BROOKLYN (April 12, 2015) – Premier Boxing Champions on NBC returned with two exciting bouts Saturday night as Danny “Swift” Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs) defeated Lamont Peterson (33-3-1, 17 KOs) by majority decision and “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2-1, 24 KOs) and Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0-1, 22 KOs) fought to a split draw at Barclays Center.
The evening’s second main event saw the undefeated Garcia stalk the lightning quick Peterson around the ring while consistently attacking Peterson’s body. Peterson moved well in the first half of the fight, but did not begin engaging offensively until the later rounds.
The two exchanged blows throughout a raucous twelfth round that stirred the crowd of 12,300 at Barclays Center into a frenzy. The judges tallies ended at 115-113 for Garcia twice and one score of 114-114.
“I feel great. I prepared for a war. He was moving a lot. I thought it was close, not going to lie,” said Garcia. “It was definitely close the whole way through. I did enough to win and I’m happy with my performance.
[On going up in weight] “I feel like I have to go up. It’s affecting my performance, but I feel like I did a great job.”
“I did my part. I’m not calling it a robbery but it was a good fight,” said Peterson. “I don’t expect an easy journey for me to get where I’m going. I feel great. That’s probably the least contact I’ve ever had in a fight.”
In the first main event, Quillin scored a huge knockdown in the first round and followed it up by putting Lee on the canvas in round three. Lee made adjustments as the fight went on and began to box Quillin effectively, even putting him down in the seventh round.
Lee and Quillin landed almost the same percentage of punches with Lee connecting on 38 percent and Quillin on 39 percent. One judge scored the bout 113-112 for Lee with another scoring the bout 113-112 for Quillin and the final had a score of 113-113.
“There’s a reason why judges are judges. They see it their way. I respect the decision,” said Quillin.
[On being knocked down] “There’s a first time for everything. I’m very thankful that I was able to get back up and keep fighting. I took a year off and I was able to go 12-rounds and I could have kept going.”
“It was a tough fight. He dropped me early because I was being lazy. I got my momentum late in the fight and I boxed consistently. I understand why with two knockdowns people felt he won the decision. I could have done better tonight. If my next fight is Peter Quillin.”
Premier Boxing Champions on NBC was promoted by DiBella Entertainment and sponsored by Corona.
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CONTACTS: Swanson Communications: (202) 783-5500
Barry Baum, Barclays Center: (718) 942-9533
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