NEW YORK (Oct. 9, 2012) – Christmas will come early for Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, a New York kind of guy and No. 1-ranked contender who challenges fellow unbeaten WBO Middleweight World Champion Hassan N’Dam in one of four world championship fights on Saturday, October 20, in the first-ever boxing event at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Quillin recently answered six questions with SHOWTIME boxing analyst and historian Steve Farhood:

You’re originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, not New York City, but you’ve lived in New York for the last 12 years. What about you suggests you’re a true New Yorker?

“I have no problem drinking coffee in the morning with a bagel. I’m a corner-bodega kind of guy; I don’t like to be the type of person who goes to Starbucks just because everybody else goes there.

“Also, I’m not really a morning person. On the subway in the morning, there’s dead quiet. Nobody says anything — me included.

“And if somebody asks me for directions, I tell them I don’t know — even if I do.

“I fit right in.”

The original Kid Chocolate was the first world champ from Cuba. Your dad is Cuban. There have been many great Cuban champions, but you’re the first one I remember who’s publicly paid homage to Kid Chocolate. Why?

“Fighters here take the name Muhammad for Ali, or Sugar. I took the name Kid Chocolate not so much for Cuba, but for my father, who came here with nothing.

“It’s a tribute to his culture. I went to Cuba 2 1/2 years ago and met three half-brothers and sisters for the first time. My father is 75 and he still lives in Grand Rapids. I speak to him in Spanish more than I ever have. It’s very important for me to learn the language.”

“The original Kid Chocolate was not only a great fighter, but when he came here, he was very big in New York.”

The original Kid Chocolate fought many times in New York City, including several times in Brooklyn. What does it mean to have your biggest fight to date at the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn?

“I’ve lived in Brooklyn, and when I first heard about this show, I kept it to myself. You know when you’re growing up and your mom says she’ll get you something for Christmas? Well, you don’t say anything because you’re scared that if you do, it won’t happen.

“This is my Christmas.

“This is big for me. New York created me as a person and a fighter. The aggressiveness… the hard work for something you want. Believe it or not, growing up in Michigan, I used to talk with a fake Brooklyn accent.

(Upon learning that the last world title fight in Brooklyn came 81 years ago) “Man, how do you think that makes me feel?”

There’s been a lot of complaining about the lack of top-level American heavyweights, but you’re the only American in the middleweight top 20. Does that create pressure?

“In 1982, there were eight American middleweights rated by ‘The Ring.’ Fast-forward, and now there’s only me, but I’m not letting the pressure get to me. I have to use that fact as motivation. It’s not about the money, it’s about my legacy.

“I never allow anybody to call me champ. I say, ‘We’re getting there.’ After October 20, they’ll call me champ and I’ll accept it gracefully. In fact, I’ll probably cry.”

If you’re successful against N’Dam, what fight might the win propel you toward?

“I have Al Haymon and Golden Boy; all the sweat and pain, and now I’m seeing the rewards. They look after me. Whatever fights come my way.

“Personally, whenever I called for (WBC champion) Sergio Martinez, people said I was being disrespectful, but I just wanted to fight the best.

“And I’m tired of hearing about (WBA champion) Gennady Golovkin. He had 400 amateur fights; he’s supposed to be doing what he’s doing.

“(IBF champion) Daniel Geale…there are too many names out there to call out just one. I’m gonna let my team handle it.”

You’ve had 27 pro bouts. The original Kid Chocolate had 151. You think you’ll catch up?

“That greatness is what I’m working towards, but 151–that’s a scary number.”

# # #

In other world title fights on what will be an explosive night of boxing live on SHOWTIME®, unbeaten Danny “Swift” Garcia defends his WBA Super, WBC and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Championships against legendary Mexican warrior and future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano and former Two-Time World Champion Devon Alexander “The Great” challenges defending champion Randall Bailey for the IBF welterweight crown.

The undercard is loaded with many of New York’s top fighters, including Brooklyn’s hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx’s rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson.

The inaugural night of fights at Barclays Center is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Box Latino with N’Dam vs. Quillin being presented in association with Asventure Promotion and Alexander vs. Bailey being presented in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and is supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

LOS ANGELES (October 8, 2012) – Nearly 12 years ago, undefeated middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (27-0, 20 KOs) first landed in New York City, and now his incredible journey culminates back in the Big Apple on October 20.

Quillin slept on the floor of his friend’s apartment in Manhattan and worked three jobs in order to keep his dream of becoming world champion alive. The gifted Cuban-American will have that coveted opportunity on Oct. 20, ironically, where it all started in New York City, at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Showcased on Showtime Championship Boxing, in one of four world championship matches presented by Quillin’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, No. 1 contender Quillin challenges a fellow unbeaten middleweight, defending World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (27-0, 17 KOs).

Technically speaking, Quillin’s life story started in Chicago, where his father, Pedro, relocated after defecting from his native Cuba to Miami. His family moved six months after Peter’s birth in 1983 to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pedro, who was on the second to last Cuban refugee boat, was rarely at home and he was later extradited from Orlando (FL) to Illinois and eventually imprisoned for money laundering.

Quillin’s mother immediately was forced to go on welfare in order to care for her three children. “I always had clean clothes but they weren’t the kind I really wanted, mostly shared with my brothers,” Quillin explained. “I had no confidence as a kid. I went to school and didn’t know why I didn’t have what other kids had. I didn’t understand that they didn’t have much, either. It was just a way of life in the inner city. We struggled growing up in Grand Rapids and by the time I was a teenager, I was uncontrollable and running on the streets. A lot of kids didn’t have their dad living with them. Friends were murdered or jailed.”

Boxing, like for so many other troubled teens, was a way out for Quillin, who started in the sport at the age of 15. He was in and out of the gym, though, undisciplined and didn’t have his first amateur fight until he was 17. At 18, he decided to get serious about boxing. With his $300 life savings stuffed in his pockets, he and his trainer headed to New York City, where he competed in the famed NYC Golden Gloves. He first lived on 88th and Amsterdam in Manhattan, in an apartment of his trainer’s friend. Things didn’t work out between “Kid Chocolate” and his trainer and Quillin soon had no place to live, no family in New York, and he was left crying by himself on a train heading from the Bronx to Manhattan.

Quillin had briefly lived on the Lower Eastside, then in the Bronx, over to the Financial District (his co-manager John Seip hooked him up there with an apartment), and then to Brooklyn for four years. Today, he’s bi-coastal, living in Manhattan between fights, and in Los Angeles while training.

“I don’t really know why I didn’t give-up but I think it was because of God,” Quillin remembered. “I try not to question why but I wouldn’t give up and worked through all the BS to get where I am today. I moved to Brooklyn because it reminded me more of home than Manhattan. I slept on the floor of my friend Steven Rivera’s home. He believed in me. I thank God for the special people in my life that I’m indebted to like my manager, John Seip (who co-manages Quillin with Jim McDevitt). They’ve encouraged me. God got me into boxing for a reason. I’m just getting to the point now where I always wanted to be. It’s all been worth it.”

It certainly hasn’t been an easy road for Quillin to follow and get where is today. Although it never got to the point where he considered quitting boxing, he was forced to work three jobs to survive, earning $350-$500 a week at IHOP (“My personality helped me earn extra money there.”), $100 a week doing administrative work for a friend, and additional coin teaching conditioning classes.

“I’d work three jobs and then go workout at the gym,” Quillin noted. “I didn’t sleep. Faith is everything. God has been good; He challenged me. Some may question why I have the work ethic I do and I owe that to God. I’ve learned that, if you really want something, you need to work at it. I’m still learning about boxing and I put everything into it. My work ethic is even better today, even if it just looks easier. Boxing is my job, boxing is my life.”

From the mean streets of Grand Rapids to Brooklyn and a world title shot Oct. 20 there reads like a Hollywood script. There just may be a “Kid Chocolate” movie someday, especially if he leaves the ring wearing the WBO championship belt around his waist.

For more information about Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin go online to www.TheKidChocolate.com or follow him on Twitter @/Kid Chocolate and Instagram@KidChocolate.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former Jr.Middleweight champion Winky Wright has retired following his ten round unanimous decision defeat to undefeated Middleweight Peter Quillin lasts Saturday in Carson, California.

“I’m gonna call it a day. I’m gonna chill out and play golf and live life,” the 40-year-old Wright told ESPN.com.

“I figured I’m 40 and if I can’t be champion again, I don’t want to do it anymore,” Wright said. “I’m not here just fighting to be fighting. Boxing is supposed to be fun and if it ain’t fun anymore I don’t need to do it so I am done for good. I had fun. I fought a good fight [against Quillin], I didn’t get hurt, I was in shape. My timing was off but I take nothing away from Quillin. He fought a good fight. He was strong. So I’m going to go ahead and get out of the game.

“I accomplished a lot. I want to be true to my fans. I don’t want to be fighting just to be fighting. I don’t need that. I got money, but if I can’t be champion again, I’ll do something else. I’m retiring from the ring. The ring didn’t retire me. If I wanted just to fight I would have come back with an easier fight. I always wanted to challenge myself which is why I took a tough fight like I did.”

“Being in fights on the road helped me to know I could fight anywhere against anyone, no matter what,” he said. “That overseas thing worked out great for me. I got a lot of European fans. If I wanted to, I could still fight. A lot of people have wanted me to come back over there to fight.”

Wright became a regular on HBO and then moved up to middleweight. Felix “Tito” Trinidad, one of boxing’s biggest stars, had ended a retirement by beating Ricardo Mayorga in his comeback fight. For his second fight of the comeback, Trinidad surprisingly picked Wright to fight in what was a major HBO PPV event.

“Tito had destroyed Mayorga and nobody gave me a chance. They thought he’d knock me out and we just did what we did,” Wright said.

What Wright did was put on a clinic in a virtual shutout that sent Trinidad back into retirement for nearly three years before he fought one more time against Roy Jones Jr.

“That fight with Tito was a big fight. That was No. 2 to me because it got me a lot of fans,” Wright said. “Tito was a good guy and everything worked for me in that fight. We still respect each other. Tito became good friends with me after that fight.”

“He came to my dressing room before and after the Quillin fight,” Wright said. “I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at if Shane didn’t give me a shot. So I thank him a lot for that. Before that nobody would fight me, nobody with a name would fight me, so I owe a lot to Shane.”

“I’m glad people know me and respect my accomplishments. It was a great career,” he said. “I always tried to carry myself like a champion and respect people.”

“I got my man, Jim Wilkes, my friend and my attorney who I do some business with. We’ll make sure my money is right and I’ll enjoy my life. I think I had a great career. I love my fans, I love how they stayed behind me no matter if the boxing world wasn’t behind me. They were behind me.

“That motivated me to want to beat everybody and become undisputed champion. But there is life after boxing. So you’ll see me around. You’ll still me at ringside. You’ll see me in Las Vegas. I can relax and watch all the young kids come up and do what they need to do.”

If defiance is an art form, Winky Wright is an artist. He might not practice it in quite the style of a Bernard Hopkins, who has applied it in broad strokes for an identity all his own. But Wright uses it in a careful, almost subdued tone that has made fools of many who didn’t see it or doubted it was even there.

Whether it can still help him is either a question of time — he’s 40 – or Peter Quillin (26-0, 20 KOs), who Saturday night on a Showtime-televised card in Carson, Calif. will attempt to do what Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley couldn’t.

Wright’s initial challenge rests in whether he can overcome a problematic combination. There’s his age, although Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs) won’t even be the oldest on a card labeled “Four Warned.’’ The senior citizen on this one is Antonio Tarver (29-6, 20 KOs), who at 43 faces Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14 KOs) in a cruiserweight fight. Wright’s biggest problem might be a long layoff. He’s had only one fight in the last five years and only two in the last six-and-a-half. His last victory was over Ike Quartey in 2006.

But, Wright said in a conference call, he never retired. OK, maybe he was on an extended vacation or gone on a long recess. Whatever it was, Wright says he never planned to quit. That, he says, is why he’s coming back.

But, he said, “If I’m going to do it, I’ve got to do it now.’’

If not retirement, inactivity often erodes reflexes and dulls muscle memory. Wright played a lot of golf. But a tee time isn’t opening bell. In perhaps a concession to that possibility, Wright trained in Phoenix at the Athletes Performance institute where the best from all sports often go to rehab from injuries or to resurrect old skills.

Wright, who is back with trainer Dan Birmingham, conceded that it took him a while to re-adapt to the Spartan-like regimen that dictates a fighter’s lifestyle in the weeks before a bout.

“I’m not going to say I stayed in boxing shape,’’ said Wright, who got up to 185 pounds and will fight Quillin at 160. “I wasn’t fat. But I wasn’t in boxing shape.’’

The layoff, he said, was a result of not getting the kind of fights he wanted.

“No one significant wanted to fight me,’’ he said.

Significant fights eluded him for years. In large part, that was his story before he emerged as the first undisputed junior-middleweight champion in nearly three decades. Wright fought in Europe, winning yet ignored in the United States during the late 1990s. In the U.S., Wright, the American expatriate, got little respect for a record perceived to be built on opponents who – the joke went – could only get licensed to drive a cab in Las Vegas.

