When unbeaten middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (26-0, 20 KOs) steps into the ring on June 2 to fight four-time World Light Middleweight Champion Ronald “Winky” Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs), America’s top middleweight will have the added motivation of winning for his father, Pedro.
Thirty-two years to the day (June 2), Pedro left his native Cuba en route to Miami on boats with his fellow countrymen in search of freedom. “It was like a scene from ‘Scarface’ and my father was on the last boat,” Peter explained. “He ran off the boat so fast he left his shirt and shoes on the boat. They gave him flip-flops and he thought that they were high-end sandals because he was America.”
Quillin explained that his father had served 13 years in prison for illegally selling beef. Pedro was a butcher and there was a strict food allotment in Cuba. He slaughtered cows and illegally sold meat in his neighborhood.
Pedro stayed a few days in Miami before relocating in Wisconsin, finally settling with family members in Chicago, where he worked as a butcher. Peter was born there in 1983.
“Many people gain success by overcoming adversity,” Quillin said. “I was never given anything but I’ve stood on my own and now I’m close to fighting for the World Middleweight Championship. Beating ‘Winky’ Wright will get me closer to accomplishing my dream. My father and brother, Chedrick, have been with me in Las Angeles during this training camp. They’ve motivated me. There’s nothing more I’d like than to give them a big win against ‘Winky’ to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of my father’s freedom.”
