Grand Rapids' Peter Quillin beat Hassan N'Dam to win WBO middleweight crown

photo credit: Al Bello/Getty Images for Golden Boy Promotions

Peter Quillin, the undefeated middleweight who grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is now fighting out of New York City, put on a show in the Big Apple to become the first American boxer since Kelly Pavlik in 2010 to be crowned middleweight champion of the world, via a unanimous decision verdict against tough and durable defending champion Hassan N'Dam of Cameroon.

The fight card by Showtime at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn showcased Peter Quillin's firepower as well as Hassan N'Dam's durability and recuperating power. Peter Quillin, who goes by the moniker "Kid Chocolate," failed to melt Hassan N'Dam's fighting heart as he could not put the erstwhile champion away for good despite delivering 6 knockdowns in the 12-round WBO middleweight championship fight.

Both fighters came into the fight undefeated and identical impressive resumes: Peter Quillin at 27-0, 20 KOs and Hassan N'Dam at 27-0, 17 KOs. Peter Quillin have long aspired to be a world champion, while one of Hassan N'Dam's dreams while toiling in Europe was to "fight in front of American TV."

After the 12-round ebb and flow battle, both fighters have earned their keep and the respect of the boxing world. If there is a positive light in defeat, Hassan N'dam's tough but losing stand against the explosive Peter Quillin is one.

Despite the three judges (Julie Lederman, John Stewart and Don Trella) identical lopsided scorecards of 115-107 in favor of Peter Quillin, Hassan N'Dam went down fighting and was never out of the fight. For 12 rounds, he toiled and labored and gave the fight his best shot up until the last seconds of the last round, worthy of a champion defending his belt in hostile territory.

For the first three rounds, Hassan N'Dam was having his way with Peter Quillin. Fast on both hands and feet, he used his lateral movement and jabs to keep Peter Quillin at bay. But Peter Quillin was a patient lot and bid his time as he patiently stalked his prey.

And Peter Quillin's wait was not long as in the fourth round, his first punch thrown, a left uppercut, rocked N'Dam and staggered him backwards to the ropes. Quillin stepped in for the kill but N'dam was able to evade the attacks. But with 2:08 into the round, a counter left hook to the jaw downed N'Dam, but he was back on his feet in no time.

Peter Quillin stalked and attacked. Another solid blow to the jaw by his vaunted left hand almost toppled N'Dam if not for the ropes backing him up. Hassan N'Dam found himself being outgunned and overpowered by the American's guns and unloaded his jabs to keep his distance from his opponent's range. Peter Quillin, though, remained patient and methodical in his pursuit.

And with 41 seconds remaining in the round, Peter Quillin launched another bomb and caught N'Dam in the kisser and dropped him on his back. The shot from Quillin's killer left, left N'dam still wobbly after beating the referee's count, but Hassan N'Dam was able to withstand Peter Quillin's onslaught. Two slips to the canvas later, the bell rang to mark the end of the round and Hassan N'Dam staggered back to his corner to end his ordeal.

Surprisingly, Peter Quillin went gunshy in the fifth round as Hassan N'Dam came back to fight. Showing movements and his fast hands, he jabbed and jabbed his way around that prompted Peter Quillin's corner to quip during the intermission, "This is your night, let's get rid of him. You gave that round off."

Peter Quillin's hard hands came alive in the last minute of the sixth round. A short left to the jaw dropped Hassan N'Dam in the corner of the ring. Again, Hassan N'Dam picked himself up and proceeded to fight. With 26 seconds to go, a 3-punch Quillin combo landed on N'Dam's face and dropped him on his behind. Again, Hassan N'Dam was up on his feet again in no time.

Rounds 7, 8 and 9 saw Hassan N'Dam coming to life again as he went on the offensive. He was the busier fighter as he peppered Peter Quillin with his jabs, uppers and short, choppin' shots. Peter Quillin's passive stand prompted Eric Brown, his cornerman, to remind the American, "Do you want this title? You let this guy hang around unnecessarily..."

The 10th and 11th rounds saw Hassan N'Dam eager to engage and trade with Peter Quillin. Hassan N'Dam had the moves but Peter Quillin had the power. Although N'Dam gave Quillin and his corner fits in the 10th round, Quillin's hard blows buckled his legs on at least two occasions.

Peter Quillin's corner urged him again before the beginning of the twelfth and final round, perhaps seeing that their fighter was slowing down:

"Don't let him survive, don't give him time, you can't stop punching on this kid."

But Hassan N'Dam had other plans on his mind and intensified his 12th round comeback. Looking fresher, he assaulted with everything he had and pushed Peter Quillin to the ropes. Peter Quillin was under intense attack and found himself in the corner while Hassan N'Dam was coming forward, throwing everything in his arsenal but with 27 seconds to go in the round -- Boom!

