On Tuesday night, Peter Quillin appeared onThe Jeff Mayweather Show to discuss his upcoming bout with Fernando Guerrero. ‘Kid Chocolate’ is confident he will come out victorious, but is reluctant to turn the upcoming bout, which will be for Quillin’s WBO middleweight title, into one contested over national pride. Quillin is of Cuban descent, while Guerrero is of Dominican origin, but both claim roots in New York. When two boxers come from different Latin American countries, often things turn nationalistic very quickly.
When asked about whether or not this might come into play, Peter Quillin was quick to brush that aside.
“Fernando Guerrero is a Dominican guy. He is already putting it on his back that he wants to be the first Dominican middleweight champ out there. If this is what he says, I know its a very good reason to be a middleweight champ, to be able to go out there and fight for his country. But I don’t want it to be a Cuba vs Dominican fight. I have so many Dominican fans and friends that I am not going to detach myself and a relationship with them just over a fight. What makes a great champion is he just doesn’t inspire his own people, he inspires people outside his race”
While he may not want to turn it into one country against another, he certainly will have his hands full dealing with just a single man. Fernando Guerrero sports an impressive 25-1 record and was thought to be a future star until he was the victim of a huge upset against lightly regarded Grady Brewer. Since then, he has rebounded nicely, rattling off four consecutive wins.
“He has a good reason to want to come and take my belt. And all my job is to do is train like I have been training. Come February 9, i have respect for him now, but when that bell rings, all respect is lost and I am gonna fight him like a stranger,” Quillin added.
Despite the lack of bad blood going into this fight, it seems obvious Peter Quillin will go into this fight giving Guerrero his complete attention. There doesn’t always need to be bad blood going into a fight to make it exciting. With Quillin intent on building his legacy, and Guerrero wanting to continue on his road back, this bout should provide ample fireworks while it lasts.
http://youtu.be/38gLJjtSqO8
