Peter Quillin Feels Ready for Sergio Martinez After Beating Winky Wright

Carson, CA -- With a convincing unanimous decision win over respected veteran Ronald "Winky" Wright in the "Four Warned" co-main event at the Home Depot Center, Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin has positioned himself for a potential showdown with pound-for-pound superstar Sergio Martinez.

“I prepared for a 21-year-old Winky Wright and at times he fought like that,” Quillin said. “You can see from my face that I didn’t take a lot of punishment tonight.”

Wright, 40, entered the bout following a three-year layoff from the sport. Because the southpaw Wright has a cautious style, great defense, and a solid jab, he often has been ducked by fighters looking to avoid the high-risk, low-reward challenge that he presents.

On Saturday night, the charismatic Quillin not only accepted the challenge, but also accomplished one of the sport's toughest tasks -- looking good against the normally defensive Wright.

Winky started off well, aggressively coming forward at a deliberate pace and landing his jab, while mixing in an occasional sneaky left hand.  Defensively, he was effective in the early rounds, blocking many of Quillin's combinations and flurries.

Through the first three rounds, the bout was fought at Wright's preferred slower pace.

In Round 4, Quillin slowly turned the fight in his favor, increasing his punch volume and throwing several powerful combinations.  Eventually he began to break through Wright's defense and score effectively.

Quillin's speed and power took a toll on Wright in Round 5, as a Quillin right hand to the head put Wright on the canvas.

"He definitely won the fight, no doubt at all," Wright said. "My timing was off. He fought a good fight, and he came prepared. I think I need to be at 154 if I fight again. He was quicker than I thought, and he was stronger than I thought."

Wright gamely tried to rally later in the fight, landing his share of jabs and left hands.  However, Quillin was able to walk through the shots of the slower-handed Wright, and never appeared to be hurt.

In Round 8, Quillin had Wright in serious trouble when he caught him with an uppercut as Wright came forward. Wright's knees buckled and he immediately went into survival mode with Quillin throwing multiple shots in an effort to end the fight.

Fortunately for Wright, the bell sounded and he was able to recuperate enough to produce his best effort of the night in Round 9. In that round, Wright increased his activity and landed a nice right hook on Quillin.

It turned out to be too little, too late for Wright however, as Quillin held a decided advantage on all three cards with scores of 98-91, 98-91, and 97-92. The DSH scored the bout 96-93.

Quillin's power and workrate proved to be the difference, as he landed 113 power shots compared to only 39 for Wright. Moreover, Quillin's shots had the pop of a true middleweight behind them, compared to Wright's more ordinary blows.

Quillin also was more accurate, landing 26% of his punches compared to Wright's 19%.

Perhaps those advantages could be chalked up to a secret training method Quillin used to improve his footwork prior to the bout -- salsa dancing.

"I do salsa dancing on Saturdays. With the footwork, if Winky Wright wanted to beat me, he would have to be able to dance better than me," the charming Quillin joked.

Now with a victory over a name fighter such as Wright on his resume, the logical question is: Who's next?

If superstar Sergio Martinez doesn't get the coveted bout he wants with Floyd Mayweather, then at the very least, a fight with Kid Chocolate would prove to be a fan-friendly matchup featuring two athletic, powerful, and offensive-minded fighters.

"I've been ready for that fight," Quillin said of a bout with Sergio Martinez. "I would love a crack at him.  If he would be willing to give me the opportunity, I would take it."

By Mike Elliott
Staff Editor for The Daily Sports Herald