Peter Quillin Knocks Out Michael Zerafa in 5th, Eyes December Date with Daniel Jacobs

Peter Quillin was pleased, but it came with a caveat. The former WBO middleweight champion looked on as Aussie Michael Zerafa was being lifted out of the ring on a stretcher after “Kid Chocolate” stopped in the fifth round of the main event of the PBC on NBC card from Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Conn.

Zerafa (17-2, 9 KOs) was overmatched from the start. He tried using his movement, pesky jab and sporadic combos throughout, but it never phased Quillin, who patiently stalked his opponent down with his crushing power. Quillin rocked his foe a few times in the contest but it wasn’t until the fifth when his punches short-circuited Zerafa’s nervous system.

In the fifth, Zerafa fell into a slugfest with the Brooklyn fighter and it backfired. After exchanging wild punches for several seconds, Quillin staggered his opponent with a short left hand to the head. When Zerafa stumbled into the ropes, Quillin drilled him with a perfect straight right hand to the head. The punch instantly dropped Zerafa, who crumbled in a heap along the ropes, out cold.

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Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. immediately waived if off and signaled for the ringside doctors. The fifth-round knockout became grim when Zerafa was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital.

“It’s hard to celebrate a performance like this when somebody gets taken out on a stretcher,” said Quillin (32-0-1, 23 KOs). “That’s not the way I want to finish my job. Unfortunately this is part of the game. I want to keep good sportsmanship and I just want him to be able to get home to Australia.”

Quillin’s mood eventually changed and he switched his attention to Daniel Jacobs, who was sitting ringside.

“I want Danny Jacobs,” he proclaimed, and then proceeded to call him out over the ropes. “It’s too bad because I like Danny. It’s unfortunate that he’s a black American, so that means I gotta eat his chocolate, too. Danny Jacobs is the champion. I’m the challenger and I want to become champion again.”

Jacobs was quick to counter Quillin’s friendly-but-serious attacks.

“I’m from Brownsville,” Jacobs said. “I never ran and I never win. Let’s do this. I’m the champion, I’m the challenger. It’s going to go down.”

The Jacobs-Quillin fight is scheduled to happen Dec. 5 in Brooklyn. It’s slated to be held at Barclays Center. No official word on which network will televise it.

Charlo Obliterates Bundrage

If ever there was a moment where the proverbial torch was passed, it occurred Saturday afternoon. In the co-main event of Premier Boxing Champions, Houston’s Jermall Charlo obliterated Cornelius Bundrage, stopping him in the third round.

Charlo established his dominance immediately, using his jab to keep Bundrage away. A short right to the ear dropped “K-9” in the first and when Bundrage climbed back to his feet, it was clear that the end was near.

Charlo dropped the 42-year old champ onto the seat of his trunks in the second from a telephone pole-like jab and when Bundrage got back up, the frustration on his face was evident. It didn’t get any better, because a round later, he was rattled by a series of jabs and then plastered by a left hook. Bundrage took a few more punches upstairs and dropped to his knees.

With the end looming, Charlo chased him around the ring for the better part of the third until he finally detonated a perfect left-right to the face. Bundrage crumbled in a heap, prompting referee Johnny Callas to halt it at 2:33 of the third, allowing Charlo to capture the IBF junior middleweight title.

“I’m the champion of the world. Of the world!” shouted Charlo, who improved to 22-0 with 17 KOs. “I couldn’t ask for anything better. It feels good. I told you. I’m going to do what I’m gonna do. I am the future of boxing.”

Bundrage (34-6, 19 KOs) was disappointed in the loss, but vowed to return.

“I just gotta stay active,” Bundrage stated. “I felt rusty. Especially competing with younger guys like this, I gotta stay busy. But he took care of business like he was supposed to. I’ll be back.”

In the swing bout, 2012 Olympian Marcus Browne took out veteran Gabriel Campillo in just 55 seconds. “Sir” Marcus rocked Campillo with a sizzling left hook early and once Campillo’s knees buckled, Browne swarmed him until he took a knee. Shortly after, a crushing right uppercut to the stomach dropped Campillo again.

Mercante immediately waived it over and Campillo (25-8-1, 12 KOs), a former WBA light heavyweight champion, never complained. Browne (16-0, 12 KOs) continues to impress, destroying arguably his toughest opponent to date.