Peter Quillin and his team after his victory over Gabriel Rosado on Saturday night (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)
By Chris Robinson
On Saturday night, Oct. 27, WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin found himself in a rough and tumble battle with Gabriel Rosado inside of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Despite dropping his Philadelphia foe in the second round with a quick left hook, Quillin had to battle through some rocky moments, as Rosado regrouped and forced the fight for many of the following rounds.
Much of the action was give and take, with Quillin landing the sharper punches while Rosado had success imposing his physical strength and unleashing combinations along the ropes.
Rosado would suffer a nasty cut above his left eye in the ninth round, with the gash being bad enough for referee Allan Huggins to elect to stop the action to check it out one round later.
Despite Rosado being well into the fight, the ringside physician elected to halt the action, granting Quillin with the TKO victory as he improves his record to 30-0 with 22 knockouts.
Speaking exclusively to ThePugilistReport.com in his dressing room after the fight, Quillin admitted that the second defense of his belt was no walk in the park.
“It was hard-earned,” Quillin stated. “It wasn’t no easy fight. He was game. He was trying to be the champion and that’s all I can ask for.”
Quillin could be seen standing up to some solid shots from Rosado, especially when the two men were in the trenches, yet he insists he was never in serious trouble.
“I felt him hit me one time where I can remember, but not to the point where I felt like I was in jeopardy,” Quillin stated. “Later in the rounds I had a cramp in my rib and I was telling my corner that ‘I got a cramp.’ And as a fighter, you always got to find a way to work through that type of stuff.”
At 160 pounds, the two most lucrative fights for Quillin appear to be showdowns with either WBA champion Gennady Golovkin or WBA titlist Sergio Martinez.
There seem to be some serious hurdles in making such matches, however, due to Quillin’s connection with Showtime and HBO’s affiliation with Golokvin and Martinez.
Maybe that’s why Quillin wasn’t in the mood to call anyone out when asked about his immediate future.
“The sky is the limit,” stated the Brooklyn native. “I’ve got Al Haymon, Golden Boy, and they are going to put something together for me and I hope the fans liked whatever they get from me.”
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com