Exclusive Interview with WBO Middleweight Champion Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin

09/15/201610/30/2012 Geoffrey Ciani

“With Gennady Golovkin I can say he’s a very strong fighter, very determined, but he doesn’t put any fear in my heart at all”—Peter Quillin

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – I was recently afforded the opportunity to speak with the new WBO middleweight world champion Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin (28-0, 20 KOs) following his title-winning victory against Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (27-1, 17 KOs) last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Quillin spoke about his performance, talked about his future, and gave his views on the current middleweight landscape and where he would like to go next. Here is a complete transcript from that interview.

Audio:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoff Ciani from East Side Boxing, and I am joined here today by the newly crowned WBO middleweight champion of the world, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin. Pete, how does it feel to win your first world championship?

PETER QUILLIN: It feels great. It feels good to come a long way to have some kind of achievement to what my hard work has given me. But most importantly I got to know that there’s going to be some more fights in the future that’s going to allow me to show what my class is really about.

CIANI: Now Pete, during the fight, it appeared to me during the first three rounds that you had a little trouble with his rhythm and that you weren’t able to time him maybe as well as you would have liked to. Reflecting back, what was going through your mind during those first three rounds?

Emanuel Steward 1944-2012

09/15/201610/30/2012 Eddy Pronishev

By James Slater: The tributes have been coming in thick and fast ever since the tragic, sad news broke of boxing guru Emanuel Steward’s untimely passing at the premature age of 68. Having so much more to give his sport, with so much further wisdom ready to be shared with his star pupils, Emanuel, we all thought, would be around for years and years to come.

The top scribes of boxing have each composed heartfelt tributes to Emanuel – a man they have all correctly written was a genius who had such an easygoing way about him he was able to make everyone who interacted with him feel like a friend – and what more can be said of the man who lived and breathed boxing?

I was fortunate enough to have been able to speak with the great Emanuel Steward on a couple of occasions, and here are some of the hugely interesting things he was kind enough to share with me: –

Emanuel on the best fighters he ever worked with:

Rocky Juarez KOs Antonio Escalante in the 8th

09/15/201610/28/2012 Eddy Pronishev

By Joseph Herron – On Saturday night at the historic Joe & Harry Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, fight veteran Rocky Juarez (29-10-1, 21 KOs) exorcised the boxing demons and proved that he could still compete at the world class level. After losing his last six fights, the eleven year fight veteran dazzled the crowd in attendance by closing the show in style with an eighth round KO against a very strong and hungry Antonio Escalante (27-5, 19 KOs).

Going into the fight, both fighters appeared to be traveling in different directions professionally. While Juarez hadn’t gained a victory since 2008, the fast rising Escalante had knocked out his last four opponents.

The opening round was a surprise to most at ringside, which saw the fearless Rocky Juarez uncharacteristically use lateral movement to set traps for the younger and stronger Escalante.

Antonio Escalante: Taking the reins

09/15/201610/27/2012 Eddy Pronishev

By Joseph Herron, photo by Esteban Stipnieks: After creating a massive buzz throughout the boxing world in 2010, Super Featherweight puncher Antonio Escalante (28-4, 19 KOs) suffered a massive hindrance to his fight career after dropping two consecutive bouts by surprising and head scratching knock-out.

Although the losses set the El Paso, Texas resident back in the pecking order of the ultra competitive Featherweight division, the overall experience has self-admittedly made the 27 year old fighter a much wiser combatant.

“I had been ranked as a number one contender for three years in the WBO without any big opportunities because I was viewed as a high risk/low reward type of fighter in 2010,” insists Tony Escalante. “Right after I knocked Edel Ruiz out in the third round on ESPN’s ‘Friday Night Fights’, I was given the opportunity to fight Daniel Ponce De Leon in a WBO title eliminator bout. The catch was that it was scheduled just three weeks after the fight on ESPN.”

“I really didn’t feel comfortable taking the fight on such short notice against such an experienced fighter, but my handlers advised me to take it because I wasn’t getting very many big fight opportunities. It ended up being one of the worst decisions I ever made.”

Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez: “My dream is still to become a world champion”

09/15/201610/27/2012 Eddy Pronishev

By Joseph Herron – Every young fighter dreams of one day becoming a world champion once they lace up the gloves for the first time.

