Daniel Jacobs vs. Peter Quillin: Winner, Recap and Reaction

If you blinked, you missed it.

Daniel Jacobs (31-1, 28 KOs) handed Peter Quillin (32-1-1, 23 KOs) the first loss of his career Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, stunning the 32-year-old fighter and all observers with a first-round TKO victory to retain his WBA world middleweight title. 

The bout between the two Brooklyn-based fighters (and good friends) lasted all of 85 seconds. Jacobs rocked Quillin with a right hook to the jaw—which was perfectly set up by a left jab that occupied his opponent's hands—and then unleashed an unrelenting barrage of punches that Quillin was unable to smother. 

Jacobs stood Kid Chocolate up at the ropes, hammering away with left and right hooks. Quillin escaped the ropes momentarily, only for Jacobs to stagger him with another hard right hand to the side of the head. Quillin stumbled back, and the referee caught him in the arms and quickly waved his hands to call the fight. 

Here's the end of the fight, courtesy of Showtime Sports: 

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael relayed the crowd's reaction to the carnage:

A quick stoppage when nobody hits the canvas doesn't usually sit well with boxing fans. Saturday Night Boxing's Adam Abramowitz wasn't a fan of the official's decision, though he noted a conciliatory Quillin declined to protest the call:

Showtime commentator and boxer Paulie Malignaggi looked to Quillin's eyes as proof that the stoppage was the right decision:

Despite the quick result, there were no signs of bad blood between the two after the bout, per Bad Left Hook:

Fight fans anticipated fireworks for this contest between two powerful punchers, but nobody would have expected the bout to end so suddenly. There was no preamble to the beatdown. It was all Jacobs, who displayed a remarkable killer instinct.

Jacobs, a cancer survivor, perhaps drew extra motivation from his own struggles, which he alluded to during an interview with USA Today (via BoxingJunkie.com's Mike Coppinger): 

"

Guys like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, stood for something outside of boxing. They had to rep their culture, their race. They had to fight for so much more. And I’ve always dreamed of being the people’s champion. I don’t have to fight for freedom of the black man. I fight for the cure for cancer, and bringing attention and awareness to cancer.

"

On Saturday, he looked like a man who had been in bigger fights—and won.

It's a devastating result for Quillin, who will have to put in a lot of work to restore his image. His decision to pass on a fight with Matt Korobov and vacate the WBO middleweight title in September 2014 was not well-received. He followed that up with an easy fifth-round knockout win over the unheralded Michael Zerafa in April and now has this shocking defeat to contend with.

In a middleweight division packed with talent at the top, Quillin—who is a humble, consummate professional—is going to find it difficult to box his way back to relevance, especially with his prime athletic years behind him.

Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix gave his thoughts about the road forward for Jacobs after his awesome display:

Jacobs should have his pick of challengers after the raucous display. A bout with the winner of the Andy Lee-Billy Joe Saunders fight would be a big one for the division, drawing plenty of attention both in the United States and across the pond in the United Kingdom. Lee fought Quillin to a draw in April and is no stranger to big fights. The 26-year-old Saunders is undefeated and would be a prime target, should he get past Lee on December 19.

If Jacobs wants to challenge himself, he could go directly after Gennady Golovkin, who holds the WBA super world middleweight title, a distinction that makes Jacobs' own WBA title seem irrelevant.