ANDY LEE’S NEXT opponent has described their upcoming WBO middleweight title fight as a “match-maker’s dream”.
Limerick fighter Lee defends his belt for the first time when he meets American Peter Quillin, nicknamed ‘Kid Chocolate’, in New York on 11 April, as mandatory challenge Billy Joe Saunders opted to fight the winner instead.
Undefeated with 31 career wins (22 by KO), 31-year-old Quillin is a former WBO champion but vacated his title last September.
During an interview with Off The Ball last night, he said that fans are in for an entertaining spectacle.
“We’ve crossed paths once before,” said Quillin. ”We were actually supposed to fight on HBO a couple of years back when Sergio Martinez fought Matthew Macklin. I was supposed to be on the undercard and HBO wanted us to fight but the business couldn’t be done.
It’s a fight that the fans should be happy with. This is a match-makers dream. Andy Lee is a very durable opponent and I’m undefeated still. We’ll be looking to secure our legacies and it makes for a good fight.”
Quillin has been through difficult times recently with the passing of his uncle but says that bereavement and the birth of his son motive him to be successful. He also hopes that both sets of supporters respect him — whatever the result.
“I do not want the Irish fans to dislike me,” he added. “I would like the Irish fans to be fans of the sport and to know that I’m not just fighting for blacks. I’m not just fighting for Cubans. I fight for the world, I fight for the children, I fight for cancer… for all the good thing that inspire people to be great at what they do.
“And I just hope they can be fans of this fight — regardless of a winner or a loser. That they can just respect that we go in there with our two hands to be able to fight for what we believe in. I just told you what I believe in and I hope people support me for the right reasons.”
