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By:  Bryan Mazique –

Credit:  Photos by Elsa/Getty Images /

If there was one word to use to describe the “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2-1) vs. Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0-1) bout, it would have to be: indecisive.

The two middleweights battled to a split-decision draw at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night, and it’s hard to argue with the judges’ decision. Boxing Channel has the official scorecards.

Lee came in as the WBO middleweight champion—a title Quillin held before vacating it—but Lee’s belt wasn’t on the line.

Quillin failed to make weight for the fight, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, thus making Saturday night’s scrap a non-title affair.

Early on, it looked as if Quillin was going to make quick work of Lee. Kid Chocolate dropped the champion with a hard right hand in the first round. Lee was hurt, but he survived though the waning seconds of the round, which saw him staggering in the corner.

Lee went down again in the third from a right hand, but that knockdown was as much caused by Quillin stepping on his foot as it was the punch that landed. Nevertheless, it was scored a knockdown. As it turns out, had Quillin not gotten that break, he would have lost the fight.

In the seventh, Lee put Quillin down for the first time in his career with a solid right hand on Kid Chocolate’s jaw. Quillin wasn’t badly hurt, but it was a legitimate knockdown. For whatever reason, Quillin‘s work rate slowed significantly after that and Lee became the aggressor.

Quillin did more posing than punching, and Lee used his inactivity as an opportunity to take control of the bout down the stretch. With a strong finish, Lee was able to erase Quillin‘s lead on two of the cards and earn the draw.

Quillin, on the other hand, should feel as though he gave this fight away. He was far too tentative most of the night. He respected Lee’s power to a fault. Lee had come in with huge one-punch knockouts in his last two bouts, and Quillin seemed to want no part of a firefight with the hard-punching Irishman.

Brian Custer of Showtime also thought Quillin squandered an opportunity.

“Quillin gave this fight away when he should’ve finished Lee when he had him hurt bad! Peter waits too long to counter.”

When asked about the decision, Lee seemed to think he deserved the decision, but Quillin sounded happy to escape per the quotes captured by Isaac Estrada of Real Boxing News:

“I thought it was a hard fight to score because he had the knock downs, but I outboxed.” Lee

“I’m not a judge. I can’t agree on something is not my job. The judges called it as they best saw it.” Quillin

A rematch certainly seems to be in order. The fight was entertaining, and many fight fans would probably be interested in seeing the two men settle things.

It would also give Quillin an opportunity to make weight, and thus try to regain the WBO title he never lost in the ring. There are certainly other 160-pounders pining for a shot at the WBO strap, but there’s unfinished business between Lee and Quillin. If not immediately, the two should fight again somewhere down the road.

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2427944-andy-lee-vs-peter-quillin-winner-scorecard-and-reaction

 

 

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NEW YORK CITY – Held prisoner because of the boxing network war,  undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) is still searching for his career defining fight.

The 30-year-old Quillin, fighting out of Brooklyn, is the only top-rated 160-pounder aligned with Showtime.  The marquee-name middleweights, Sergio Martinez (WBC/Ring Magazine champion) and Gennady Golovkin (WBA), fight exclusively on rival HBO.

Quillin relishes the opportunity to fight any of the top rated middleweights, but he also understands the politics of boxing and the situation it has presently placed him in.  “It’s not up to me who I fight,” Quillin said.  “If the money is right, I’m up for fighting any of the top names, especially Martinez and Golovkin, but everybody’s aware of what’s going on behind the scenes (Showtime vs. HBO).  My job is to work hard and be ready.  I have the most powerful team in boxing (Golden Boy Promotions, adviser Al Haymon, co-managers John Seip and Jim McDevitt) and they get me the best available deals.  I’m not worried about who I’m fighting.  They come to me with my fights.”

Here’s how Quillin breaks down the top middleweights in the world, not listed in any particular order:

Sergio Martinez:  “He is the one everybody has as No. 1 in the middleweight division.  Martinez has fought some very exciting fights.  He’s a showman in the ring.”

Gennady Golovkin:  “A power puncher.  Golovkin brings power into the ring and gets a lot of knockouts.”

Darren Barker (IBF champion):  “He always puts his best foot forward and always tries as hard as possible.  Barker and I would bring a lot of fireworks into the ring.”

Daniel Geale:  “Another exciting fighter who bangs with the best.  It worked for a while against Barker.”

Felix Sturm:  “I haven’t seen too much of him.  I hope Sturm pursues more fights to make the middleweight division even tougher than it is right now.”

Martin Murray:  “He is determined and exciting.  I can’t take anything away from Murray.”

Peter Quillin:  “A very exciting guy always looking for new ways to win.  He has power, showmanship and a lot of smarts in the ring.”

Quillin recently overcame personal heartache in his second title defense victory, by 10th round technical knockout over a game Gabriel Rosado, who suffered a serious cut over his eye that resulted in the fight being halted on the advice of the ring doctor.  While he was in the middle of training camp in Los Angeles, Quillin’s wife, Allison, suffered a miscarriage five months into her pregnancy.  She was home in New York City.