But the commitment, discipline, sacrifice, and pain that every prizefighter is forced to endure is enough to turn even the most ardent of athletes away from the ring. Despite recognizing the various obstacles on the pathway to glory, every fighter indeed has a vision; and until they accomplish their ultimate goal, most of these brave warriors will continue to place themselves in harm’s way for our entertainment.

2000 American Olympic Silver Medalist Ricardo “Rocky” Juarez (28-10-1, 20 KOs) still possesses this dream; and it still burns feverishly within him just as the first day he began boxing.

“My goal in this business has always been to be a world champion. I feel like I’ve been right there on the borderline. I’ve come so close and have been in a lot of great championship type fights. I know I have what it takes to do it. It just hasn’t officially happened for me.”

The Rock has certainly come unnervingly close to grabbing championship hardware throughout his storied fight career.

After beginning his professional career with a perfect 23-0 record, the hard punching Houston, Texas native was in line to face the WBC Featherweight Champion In-Jin Chi of South Korea in August of 2005. In what was billed as a possible “Fight of the Year” candidate, the highly anticipated match-up was slated to air on HBO as the co-main event of the Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo spectacle.

Emanuel Steward, The People’s Champion

09/15/201610/27/2012 Eddy Pronishev

(July 7, 1944 to October 25, 2012)

Written by Damian McCann

Legendary boxing icon, Emanuel Steward passed away peacefully with his loving family present last Thursday at the age of 68.

During his lifetime he amassed a vast wealth of experience and knowledge of the sweet science. He had many roles in the sport as a commentator, manager and promoter, but it will be as a trainer that he will be most remembered in the history of boxing.

As an amateur star he compiled a distinguished record of 97 fights with only 3 losses including winning the 1963 National Golden Gloves Bantamweight Championship in Chicago. He was inducted into both the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles and the International Hall of Fame in New York in 1996 in recognition of his achievements and contribution to boxing.

But he also leaves a legacy as one of the most respected and loved people in the sport; boxing fans around the world loved him and he loved them. No matter how busy or gruelling a schedule he had he always had time for a handshake, a photograph and a conversation.

Rocky Juarez vs. Antonio Escalante: Weigh-in report

09/15/201610/27/2012 Eddy Pronishev

By Joseph Herron, photo by Esteban Stipnieks: Earlier today from the historic Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, 2000 Olympic Silver medalist and former title challenger Rocky Juarez (28-10-1, 20 KOs) from Houston, Texas met face to face with heavy-handed, 27 year old Super Featherweight contender Antonio Escalante (28-4, 19 KOs) of El Paso, Texas, at the Leija-Battah Promotions official weigh-in presentation.

While both men were greeted with cameras and flashes, the two knock-out artists were eager to step on the commission scale and authenticate their highly anticipated Super Featherweight showdown, which is slated to be broadcast on Telefutura “Solo Boxeo Tecate” with a 12 PM EST/11 PM PST start time.

Rocky Juarez was the first fighter to hit the scale and weighed in at exactly 130 pounds. The eleven year fight veteran looked to be in superb shape and expressed his enthusiasm to get in the ring tomorrow night.

The Legacy of Emanuel Steward Part 1: An Irreplaceable Ambassador of Boxing

08/12/201810/26/2012 Geoffrey Ciani

by Geoffrey Ciani – The sport of boxing lost a remarkable individual when Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward passed away yesterday at the age of 68. Steward of course was an outstanding world class trainer, a tremendous commentator and analyst, and an overall great ambassador for the sport that he loved. But with Emanuel, his total contributions to boxing were far greater than the sum of its parts. His passion and enthusiasm endeared fans, boxers, and fellow trainers alike. He possessed a very unique gift that enabled him to enhance the entire boxing experience for a whole community dedicated to the sweet science in varying capacities.

With his vast wealth of knowledge, experience, and a proven track record of success, Emanuel Steward was undoubtedly one of the greatest trainers the sport of boxing has ever seen. In fact, he trained and/or managed 41 world champions during his illustrious career, and this included two of the longest reigning heavyweight champions in history: Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko. His long celebrated success was largely the result of his incredible boxing mind. Steward was simply masterful when it came to developing a sound fight plan that would give his boxers their best chance at victory. He also had an exceptional ability when it came to fine-tuning the existing strengths of a given fighter. This was important. Emanuel never tried to implement a complete stylistic overhaul. Instead he worked with what he had in front of him and always stressed the importance of fundamental basics, which included good balance and working behind a solid jab. This was essential to his philosophical outlook as a trainer.