By Ian S Palmer
Former WBO Middleweight Champion Peter Quillin of Chicago will be facing Mexican slugger Alfredo Angulo in Bakersfield, California this Saturday, September 21st. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes. Quillin was originally supposed to meet Caleb Truax in a rematch but Truax pulled out due to injury. The pair originally met in April but the fight was halted in the second round and ruled a no-decision when Truax suffered an accidental head butt and couldn’t continue. Angulo last fought in April when he stopped Evert Bravo in the second round.
The 36-year-old Quillin returned to the ring last year after a two-year absence and beat Dashon Johnson by an eight-round unanimous decision in September before beating J’Leon love by 10-round unanimous decision and then meeting Truax. The former champ was born in Chicago, but fights out of Brooklyn and enters the contest with an impressive record of 34-1-1 along with 23 Kos. His lone loss was a first-round stoppage at the hands of Danny Jacobs in a shot at Jacobs’ WBA Middleweight Title in December of 2015.
Quillin is 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 71.5-inch wingspan. He’s boxed 186 rounds since turning pro in 2005. He beat Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam by unanimous decision in 2012 to win the WBO Middleweight Title in October, 2012 and dropped him six times along the way. He defended the crown three times against Fernando Guerrero, Gabriel Rosado and Lukas Konecny before vacating the belt in September, 2014. He’s also beaten Jesse Brinkley, Winky Wright, Craig McEwan, Fernando Zuniga, Antwun Echols and Troy Lowry while his 12-round draw came against Andy Lee in April of 2015.
He was decked for the first time in his career against Lee, but got back up and showed he has a lot of heart, but couldn’t handle Jacobs’ first-round onslaught. Quillin has good power of his own with a current knockout ratio of 62 per cent. He’s been involved in several exciting fights and has shown he has enough power to drop just about anyone. However, he’s not hard to find in the ring and this can be troublesome when you own a questionable chin. Quillin isn’t the most mobile guy in the ring and usually adopts a more flat-footed stance while throwing his power shots.
The 37-year-old Angulo, who now fights out of California, will climb into the ring with a record of 25-6 with 21 big Kos. Angulo is a fan favourite who has also taken on the likes of Gabriel Rosado, Joel Julio and Joachim Alcine and knocked them all out. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 69 inches which places him three inches shorter than Quillin with a 2.5-inch disadvantage in reach. He’s boxed 159 rounds as a professional since 2005 and has taken on some tough, experienced opponents over the years.
Angulo’s seven losses have come at the hands of Mora and Freddy Hernandez as well as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in the 10th round in March of 2014, stopped by Erislandy Lara in the 10th round a year earlier and by James Kirkland in the sixth round in 2011. James De la Rosa beat him by 10-round unanimous decision six months after Alvarez for his third straight loss and Kermit Cintron beat him by 12-round unanimous decision in 2009. He’s lost five of his last eight fights.
Angulo has a straightforward slugging style in which he’ll take two or three shots to land one of his own. He has better than average power with a current knockout ratio of 66 per cent. And even though he’s been stopped and decked on more than one occasion, Angulo still possesses a pretty solid chin. He always seems to fight well against Grade A opponents, but has always fallen slightly short on the judges’ scorecards. He’s proven to be a forced to be reckoned with over the years though.
Prediction…
Quillin has the edge in height and reach and owns the better boxing skills. Angulo won’t be looking to box him though as he’s simply a slugger who’d rather win by stoppage. Angulo will try to take the fight on the inside when he can by cutting off the ring and will be going to his opponent’s body as much as his head. Angulo can get frustrated when he’s being outboxed and he isn’t that hard to hit, but he’s never out of a fight due to his power. Angulo has good power and has a puncher’s chance but as long as Quillin’s chin holds up and he utilizes his skills he should take the contest.