Peter Quillin snuck a counter left and landed on the target. In the blink of an eye, Hassan N'Dam was down on the seat of his pants, gloves on his side touching the canvas, more embarrassed than hurt and shocked.

Again, Hassan N'Dam showed his durability and was up on his feet again and engaged Peter Quillin again, but was dropped on one knee by a right straight to the chin with less than 10 seconds left in the final round.
The bell rang for the last time while referee Eddie Claudio was administering the count and Hassan N'Dam survived the brutal war on his feet, losing the fight but with his pride intact.

In the postfight interview, an emotional Peter Quillin looked back at his journey as a prizefighter.

"I want to thank Grand Rapids, Michigan for making me a fighter and New York City for making me a man."

Note: This article was previously posted on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

Road To Glory: Edwin Rodriguez bombs his way to victory

In the main event of HBO Boxing After Dark's "Road To Glory" fight card at the MGM Grand's Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT, Edwin Rodriguez made his case very clear by drubbing into submission erstwhile unbeaten boxer Jason Escalera in the 8th round of their 10 round bout for the USBA super middleweight belt.

In the aftermath of the one-sided carnage, Edwin Rodriguez, who is undefeated with 22 wins and 15 knockouts on his resume, proclaimed that he is ready to step up and face the likes of Kelly Pavlik or any other marquee fighter who wants a piece of his scalp.

"Today I wanted to send a message and I believe I did. I'm ready now. My promoter and manager have done a great job moving me along and if they think I'm ready, I'm ready."

Caught in the euphoria of his win, Edwin Rodriguez even vowed that he is willing to move up to light heavyweight and challenge former WBC titlist and Ring Magazine Champion Jean Pascal if the latter obliges their friendship notwithstanding.

"Pascal is a good friend, but this is business. If he wants to get it on, I'm down as well."

The fight with Jason Escalera (13-1, 12 KOs) was an easy one for the bigger and heavier Edwin Rodriguez as he used and exploited his advantages in talent and power over his raw and inexperienced opponent to perfection. Rodriguez ballooned to 186 lbs from 166 lbs while Escalera rehydrated to 176 from 165 lbs after the weigh-in the day before the fight.

Edwin Rodriguez outworked, outwitted and outslugged Jason Escalera round after round en route to an 8th round TKO when the referee Steve Smoger finally stopped the one-sided fight just 8 seconds into the fateful round when Rodriguez cornered and continued to pummel the obviously hurt and almost defenseless Escalera in the corner. The dazed Jason Escalera, with blood oozing from his busted right ear from Rodriguez' vicious hard lefts, submitted to the referee's verdict without protest.

The omen of things to come came early just seconds into the first round when Edwin Rodriguez, nicknamed "La Bomba," unleashed his bombs right away and caught Jason Escalera early in the chin with a power shot that sent his mouthpiece out of his mouth and onto the canvass. He would receive several more hard blows downstairs and upstairs from Rodriguez's hard two-fisted attacks up until 2:05 remaining in the round when the referee had to stop the beatdown so that Jason Escalera could have his mouthpiece back in place.

The short respite was to no avail as Edwin Rodriguez resumed bombing his way into Jason Escalera's porous defense, landing 49 of his 82 powershots in the round. What Jason Escalera lacked in experience and skills, though, he more than made up for in his huge heart and showed that he possesses a granite chin, as he absorbed everything that his opponent threw his way while applying token resistance and trying to shake off the cobwebs in his head.

It was all downhill from there for Jason Escalera as he tried to wage an uphill battle with an opponent who is not only better skilled and talented than him, but also has a vast array of weapons in his arsenal.

The story of the fight was the glaring contradiction between the two protagonists in poise, savvy, experience, power, talent and skills. The story of the fight was Edwin Rodriguez's constant pressure and consistent overhands, hooks and upper cuts to Jason Escalera's ineffective counterpops. It was also the story of Escalera's 'flying mouthpiece' and Rodriguez's accuracy with his power shots as Jason Escalera's mouthpiece was dislodged from his mouth on numerous occasions as a result of Edwin Rodriguez's bombs connecting with his mouth, jaw and chin.

Punch Statistics showed that Edwin Rodriguez stamped his class over the hapless Jason Escalera in this particular fight. Rodriguez connected 195/335 power punches for a 58% accuracy compared to Escalera's woeful 65/222, 29% connection rate and outlanding him 231/537 for a 43% clip compared to 95/440, 22% total punches.

Yes, the slow, methodical and deliberate beating that Edwin Rodriguez delivered on Jason Escalera is a mirror of his maturity and readiness for bigger fights ahead. The verdict is still out there though for Edwin Rodriguez, and a future fight with the likes of Kelly Pavlik and the other big names in the division will show his real worth as a prizefighter.

The win was doubly sweet for Edwin Rodriguez since it happened on the birthday of his twins, who were born 'premature' six years ago to the day.

Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner