Quillin-Jacobs: The Battle for Middleweight Bronze

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It appears as though Peter Quillin and Daniel Jacobs is all but announced as Lou DiBella confirmed that the fight is, in fact, being targeted for December 5th at the Barclays Center.  There has been no official announcement, but a confirmation is expected soon enough. Even though the fight has been targeted for quite some time and Quillin and Jacobs have been on each other’s radar for their last several outings, it would make sense for this fight to be announced quickly so that it can have time for a thorough promotion.

 

This has been the date that most outlets have reported since before Jacobs’ last fight with Sergio Mora. However, Quillin made it a point to call out Jacobs in his last post-fight interview. Quillin sent his overmatched opponent to the hospital and then sought out Jacobs in the crowd. Jacobs, who seemed prepared for what to do next, casually made his way to the nearest camera and microphone for a seemingly staged impromptu interview on the prospects of a fight with Quillin.

 

Quillin-Jacobs marks the 3rd big middleweight showdown, although it pales in comparisons to the October 17th showdown between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux on HBO, and it nowhere in the realm of Miguel Cotto’s lineal title defense against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on HBO PPV. Still, two middleweights ranked in the top 5 or so facing off is a big deal even if it seems watered down by timing.

 

Wanting to face the best is a great quality in prize fighters, but respect is doled out accordingly and it is typically given to those fighters that take the bigger risks first. Quillin and Jacobs were staring each other in the face for years, even before the PBC brand permanently locked in its fighters and locked out any other threats, so to reward these men for not just an obvious choice, but the only choice is a bit concerning.

 

The truth is the fight should’ve happened already, unless of course they were going to take other risks in between, which they did not. Now, the fight is stripped of all of its allure because even though the winner will gain favor over the other and catapult themselves within the ranks of PBC’s middleweight stable, they won’t earn all that much with the understanding that the biggest fights are outside their grasps.

 

With Golovkin-Lemieux, the winner can fight Cotto-Canelo, although that isn’t set in stone by any means. However, Quillin-Jacobs is the easiest fight for both men on the road to middleweight glory. Quillin and Jacobs is a tough fight, but as grueling as it should be the fight will be much more manageable than the task of landing a major fight with the best fighters ahead of both of them. Quillin-Jacobs could be a knockdown, drag-out contest and that won’t compare to the difficulty of landing Cotto-Canelo winner or Triple G—not that anyone is anxious to fight him.

 

In the end, Quillin-Jacobs is being fought for the middleweight division’s version of the silver medal, that is, of course, assuming two gold medals are being awarded. The point is a great fight is a great fight and Golovkin-Lemieux and Cotto-Canelo is proof of that. However, these fights earned their status as compelling matchups whereas Quillin-Jacobs is simply the best PBC can do at this point.

 

At the end of the year, 6 of the best middleweight fighters in the world will compete, and 2 of them will have a bright 2016 to look forward to while the losers of those two bouts could still end up in a better position than the winner of Quillin-Jacobs.