Daniel Jacobs' Star Status Cemented After Sensational 1st-Round Knockout

It took Daniel Jacobs only 85 seconds on Saturday night to become a boxing star.

The Miracle Man caught his longtime friend and former middleweight titlist Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin with a colossal overhand right early in the first round and unleashed a blitzkrieg-style assault to stunningly end the contest before the 90-second mark to retain his middleweight title.

There was a bit of consternation in the crowd about whether or not referee Harvey Dock had given Quillin a quick hook, but whenever a guy eats over 25 power shots—according to CompuBox (h/t ESPN.com)—in that short a span and has glassy, vacant eyes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

You never want to be the guy who has to live with the what-if, something Quillin himself referenced at the post-fight press conference when discussing the tragic Prichard Colon situation.

Jacobs’ win, especially given how impressive he looked in dispatching an opponent who entered as the favorite despite being the challenger, obviously catapults him to the forefront of the middleweight conversation.

His promoter Lou DiBella, a veteran of the New York boxing scene for years and one of the smartest and hardest-working matchmakers in the industry, dished on what the win does for Jacobs at the post-fight presser.

“I think Danny’s a star, man,” DiBella said in response to Bleacher Report’s question. “He’s one of the best middleweights in the world.”

“Danny’s just a star at life. Look at what he’s done in his career and how he’s come back. Knockout loss, cancer, an unusual type, a bad type, a type a lot of people don’t recover from. This is a guy, who when you’ve gone through what he’s gone through, you don’t fear people.”

Jacobs has come full circle in that way—from a former hot prospect who suffered a stunning knockout loss to Dmitry Pirog, to winning the fight of his life against bone cancer, to becoming the first cancer survivor to capture a world championship.

Rich Schultz/Associated Press

Now he's fulfilling his promise as a star in the sport with a shocking knockout of his own that elevates him into the middleweight conversation with the Gennady Golovkins and Canelo Alvarezs of the world.

Jacobs certainly has more work to do. After all, this is only one big win, but he’s entered the conversation. That's not the same as saying he's on par with those guys yet.

He’s the type of star you can root for without reservation. As good a guy outside the ring as he is a fighter inside it, Jacobs remained completely humble even in the face a career-making performance.

“I told him I love him [Quillin]," Jacobs said after the fight. "He's a brother of mine. Me and Peter Quillin go back to the Golden Gloves days. I have nothing but respect for him, his family—but I knew it would be my night.

"Once I had him hurt, I was thinking to myself, 'Oh, my God, ref stop the fight.'"

You could—and should—reasonably argue that Jacobs deserves nothing less than the third position in the 160-pound pecking order.

Most would rightly consider Golovkin the best fighter in the division—he holds the IBF, WBA “super” and interim, possibly soon full, WBC Championships—and the biggest dog in the yard.

Rich Schultz/Associated Press

Canelo is an interesting case.

Yes, the cinnamon-haired Mexican champion dispatched Miguel Cotto at a 155-pound catchweight to capture the lineal and WBC titles, but he’s never fought at full middleweight and his future in the division is uncertain.

So, you could currently rank Jacobs as high as second on that list, which places him in some pretty significant company in one of boxing’s longtime glamor divisions.

And he has some good options for fights going forward.

DiBella discussed the prospect of matching Jacobs with the winner of Andy Lee’s WBO Middleweight Championship defense against Britain’s Billy Joe Saunders sometime in the first half of next year.

Lee is obviously the more attractive option.

He’s Irish with a natural fanbase that can draw at the Barclays Center, which is Jacobs' home arena, and he brings a world championship not watered down by the WBA and its ridiculous propensity to hand out belts like candy on Halloween.

Saunders—should he win—would check off the second box as well, but in terms of drawing power (code for "money"), Lee is definitely the guy DiBella and company want to see standing opposite Jacobs next March or April in Brooklyn.

The fans are obviously going to be hoping for the bigger fights, if not now then soon, which will include both Canelo and Golovkin.

But boxing business realities and rivalries being what they are, those fights will likely have to wait—if they happen at all.

Money has a way of talking, and with Jacobs’ star status now cemented by a scintillating victory, he just needs to keep winning and stay in the conversation among the upper echelon.

Everything else will work itself out.

Kevin McRae is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. You can follow him on Twitter @McRaeWrites. All quotes and information were obtained at the Daniel Jacobs vs. Peter Quillin post-fight press conference at the Barclays Center.