Peter Quillin vs. Michael Zerafa: Winner, Recap and Reaction

Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin (32-0-1, 23 KOs) knocked out Michael "Pretty Boy" Zerafa (17-2, 9 KOs) on Saturday in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The ending was explosive and scary.

After putting up a good fight through a little over four rounds, Zerafa was hurt when Quillin landed a crushing left hook that wobbled him. The tough Australian maintained his balance for the moment, but a hard right hand would connect shortly thereafter.

Zerafa was still up, but he stumbled into the ropes. Quillin followed him and then landed a titanic straight right hand that crumpled Zerafa to the floor. Immediately, you knew it wasn't an ordinary knockout by the glassy look in Zerafa's eyes. Przemek Garczarczyk of FightNews.com captured the final sequence:

The referee didn't bother to count, and Quillin was named the winner by knockout. When it was over, PBC acknowledged Quillin's victory and the vicious ending to the bout:

Moments after the fight was called, a stretcher was brought into the ring, and Zerafa was examined by a ringside physician and taken to a local hospital with his head and neck immobilized.

In the days leading up to the fight, many criticized the bout because it looked like a gross mismatch on paper. Quillin is a former world champion with heavy hands, and he was facing a 23-year-old opponent who had never fought anyone even close to Kid Chocolate's level.

There was also a dramatic weight difference in the ring. The fight was contested at a 163-pound catchweight, but per the PBC on NBC broadcast, Quillin weighed as many as 180 pounds Saturday after rehydrating. The broadcast didn't share Zerafa's fight-day weight, but Quillin was visibly bigger. 

Because of this, Quillin was not only much better than his opponent, but he was also much bigger and stronger. Bleacher Report's Kevin McRae and ThaBoxingVoice.com's Peter Soprano took PBC and the sport's matchmaking system to task for the unfortunate events:

Some good news came from the ringside doctor. Bad Left Hook quoted the doctor's positive initial assessment of Zerafa's condition:

While the early word is encouraging for Zerafa, his pre-fight quote tweeted by PBC seems a bit eerie. He took a major step up in competition and felt as though he had nothing to lose. 

That could have proved to be an incorrect assessment of the risk-reward dynamic in this bout.

Quillin was appropriately conflicted after the fight. During his post-fight interview, he expressed concern for his fallen opponent. He did, however, go through with his ceremonial distribution of chocolates after the win. 

He also called out fellow Brooklyn native (Quillin was born in Chicago but claims the BK) and WBA regular middleweight champion Danny Jacobs for a December bout. Jacobs, who works as an analyst for PBC, accepted the challenge and said in an interview with PBC on NBC that the fight would take place in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on December 5.

That's a fight that will get the attention and respect of the boxing community if it comes to fruition. Before Saturday's win, Quillin hadn't fought since drawing with Andy Lee in April. Despite the way the fight ended, he didn't look sharp against Zerafa.

His power was apparent, but Zerafa had some success with counter combinations on the inside. The latter lacked the power to make a difference with his shots. Punching power is no issue for Jacobs, though he was made to look vulnerable in his last fight, a win by technical knockout over Sergio Mora in August.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Mora dropped Jacobs early before being knocked down himself. He injured his leg and couldn't continue, but many—including myself—would've loved to see how that fight would have finished had Mora not been injured.

At any case, a Quillin vs. Jacobs battle is intriguing and good for the sport. Hopefully, Quillin can make the 160-pound weight limit and there are no setbacks between now and December.

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