When Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin heard his name annouced as the new WBO Middleweight champion after a 12 round thrashing of Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam two years ago, it must have felt that the world was finally at his feet. The Cuban-American had finally found his vindication after facing the many obstacles in his professional life as well as his personal life.
The money, the big fights, and the glory that came with being a champion and defending his gold. Since his coronation, the reality of Quillin's reign is that it hasn't provided him any more opportunities now than before, and the future isn't looking any brighter on the eve of his third defense this weekend.
A victim of circumstance of the current impasse between HBO and Showtime/Golden Boy Promtoins, Quillin has spent his reign watching as almost everybody in the Middleweight division advance their career except him. Gennady Golovkin is getting money thrown at him for blasting out no-hopers, Sergio Martinez is about to make a career-high payday beating up Miguel Cotto and even guys like Brian Vera have gotten more prime time exposure than him.
Golden Boy can't go to bat for Quillin as the majority of the power-players at 160 pounds are all on HBO, and even his partnership with Al Haymon has only gotten him this far. He is a champion with only short term prospects, and that's not how primetime fighters are made.
While the blame is easy to pin on Golden Boy, Quillin himself hasn't done himself any favors with muddled wins against middling competition. He blasted out Fernando Guerrero in his first defense, which was expected since Guerrero's suspect chin failed him against journeyman Grady Brewer, and was subsequently rescued from catastrophe against the quick-to-bleed Gabriel Rosado when their fight was stopped on cuts.
Not wanting to stray too far from the path, Quillin's next opponent this weekend is none other than...Lucas Konency?
Who?
The money, the big fights, and the glory that came with being a champion and defending his gold. Since his coronation, the reality of Quillin's reign is that it hasn't provided him any more opportunities now than before, and the future isn't looking any brighter on the eve of his third defense this weekend.
A victim of circumstance of the current impasse between HBO and Showtime/Golden Boy Promtoins, Quillin has spent his reign watching as almost everybody in the Middleweight division advance their career except him. Gennady Golovkin is getting money thrown at him for blasting out no-hopers, Sergio Martinez is about to make a career-high payday beating up Miguel Cotto and even guys like Brian Vera have gotten more prime time exposure than him.
Golden Boy can't go to bat for Quillin as the majority of the power-players at 160 pounds are all on HBO, and even his partnership with Al Haymon has only gotten him this far. He is a champion with only short term prospects, and that's not how primetime fighters are made.
While the blame is easy to pin on Golden Boy, Quillin himself hasn't done himself any favors with muddled wins against middling competition. He blasted out Fernando Guerrero in his first defense, which was expected since Guerrero's suspect chin failed him against journeyman Grady Brewer, and was subsequently rescued from catastrophe against the quick-to-bleed Gabriel Rosado when their fight was stopped on cuts.
Not wanting to stray too far from the path, Quillin's next opponent this weekend is none other than...Lucas Konency?
Who?
I jest. Of course I know who Konency is. Konency is a well-traveled fighter who has never fought outside of Europe and at 35 with a record of 50-4, with his most notable fight in recent memory was a loss to Zaurbek Baysangurov in a WBO Junior Middleweight title fight in 2012. Baysangurov would be outclassed and stopped by Cornelius "K9" Bundrage soon afterwards, and Konency just went back to the European circuit before accepting the call for this fight.
Konency is the kind of fighter Quillin should have fought on his way to becoming a champion, not in his course to legitimize himself as one. Regardless of how the fight goes this weekend, Quillin has been once again put in a no-win situation where victory, no matter how conclusive, will fail to change the perspective of his level of talent due to him facing the opponents he is supposed to crush.
Should Quillin struggle against Konency, it's not hard to imagine Golden Boy making a quicker push to match Quillin against fellow New Yorker Danny Jacobs in what would serve as an eliminator of sorts within their stable. Jacobs was on his way to a world title until he was unexpectedly stopped by Dmitry Pirog in five rounds and later diagnosed with cancer, which is now in full remission. Quillin/Jacobs has been mentioned as a potential fight for quite some time, and with Jacobs' most recent performances suggest that he is back to form, Golden Boy just might reinvest in their past prospect to overcome their present one.
Quillin can still beat the hapless Konency this weekend and Jacobs in the Fall, but it wouldn't get him any closer to the recognition he feels he deserves. For a fighter that has no fan base to rabidly cheer his name, opponents that will establish him as a force and a promoter perhaps willing to abort their investment altogether, Quillin still finds himself in the same situation he found himself turning pro: A man with the odds stacked against him.
Should Quillin struggle against Konency, it's not hard to imagine Golden Boy making a quicker push to match Quillin against fellow New Yorker Danny Jacobs in what would serve as an eliminator of sorts within their stable. Jacobs was on his way to a world title until he was unexpectedly stopped by Dmitry Pirog in five rounds and later diagnosed with cancer, which is now in full remission. Quillin/Jacobs has been mentioned as a potential fight for quite some time, and with Jacobs' most recent performances suggest that he is back to form, Golden Boy just might reinvest in their past prospect to overcome their present one.
Quillin can still beat the hapless Konency this weekend and Jacobs in the Fall, but it wouldn't get him any closer to the recognition he feels he deserves. For a fighter that has no fan base to rabidly cheer his name, opponents that will establish him as a force and a promoter perhaps willing to abort their investment altogether, Quillin still finds himself in the same situation he found himself turning pro: A man with the odds stacked against him.
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