George Willis

George Willis

Boxing

Undercard champ Quillin learns from Hopkins

It’s easy to overlook Peter Quillin when it comes to mentioning the elite fighters in boxing. Also known as “Kid Chocolate,” the WBO middleweight champion is buried somewhere under Sergio Martinez, Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.

In fact, the Brooklyn-based Quillin isn’t even considered a main-event fighter yet. His next title defense will come on the undercard on April 19 when Bernard Hopkins challenges Beibut Shumenov for the WBA light heavyweight championship at the Armory in Washington, D.C. Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) will face Luka Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs) of the Czech Republic.

It’s the second time Quillin will fight on a Hopkins undercard as a champion, but he isn’t grumbling. He sees added value in being part of a promotion involving Hopkins, the 49-year-old future Hall of Famer from Philadelphia. Also on the undercard, former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi of Brooklyn challenges Shawn Porter for the IBF welterweight title. Showtime will televise.

“A lot of guys criticize me for not having a main event, but, like I said, fighting on a Bernard Hopkins undercard like this, I learn valuable things outside the ring with Bernard,” Quillin said. “I catch moments with Bernard all the time, and I’m very thankful to be able to be part of this card. My first being in D.C., I almost thought about changing my name to the “Capital Kid”, because going up in there to fight on Bernard Hopkins’ undercard is a privilege to me, and I’m just very thankful.”

Big pay-days are ahead if Quillin keeps winning. First he must get past Konecny, who is a five-time national champion, and who had 250 amateur bouts and fought in the 2000 Summer Olympics. Though it will be his first fight in the United States, Konecny doesn’t lack confidence and says he is less than impressed with Quillin.

“I think he’s a good boxer,” Konecny said. “He’s a good fighter, he’s a good champion, but I can beat him.”

This will be Quillin’s third title defense. His previous fight was on a Hopkins undercard. That was on Oct. 26 when Quillin stopped Gabriel Rosado on cuts in 10 rounds at Boardwalk Hall. Quillin stopped Fernand Guerrero in seven rounds on April 27 when he fought on the undercard of Malignaggi’s win over Zab Judah at Barclays Center. He vowed not to look past Konecny.

“I’m looking to experience everything that Konecny is going to bring in the fight,” Quillin said. “I think this is what we do as far as challenging ourselves and taking something away from every fight. I’m just very humbled by the experience to be able to go and perform at the level I’ve been performing at to hold this belt. For sure this belt is coming back to Brooklyn.”

The boxing fraternity lost a good friend this week with the passing of Newsday sports writer Marcus Henry. He was a regular at ringside for big fights at the Garden or small ones in a ballroom. Henry, 41, who was a devoted husband to his wife Carmela, would probably be overwhelmed at the endless stream of kind words being expressed across all platforms about his personality and character. He was honestly the nicest guy you could ever meet. He never wanted be the loudest voice in the room or the one who had to ask the first question. He was genuine and he’ll be missed. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at the Union Baptist Church in Hempstead. The wake is 4-7 p.m., followed by the service.

Nice job by Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions donating funds to ensure a statue of the late, great heavyweight champion “Smokin’” Joe Frazier will stand outside Philadelphia’s sports stadium complex on the corner of Patterson and 11th Street. The statue, designed by Philadelphia artist Stephen Layne, will mirror Frazier’s reaction after knocking down Muhammad Ali during their 1971 title fight at Madison Square Garden, and is projected to be unveiled between Thanksgiving and Christmas of this year.