James Stillerman– Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin will put his undefeated record, 26-0, 20KOs and his United States Boxing Organization “USBO” belt on the line when he faces off against future Hall of Famer, Ronald “Winky” Wright 52-5, 25KOs, who will be fighting for the first time in three years, as they square off on June 2 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California in a ten round middleweight fight. Quillin is ranked number five by the WBA and number 14 by the WBO. The 28 year old orthodox pugilist obtained the USBO belt with a third round technical knockout victory over former Contender fighter, Jesse Brinkley and then in his last fight he knocked out Craig McEwan in the sixth round. Kid Chocolate was kind enough to take time out of his training camp to answer my questions such as why he took this fight with Wright, how his is training camp is going, what are his plans for the rest of the year and much more.
James Stillerman: How is training camp going for this bout?
Peter Quillin: Training camp is going really well for me right now. I`m inspired that my family is here helping me out and I know the sky is the limit for me in this sport.. I`m in great shape and ahead of schedule for this fight. I work extremely hard each day so that I`ll be at my very best on the day of the fight. My weight is already on track, so that will not be a problem for me. I also trained with Andre Direll and Carl Froch leading up to my training camp, giving me invaluable fight experience and knowledge that I`ll be able to use in this fight to my advantage.
James Stillerman: How significant is this fight with Wright for you?
Peter Quillin: This is a significant fight for me because after I defeat Wright a future Hall of Famer it`s going to open a lot of opportunities for me to fight other big name fighters in the middleweight division. This bout will get me that much closer to fight for a world title bout at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Everything is on the line for this Wright fight and I take nothing for granted which is why I`ll be ready for Wright.
James Stillerman: What made you want to fight Wright?
Peter Quillin: My promoter, Golden Boy Promotions asked me if I wanted to fight Wright and I immediately said yes. I`m willing to fight anyone, especially a future Hall of Fame like Wright. I want to be a powerful force in the middleweight division and my advisor, Al Haymon is helping me obtain these important fights like this bout that will allow me to move up in the middleweight division after I win.
James Stillerman: How do you see this fight playing out?
Peter Quillin: I`m going to win this fight. Going into this fight, I envision Wright as an undefeated, hungry up and coming contender like myself which makes me work even harder for this fight, allowing me to make sure that I`m prepared for whatever Wright throws at me in this bout. Every fight I go into is the most important fight of my career and I know going in this bout that this is going to be a dangerous fight, so I`m leaving absolutely nothing to chance. I do not want to suffer my first professional loss and have all of my detractors say I was not a good boxer and that he lost to Wright. Rather, I want all my haters to find something else to hate me for.
James Stillerman: Will this seven month layoff be a significant factor coming into this fight especially in light of the fact that you fight several times a year?
Peter Quillin: I wanted to be back in the ring for January or February of this year; but many fighters refused to fight me which makes it extremely frustrating for me because I`m willing to fight anyone. Andy Lee turned down a chance to fight me and instead he`s fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. However, this is boxing politics and I can`t do anything about it, so I`ve to ignore the layoff and fight whoever they put me in front of me. In fact, there has been no layoff for me. While I was not fighting, I was perfecting my boxing craft and trained with Froch as he prepared for his fight with Andre Ward and I worked with Direll. I`m always working on my craft and improving my boxing skills, whether I`m fighting or not.
James Stillerman: Any big plans plan for 2012?
Peter Quillin: I want to fight any of the world title holders in the middleweight division at the end of the year like WBC holder, Chavez Jr. or IBF strap holder, Daniel Geale. But right now, I`m not thinking of fighting anyone but Wright. I`m throwing punches at Wright in my sleep and I`m thinking about him all day, every day. I`m totally focused for this bout and I`m not thinking about anyone but him.
James Stillerman: What is your favorite momentum of your career?
Peter Quillin: My favorite momentum of my career is being were I`m now having a 26-0 20KOs record and being the number one middleweight contender in the world. I always dreamed every since I was children to be in the position where I`m to be potentially fighting for a world title fight in the near future. I grew up in a tough area in Michigan, yet I still have made something of myself through my great work ethic. I want to get better and better each day and I especially want to be able to give words of encouragement to individuals to never give up on their dreams and know that if I made it than they can also make it.
James Stillerman: Any closing thoughts?
Peter Quillin: I want to thank God for this fight, my trainer, Freddy Roach, manger John Seip, Pablo Hernandez who created my Twitter and Facebook profiles, all of my fans and all the haters who tell me I`ll never become a world champion because they give me the additional motivation to perfect my craft. I don`t believe in hype, I only believe in hard work and my work ethic is the reason I`m where I`m. I take nothing for granted, but I know I`ll defeat Wright and move onto bigger and better fights in the middleweight division.
Special thanks to Bob Trieger for facilitating the interview and to Peter Quillin who took time from his training camp to answer my questions.