“I struggled with it,” Quillin admitted.  “I was obligated to camp, 3000 miles away, and she had to go through it without me being there to comfort her.  We’re praying together and I’m working on being more compassionate.”

Quillin is already back in the gym, going through light workouts and yoga.  “I took a week off and bought my dream car (red Corvette Stingray),” he added.  “I get depressed when I’m not working out.  My wife goes to work and I’m all alone.  I need to be active to be productive, so I went right back into the gym.  My dad taught me how to clear my head. I’m staying ready and in shape, just in case the opportunity for my career defining fight comes along.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/quillin-on-martinez-golovkin-barker-geale-sturm–71390

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WBO middleweight world champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin and Philadelphia contender “King” Gabriel Rosado held an international media conference call to discuss their title bout taking place on October 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, in the co-main event of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Karo Murat IBF light heavyweight world championship fight.

Gabriel Rosado: “This is my third fight at middleweight, I’m bigger and stronger, I’ve got a size advantage over Kid Chocolate…I’m going to go through whatever it takes on October 26 to win that title.”

Peter Quillin: “I know Gabe Rosado and I have no problem with him but he’s still going to try to take my title and I don’t take that lightly…I’m going to come out victorious in this fight on October 26.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/quillin-rosado-ready-for-ac-showdown-228306

QUILLIN.GUERREROcomb

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- World Boxing Organization (WBO), by president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, announced today the referee and judges who will work this Saturday, April 27, in the world title fight between middleweight champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin and Fernando Guerrero to be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in a Golden Boy presentation.

In this fight that Quillin (28-0, 20 KOs) will defend for the first time his WBO middleweight belt against the ninth ranked Guerrero (25-1, 19 KOs), from Dominican Republic, the referee will be Harvey Dock.

Meanwhile, the judges for the Quillin vs. Guerrero fight will be Julie Lederman and John McKaie, both from United States, and Nelson Vazquez from Puerto Rico.

The WBO supervisor for this fight will be Alberto Rodriguez Perez.

Quillin won the title when beat Hassan N’Dam N’Jikan by unanimous decision on October 20, 2012, at the same venue where he will to defend for the first time this Saturday.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2013/quillin-holding-wbo-title-belt-hostage/

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NEW YORK (April 21, 2013) – Charismatic world champion prizefighter Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (28-0, 20 KOs) is holding his World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title belt hostage, as he prepares to make his first defense this Saturday evening (April 27) against challenger Fernando Guerrero (25-1, 19 KOs) on Showtime Championship Boxing, airing live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The 29-year-old Quillin, fighting back at home once again in New York City, captured the WBO championship this past October 20 at Barclays Center, dropping defending champion and previously unbeaten Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (27-0) six times en route to a overwhelming 12-round unanimous (115-107 three times) decision.

“I earned my belt and I don’t plan on giving it back until I retire,” Quillin said. “I’m going to win a few more belts for my collection, if any of the other world champions want to fight me on in a unification fight. My goal is to become the undisputed middleweight champion of the world but, first, I have to take care of business Saturday night against a hungry challenger.

“The big difference between me and Guerrero, though, is he wants to be famous and I just want to be the best middleweight in the world. Boxing is a struggle, like my well documented life, coming from such a negative environment. He’s a lot different than anybody I’ve fought, a different challenge I want to get past. I take nothing away from him but, he knows what it feels like to lose. I’m 28-0, never been beaten, and I’ve challenged myself to stay unbeaten.”

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BOSTON STRONG
“Kid Chocolate” has dedicated his world title fight this Saturday night to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and their families.
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Guerrero has defeated current International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight champion Ishe Smith, as well as notables such as Juan Carlos Candelo, Saul Duran, Ossie Duran and Gabriel Rosado. Two years ago, though, the left-handed Dominican was stopped in the fourth round by then 40-year-old Grady Brewer.

“Guerrero is a tough kid with some skills who can box a little,” Quillin’s head trainer, Eric Brown, recently remarked. “He’s like any other guy we fight – we take ‘em serious and don’t play ‘em. We’re preparing to fight this guy at his peak, ready for him to bring his best.

“Anytime a guy goes from contender to champion, like Peter, his confidence is higher. He feels good about himself. People start calling him champ, recognizing him as a champ, and that boosts his enthusiasm. But I think it’s more difficult defending than winning a world title. Once you win it, you’ve got to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Peter will prove that he’s even better than when he won the title.”

“Me and my partner, Jimmy McDevitt, are very excited about Peter’s first title defense,” Quillin’s co-manager John Seip added. “He’s developed a different mindset going from contender to world champion. Insecurities and confidence issues are erased as champion. He’s a much more dangerous fighter as a title holder. The world championship belt is something all fighters train for and dedicated their lives to. He is much more aware of this and takes nothing for granted.

“This is the second phase of Peter’s career. The hard part has just started and there is no room for complacency. Peter isn’t satisfied with winning the world title; he wants more. We’ve been with him since day one and we’ve never seen a more confident, determined young man. He sincerely believes he is fulfilling his destiny, which is very difficult to beat. I hope Mr. Guerrero has prepared himself for a war. This should be an exciting fight….don’t blink!”

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2013/quillin-holding-wbo-title-belt-hostage/