April 12, 2015, Queens, NY All roads led to Barclays in Brooklyn as Danny “Swift” Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs) earned a majority decision over Lamont Peterson (33-3-1, 17 KOs), and Andy Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs) and Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0-1, 22 KOs) fought to a split draw. The judges scores for the Garcia-Peterson fight were 115-113, 115-113, and 114-114. PureSportsNY scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Garcia. The Lee-Quillin judges scored the fight 113-112 Lee, 113-112 Quillin, and 113-113. PureSportsNY scored the fight 114-111 Quillin.
The co-main event was supposed to be a title fight but was downgraded to a non-title fight when Quillin didn’t make the 160 lb. limit. Quillin knocked down Lee with about 29 seconds left in the first round with a looping right hand that surprised Lee probably more than hurting him (Lee). Quillin did not press Lee in the second round in part because Quillin knew that Lee is particularly dangerous when hurt. In the third round, Lee appeared to have staggered Quillin with a hook. Quillin later responded with a left hook, and Lee went down. Video replay revealed that Quillin stepped on Lee’s foot. Referee Steve Willis was not in position to see the tripping of Lee and ruled it a knockdown. This had ramifications that would impact the scoring. One of the judges who probably was aware that Quillin stepped on Lee’s foot gave Quillin a 10-9 round rather than the customary 10-8 score. Lee came on strong in the middle rounds and knocked down Quillin in the 7th round marking the first time Quillin had ever been knocked down in his professional career. Quillin regained control of the bout in rounds 10 through 12 even though Lee had his moments. Both fighters seemed to be content with the decision. Quillin remains unbeaten and was humble during his post fight remarks. He knows that not making weight is a no-no in boxing circles. It also puts you on the wrong side of the ledger with the promoter and broadcast network who billed the fight as a championship bout only to see it downgraded to a non-title bout. Lee, on the other hand, realized that he was lucky to get a draw, especially because the fight was in Quillin’s hometown, Brooklyn.
The Garcia-Peterson fight was on-again, off-again, in terms of its action. Garcia was the aggressor in the first half of the fight building up a lead. Peterson was content to jab and move which didn’t make for a particularly entertaining fight. Peterson pressed Garcia during the second half of the fight but gave up too many early rounds. Garcia certainly didn’t look like the victor at the end of the fight as his face was swollen. Garcia was fortunate the fight didn’t go the real championship distance which is 15 rounds. It seems that he tires in the latter rounds, and the Peterson camped banked on Garcia running out of steam. Garcia indicated that he would give Peterson a rematch, but the reality of the sport is such that it would be unwise to do so. Peterson was able to absorb Garcia’s punches, but Garcia was truly bothered by Peterson’s power. Peterson would probably fight aggressively from the start in a rematch, and that would not bode well for Garcia. The loss doesn’t damage Peterson, in fact, his stature and attractiveness as an opponent was enhanced by his strong finish.
Premier Boxing Champions has another impressive showing, and Barclays was filled to almost capacity. NBC will no doubt have strong ratings which means boxing will continue to have a home on that network as well as others. More than a tree grows in Brooklyn, and it looks like boxing in Brooklyn is a wonderful fit.
Professor Clifford Benton can be reached at cliffb@puresportsny.com.