Wright filed it away, used it as motivational chip and as a weapon for those who laughed at the jokes, yet looked like the punch line once they got into the ring against the lefthander with a precise jab and defensive knowhow. In 2004, he beat Shane Mosley twice, the first time after Mosley was coming off his second victory over Oscar De La Hoya. Yet, Wright was still the underdog in 2005 when he met Felix Trinidad at middleweight. Trinidad had no chance in losing a one-sided decision in what was Wright’s finest performance.

But victory didn’t temper the defiance, which was sometimes reflected in failed negotiations. In 2006, Wright and Jermain Taylor fought to controversial draw. Taylor has the middleweight title, but balked at giving Wright financial parity, a 50-50 split, because Wright didn’t have a title. The rematch never happened.

Wright is often asked about the fights he turned down, including one with Oscar De La Hoya proposed in 2003. He was asked about it again in the conference call that included Quillin.

“All these idiots always talk about what I turned down,’’ Wright said in a flash of anger that said time hasn’t tempered that defiance either.

It’s a sign that Wright has a chance on a night when few give him any at all against the 28-year-old Quillin. From the beginning, it’s why he’s always had a chance.

Notes, Quotes
· The sad death Sunday of Johnny Tapia marks the passing of a star-crossed personality and a character as colorful as any in a sport full of them. He was as ferocious a fighter as there ever was. In the end, he will be remembered more for his story outside of the ropes – Mi Vida Loca – than for what he did within them.

· Say a few prayers for Paul Williams. His fight is just beginning after a motorcycle accident Sunday in Atlanta that will likely leave him paralyzed from waist down. He was scheduled to undergo surgery Friday.

· Wright’s last opponent was Williams, who beat him by unanimous decision in April 2009 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

AZ Notes
Phoenix junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. is thinking about a different model of Everlast gloves after extending his unbeaten record to 15-0 last Saturday in Tucson in his first bout since surgery on his right wrist in January. He emerged from the six-rounder over Josh Sosa without pain in the wrist. But there was a swollen knot on the middle knuckle of the left hand. It’s a problem he’s had over the last three-to-four fights. Benavidez’ bone structure might not be able to withstand power from his own punches. One solution might be an Everlast model with more padding above the knuckles.

Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin will take on former Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright on May 26th on Showtime as the co-feature of the Antonio Tarver – Lateef Kayode Cruiserweight battle according to espn.com’s Dan Rafael.

Wright will be coming back after a three year layoff

“They’re both in. I don’t have it signed yet but both sides have agreed to it,” said Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer.

“I think it’s a fascinating matchup,” Schaefer said. “With Winky Wright, you have one of the biggest names in the sport and for him to come back and not take some sort of a tune-up fight, but to go into a fight with one of the top rated guys at 160 pounds in Peter Quillin, it just shows you Winky is serious about giving it another run.

“For Peter Quillin, it’s the most dangerous and biggest fight of his career. For both sides it’s a very intriguing and interesting matchup.”

“I’m super excited about the fight,” Quillin said. “I want to get closer to fighting good fighters and making some good paydays. I will put loads of leather on his ass, make sure every punch lands and that none are wasted. Or I will be the better boxer against Winky Wright. I don’t fight just one way. My job is to train to destroy him. No other way around it.”

“I think he’s a perfect opponent for Winky coming back after being off for a long time,” said Damian Ramirez, Wright’s adviser, who added that he was still waiting to see a draft of an agreement from Golden Boy. “I just feel that it’s a good opportunity for Winky to make a statement with because, with all due respect to ‘Kid Chocolate,’ his best opponent is not on the same level of Winky’s worst opponent. But I take nothing away from the kid. He’s young and strong.”

“This is not a tune-up fight,” Schaefer said. “It’s a serious fight. Winky knows what’s at stake. If he beats a guy like ‘Kid Chocolate,’ then he is back. And he is a big name and he basically wants to use this fight to start the final chapter of the Winky Wright story. He let his body rest, he’s been out for awhile and he is coming back in a meaningful fight.

“But if Peter Quillin can put Winky’s name on his resume that is a big win for him. I think whoever wins this fight will certainly come out as a bigger name in the 160-pound weight class. I really don’t know who is going to win.”

