Cedric Kushner's Gotham Boxing ran another show tonight at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., featuring Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin and Ronald Hearns, son of the legendary Thomas "Hitman" Hearns. Both Quillin and Hearns won stay-busy fights, as expected.
I find both guys to be fairly interesting. Quillin is a personal favorite, as he's originally from Michigan, though he's based in Brooklyn and has fought all but two of his career fights in New York City.
He improved to 20-0 with his 15th knockout, stopping "The Punching Policeman" Sam Hill in the 10th round.
The result is moderately troubling. Quillin said after the fight, "I should get credit for beating a guy like that. He’s very durable. I almost hurt my hands I hit him so hard."
Truth is, Hill had been knocked out five times entering the fight, so his durability is very questionable, and frankly, Quillin's power is starting to become a bit of a mystery itself. He went ten full rounds with a jelly-legged, washed-up Antwun Echols in April, and ten more rounds in Dionisio Miranda two months later. Echols had no business standing tall for ten rounds past his own toughness, but any fighter with a finishing touch would've put him away that night.
I still quite like Quillin, because I think he's got solid boxing skills, and he's only 25. He's still got maturing to do, and he's keeping himself very busy, with this being his fourth fight in 2008. But if he gets knocked off by a tough veteran, it won't shock me. I'm rooting for him, and hoping to see more of him on TV.
The 29-year old Hearns is now 20-0 (16) following a first-round TKO of Alexander Quiroz (14-7-1, 12 KO). The official time was 2:10. Hearns talked about establishing his jab and such, but it seems as though two minutes wouldn't be enough time to do that.
He also talked about the much-publicized fact that he only started fighting five years ago, when he was already 24 years old. It's a late start, but hardly unprecedented. I thought he showed awesome fire and grit in a June slugfest with Jose Gonzalez. Hearns will return on October 24th in Montreal against punchless Paul Clavette, on the undercard of Bute-Andrade.
Also on the card, U.S. Olympic alternate Danny O'Connor turned pro with a second-round TKO of Jose Guerrido.
[Thanks to Bob Trieger at Full Court Press for the results and quotes from the card.]