Hassan N'Dam vs Peter Quillin

Six knockdowns failed to bring an early finish, as Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam repeatedly recovered before surrendering his WBO middleweight championship to Peter Quillin on points. Their twelve-round contest at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on 20 October 2012 produced an unusual combination of decisive punching and sustained resistance. Quillin floored the champion twice in the fourth, sixth and twelfth rounds, yet N’Dam remained competitive between those setbacks and was still pressing the challenger late in the fight. All three judges returned scores of 115-107 for Quillin.

Both men entered unbeaten, each with 27 victories. Quillin had recorded 20 stoppages and had most recently defeated former champion Ronald “Winky” Wright over ten rounds in June. N’Dam, the Cameroon-born fighter based in France, had 17 stoppage victories. He had beaten Max Bursak for the WBO interim championship in May and was subsequently elevated to full champion after Dmitry Pirog was stripped. Brooklyn was his first professional appearance in the United States and his first defence of the full title. The contest formed part of Golden Boy Promotions’ opening boxing programme at the new arena, headed by Danny Garcia’s rematch with Erik Morales. The promoter announced an attendance of 11,112 for the evening.

The opening three rounds established the contrast between them. N’Dam appeared relaxed, moving freely and putting his punches together, while Quillin was initially more restrained. The champion’s speed and activity enabled him to make a favourable early impression, although the exchanges were sufficiently close for ringside observers to differ over their scoring. Quillin gradually settled, and the fourth round changed the position sharply. Two heavy left hooks sent N’Dam down. He regained his feet on each occasion, but finished the round unsteadily. Referee Eddie Claudio ruled two further falls in that round to be slips, leaving two official knockdowns.

N’Dam recovered sufficiently to resume effective work in the fifth. Quillin did not maintain the pressure of the previous round, and the champion regained some ground through his greater activity. In the sixth, however, the challenger again broke through. A left hook produced the first knockdown, and a straight right sent N’Dam down for the second time in the round, his fourth fall of the contest. By this stage there was bleeding around his right eye. He nevertheless remained able to continue, and Quillin again found that putting him on the floor did not settle the fight.

The seventh through ninth rounds brought another recovery from the champion. N’Dam let his hands go when Quillin backed towards the ropes and repeatedly outworked him. The challenger’s reduced output gave N’Dam opportunities to regain the initiative, though the earlier knockdowns had left a substantial deficit. Quillin renewed his efforts in the tenth. The eleventh was closely contested, with contemporary accounts divided over which man had done the better work. N’Dam’s persistence made these later rounds competitive, rather than merely an exercise in surviving to the final bell.

N’Dam was again doing useful work in the twelfth before Quillin supplied the final decisive blows. With roughly half a minute remaining, a left hand knocked the champion down, and another fall followed before the round ended. N’Dam rose once more and completed the distance. Judges Julie Lederman, John Stewart and Don Trella each scored the contest 115-107, awarding Quillin the championship by unanimous decision. The new champion’s record became 28-0, while N’Dam suffered his first defeat and fell to 27-1. Quillin’s harder punching had determined the result, but the six knockdowns alone did not describe the sustained opposition provided by the Frenchman.

You have to have plenty of respect for N’Dam here. Six times on the floor, and he still made Quillin work for the title. But getting up doesn’t erase the mistake that put you down. His speed and combinations troubled Quillin; his defence against the left hook kept letting him down.

Quillin had beaten Winky Wright coming in, while N’Dam had won the interim belt against Max Bursak before being promoted to full champion. Both were unbeaten, and Quillin’s power gave the Brooklyn crowd something to get behind. What impressed me was his timing. N’Dam could be the busier man, then Quillin would catch him with the heavier, more damaging shot. What bothered me was Quillin’s habit of easing off after hurting him. He allowed a capable boxer back into rounds he should have controlled.

I’ve no argument with Quillin winning. Two knockdowns apiece in the fourth, sixth and last round earned that decision. The identical 115-107 cards make it look more one-sided than the boxing between those falls. N’Dam showed a proper engine and remarkable recovery, but he never solved the defensive problem. Quillin found the opening often enough to take the belt.