Quillin beats N'Dam to win middleweight title

BROOKLYN, New York (AFP) –

Hometown hero Peter Quillin, right, knocked down France’s Hassan N’Dam six times, twice in the final round, to win a battle of unbeaten fighters for the World Boxing Organization middleweight title.

Hometown hero Peter Quillin knocked down France’s Hassan N’Dam six times, twice in the final round, to win a battle of unbeaten fighters for the World Boxing Organization middleweight title.

Cuban-American Quillin, who had never been past the 10th round in his career, won a unanimous decision by scores of 115-107 from all three judges, improving to 28-0 while N’Dam, a Cameroon-born Frenchman, fell to 27-1.

“I hope I inspired people that hard work can get you anywhere in life,” said Quillin. “I’m very happy with this moment. I’m glad to be a world champion.”

Brooklyn-born Quillin, a 29-year-old nicknamed “Kid Chocolate,” sent N’Dam down twice in the fourth, sixth and 12th rounds in the first world title fight without an interim tag for the Frenchman.

Quillin knocked N’Dam to the canvas twice with left hooks in the fourth round and sent him staggering into the ropes twice more with hard left hands.

In the sixth round, N’Dam was flattened by another left hook and then again in the final seconds of the round by a punishing right to the jaw.

N’Dam rose each time to finish the rounds and began taking the fight to Quillin in the later rounds before the local hero send him down with a left hook to the face 30 seconds before the end.

Another knockdown of N’Dam just ahead of the bell only padded Quillin’s final victory margin.

Brooklyn-born former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson received a standing ovation from fans between the first and second rounds as he watched the first fight card at the New York neighborhood’s new $1 billion arena.

“This is incredible,” Tyson said of the Barclays Center. “It’s a milestone in the history and development of Brooklyn. It’s absolutely amazing.”