LEDYARD, Conn. -- Peter Quillin stopped Australia's Michael Zerafa with a roundhouse right at 1:06 of the fifth round of their super middleweight bout Saturday.
Zerafa left the ring on a stretcher and was taken to Backus Hospital in Norwich for observation. Zerafa contacted Quillin by cellphone to let him know that he was feeling fine and resting comfortably.
"I can't say I made a statement with this win because that wouldn't be right after a guy gets taken out of the ring on a stretcher," Quillin said. "He was game, but boxing is a dangerous job. I don't want to hurt people. I pray for both myself and my opponent during a fight, and I want everyone to be safe."
Quillin (32-0-1) had just had an even exchange of punches with Zerafa (17-2) before he caught the backpedaling Aussie with the right hand. Zerafa, fighting in the United States for the first time, was knocked out for the first time in his career.
Quillin was coming off a controversial draw with Andy Lee in April. Quillin scored a knockdown in the third round of that bout, and usually a knockdown results in the judges scoring a 10-8 round. But one judge scored it 10-9 for the Brooklyn, New York, native. Had the judge scored it 10-8, Quillin would have won the fight and not have a blemish on his record.
Quillin said he expects to fight WBA super middleweight champion Danny Jacobs (30-1) on Dec. 5 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Jacobs is also from Brooklyn.
Promoter Lou DiBella said there remain details to be worked out but that Quillin and Jacobs appear headed for a Brooklyn showdown.
"Danny's been calling me out for a long time, and I hear him," Quillin said. "It's not set in stone, but we want the fight."
Quillin once held the WBO middleweight title but relinquished the belt a year ago rather than fight a mandatory defense against Matt Korobov. Quillin made three successful title defenses before vacating the title.
In the co-feature, Houston's Jermall Charlo (22-0) won the IBF super welterweight title with a third-round TKO of former world champion Cornelius Brundage of Detroit. Charlo knocked down the 42-year-old Brundage four times before the bout was stopped 2:33 into the third.