrero rose, appearing very hurt, only to be sent to the canvass seconds later with another huge right hand. He managed to make it out of the round
In round three Quillin came out aggressively looking to measure Guerrero with his jab trying to set up the big right hand. Quillin managed to land a few good right hands, but Guerrero seemed to be taking them a little bit better in this round. Guerrero stated to close the distance trying to move the fight to the inside. He was able to land some nice short lefts and body shots up close.
Guerrero seemed to have changed tactics as the fight wore on, realizing that he was having little success on the outside. He was able to dip, bob, and weave his way inside past Quillin’s jab while catching him with short crisp combinations on the inside. Toward the end of round four, Quillin regained the momentum landing a short right hand that staggered Guerrero once again.
Quillin kept Guerrero at the end of his long jab keeping him on the outside as he did in the early rounds while sneaking in some sharp hard right hands in round five. As the round wore on both men started to exchange with each of them landing some good shots, but Quillin seemed to be able to take the shots better. Quillin stole the momentum at the end of the round with his signature right hand, a punch that he just couldn’t seem to miss all night.
In round six Guerrero had his best round, as he was able to break through the jab and defense of Quillin, getting inside while landing some real crisp short left hands, followed up by some nice right hooks. This seemed to be his best round and possibly the only one that he won all night.
Guerrerro came out fast in the seventh, trying to pick up where he left off in the sixth by attempting to work his way inside, but Quillin timed him perfectly coming in with a monstrous uppercut followed by three right hands that sent him staggering into the ropes as his glove touched the canvass with the referee ruling it a knockdown. Guerrero rose on shaky legs and Quillin seized the opportunity to go in for the kill, as he landed one more signature big right hand, this time finishing off Guerrero for good at the 1:30 mark, scoring a seventh round TKO.
It was entertaining while it lasted, but Quillin proved to be just too much for the game Fernando Guerrero.
