Peter Quillin vs Caleb Truax Boxing 4-13-19 Odds, Preview and Prediction

Former world champions Peter Quillin and Caleb Truax square off in a 12-round IBF 168-pound title eliminator on April 13, 2019 at The Armory in Minnesota..

Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin

Known as Kid Chocolate, Peter Quillin is a former WBO middleweight champion. Quillin won the belt by defeating  Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in 2012. Kid Chocolate successfully defended the belt three times before relinquishing his belt. He returned one year later and figured in a draw with Andy Lee.

Quillin has a professional boxing record of 34-1-1 with 23 wins via knockout. Kid Chocolate stands 6-1 and has a reach of 71.5 inches while fighting as an Orthodox fighter. The Chicago native has won back to back fights since suffering his first professional boxing loss to Daniel Jacobs in 2015. In his last bout Quillin scored a unanimous decision win over J’Leon Love last year.

Kid Chocolate works the ring well and uses his physicality and punching power to his advantage. He also likes to be the aggressor in his fights but isn’t comfortable when his opponent is the one pressuring him. Quillin’s defense isn’t as elite as his offense and it’s what has gotten him in trouble in his bouts.

Peter Quillin vs Caleb Truax Odds

Caleb “Golden” Truax

Minnesota’s Caleb Truax burst into the big picture after scoring an upset victory over James DeGale in 2017. The win gave Truax the IBF super middleweight title but his reign was short as DeGale regained the belt five months later in a rematch.Truax’s only other attempt at a world title ended in a second round knockout loss to Daniel Jacobs in 2015 when he challenged for the WBA middleweight title.

Truax has a record of 30-4-2 with 19 knockouts. His four losses came against world champions in Jermain Taylor, Anthony Dirrell, Jacobs and DeGale. He stands 6-0 with a reach of 75 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. Truax is coming off a TKO win over unknown Fabiano Pena in August 2018.

Truax is a fighter who isn’t really special in what he does, whether it’s on offense or defense. But whatever he lacks in skill, he makes up for in aggression and toughness. Truax can hang inside the ring with opponents who are more talented than him. He had a good chin, not granite because he has been knocked out twice. Offensively, he is sometimes too conservative and leans too much on his defense to win fights.

Who Wins?

These are two former world champions but both are probably past their primes at age 35. Although you can argue that Quillin held a world title longer, he doesn’t have a victory in the same magnitude as Caleb Truax’s upset win over James DeGale.Truax did lose the rematch but that doesn’t take away what he was able to accomplish.

Truax has also been the more active boxer between the two, having fought twice in each of the last two years. But while Quillin has fought just once in 2017 and once in 2018, his last victory over J’Leon Love proved that he is still in good shape and isn’t a shot fighter yet or was Love just overrated?

I like Truax in this fight not only because it will be held in his hometown in Minnesota, but because he has been the more active boxer between the two. I also think that while Quillin is the better boxer and probably the harder puncher between the two, Truax has the ability to pressure Quillin and force him off his game.

Quillin was absolutely destroyed by an aggressive Danny Jacobs in 2015. He also had problem with pressure fighters like Gabriel Rosado, Andy Lee and Dionisio Miranda. While Truax doesn’t have the same ability as the fighters mentioned, he applies the same pressure and whatever he lacks in skill, he makes up for with his huge fighting heart.

I know that “fighting spirit” and “fighting heart” are intangibles that cannot be measured but come fight night, I think Truax pressures Quillin from the opening bell. I still think it’s a 50-50 fight but between these two, I think Truax’s activity and volume are going to earn him a decision. I’m picking Caleb Truax to beat Peter Quillin on 4/13/19

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Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs Jack Culcay

Sergiy Derevyanchenko returns to the ring to take on Jack Culcay in an IBF title eliminator. Derevyanchenko is 12-1 with 10 knockouts, losing to Daniel Jacobs last year in a close decision. Culcay is 25-3 with 13 knockouts but he has fought mostly at 154 pounds and only moved up to middleweight last year after suffering back to back losses. Culcay is 3-0 as a middleweight but Derevyanchenko is a different animal, one that he has not faced before.

Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs Jack Culcay Odds

Derevyanchenko might have lost to Danny Jacobs but he gave him  fight, went 12 rounds and lost via split decision. On the other hand, I think Culcay is underrated but I don’t see him in the same world class level as The Mechanic. Remember than when Culcay stepped up in level of opposition in 2017, he lost to Demetrius Andrade and Maciej Sulecki, both on points.

What I can say though is that Culcay is durable because while he has been dropped twice in his career, he’s never been knocked out in his career. That’s key because Derevyanchenko is a heavy handed fighter who has a knockout in 10 of his 12 wins. That said, I think this could go the distance or if not, go past round six.

Culcay has decent boxing skills and has decent power but I don’t think that, one, he can knockout the Ukrainian and two, he can beat Derevyanchenko over 12 rounds. Well, at least not the Derevyanchenko who gave Jacobs a tough outing. Derevyanchenko’s power punches are going to slow down Culcay and I think he is going to score a knockout in the second half of the fight. Prediction: Sergiy Derevyanchenko by stoppage.

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