Said Quillin, “Richard was right about Winky being a name on my record. This fight right here gets me closer to a world title. I respect Winky Wright. He has not taken a lot of punishment in his career, but stepping into the ring with me, he will take a lot of punishment. I don’t have nothing to worry about other than to go in there and be the best I can be. If Winky thinks the same way then it will be a good fight for the fans and that’s what I want to give to the boxing fans.

“I’m just looking forward to getting in the ring with Winky Wright and it will be my pleasure to tangle with him. He’ll be a good name for my record.”

“If Winky Wright is the only guy right now to give me exposure, fine,” Quillin said. “That’s all I’m worried about. I want to make some money, I want to win the title, so what I want to do is when Golden Boy or (adviser) Al (Haymon) call me I just want to be ready. That’s my job.”

LOS ANGELES, September 29 – Known for its dazzling beaches and as a vacation destination for millions, Cancun, Mexico will be turned into a fight town on Saturday, November 5, when Golden Boy Promotions and Periodico QueQui (Pepe Gomez) will bring one of the most anticipated bouts in recent years to the Cancun Center, where junior middleweight sluggers Alfredo “Perro” Angulo and James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland will engage in what is already anticipated to be a 2011 Fight of the Year candidate live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark. Also on tap for this boxing extravaganza is a middleweight clash between two fighters battling for a spot in the top ten, undefeated rising star Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin and the always tough contender Craig McEwan.

“This is a fight that fans have been looking forward to for years and now we are finally going to see Angulo vs. Kirkland, and the word ‘explosive’ won’t do it justice,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “There’s no mystery as to what either fighter wants to do on November 5. James and Alfredo are both going to be looking for the knockout and I can’t wait to see it.”

“This is the kind of fight boxing needs and I respect James Kirkland for stepping up and taking it,” said Angulo. “We’re not going to dance or hug in there on November 5th; we’re going to fight, and I can’t wait.”

“Angulo has been on my radar for a long time and I’m happy that we’re finally going to get a chance to fight each other,” said Kirkland. “He’s a good fighter, I like his style and I know we’re going to make for a great fight.”

“I’m very excited and blessed to have this opportunity,” said Quillin. “I know Craig is a solid fighter with tons of fight in him because we used to train together in the same gym, but he has to prove that he has what it takes to give me my first loss. He has tons of heart, but so do I, and if he wants to make a good fight, then he can meet me right in the middle of the ring on November 5th.”

“I don’t think I can just beat Quillin, I know I’m going to knock him out,” McEwan said.

Angulo vs. Kirkland, a 12 round junior middleweight bout and Quillin vs. McEwan, a 10-round middleweight fight are presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Periodico QueQui (Pepe Gomez) and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. The HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast will air at 10:15pm ET/PT.

While James Kirkland can knock you out with a single blow, Mexicali’s Alfredo “Perro” Angulo (20-1, 17 KO’s) is a punishing puncher who can make you beg for a one punch knockout. A professional since 2005, Angulo became a fan favorite for his aggressive style while he piled up win after win, with his only loss coming via decision to Kermit Cintron in 2009. The winner of five in a row since then, including victories over Harry Joe Yorgey, Joel Julio and Joachim Alcine, Angulo returned from a year long layoff in August with a first round knockout over Joseph Gomez. He will look to make a big statement against the concussive punching Kirkland.

One of the hardest punchers in boxing today, James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (29-1, 26 KO’s) has been responsible for some of the most devastating knockouts seen in recent years. A longtime junior middleweight contender who owns victories over Eromosele Albert, Ricardo Cortes, Brian Vera and Joel Julio, the 27-year-old southpaw from Austin, Texas returned to the ring in 2011 after two years away, and he has won four of five bouts, with all four victories coming by knockout in two rounds or less.

Undefeated as a professional, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (25-0, 19 KO’s) has become a much avoided contender in the middleweight division in the past year. That’s not a shock considering his series of crushing knockout wins over Dennis Sharpe, Jesse Brinkley, and Jason LeHoullier in 2011. Now ready to take the next step in his career, the popular 28-year-old will look to take his career to the next level with a win over McEwanin his HBO Boxing After Dark debut.

Also looking to make a big impression on fight fans this November is Scotland native Craig McEwan (19-1, 10 KO’s). Coming off of the first loss of his professional career, which was a thrilling 10 round battle with Andy Lee in March, the 29-year-old southpaw knows that the only way to erase the sour taste of defeat is by replacing it with a big win. In his fight against Peter Quillin, he has the opportunity to take out a top level opponent and get back in the victory circle in front of a worldwide television audience.