Peter Quillin stood in mid-ring Saturday night after crowning himself with a piece of the middleweight championship, a title belt draped over his shoulder, and thanked Grand Rapids for making him a fighter and New York for making him a man.
Quillin did just what he always has and took what he wanted. It wasn't all a glory ride to the top. He fought in the gym because it was easier. He already knew how to kick tail. With rules, he thought himself indestructible.
Sitting ringside was Mike Tyson, at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Quillin broke down Hassam N'Dam with six knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision victory and the World Boxing Organization title. The former heavyweight champion from the borough's Brownsville section cheered unflinchingly as Quillin punched himself into history, which was fitting, because the Grand Rapids-raised Quillin made note of Tyson's past glory just a couple days before the fight.
"The most feared man on the planet was Mike Tyson," Quillin said. "Now, I'm not saying I want to be the most feared. But I'm also telling myself that I want to be the most dangerous."
Where that takes him next is, at the least, into prime negotiating position for a unification bout with the most recognized champion, Sergio Martinez, the World Boxing Council title-holder from Argentina. The other middleweight title-holders are Australia's Daniel Geale (International Boxing Federaion) and Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin (World Boxing Association).
Peter Quillin with his new WBO middleweight title belt.
Quillin could defend his WBO title for a while and establish himself through public demand. But he doesn't have to fight a mandatory challenger for a year and his intent is to unify, he said.
The nature of Saturday's victory, on a show with four fights televised by Showtime as the boxing christening of the Brooklyn Nets' new arena, surely will pique interest in seeing more of Quillin. N'Dam was game and won several rounds. But all those knockdowns, two each in the fourth, sixth and 12th rounds, and five of them via left hooks (one of the sixth-round knockdowns came from a combination, with two right hands doing the damage) made determining a winner academic. Judges Julie Lederman, John Stewart and Don Trella all scored 115-107.
Quillin's story is a life reclamation project. Wasn't much into school. Liked to scrap. Ran the societal fringes. Then, one day, got crowned by a bottle from behind. Figured it was time for something different. Wandered into the Michigan Golden Gloves Association Gym, then located near the intersection of Leonard Street and Turner Avenue -- the same intersection where he got knocked over the head -- and took his initial boxing instruction from trainers Mike Garcia and the late Jerry Grinwis.
He already knew how to fight. Boxing was different.
"I was built from the ground up," Quillin said. "A lot of guys go to the gym to learn to defend themselves. I learned to fight in the street, to defend myself, and then I learned how to box. That's something special."
The New York journey, where he moved after a handful of amateur bouts in Michigan, is a better-known story, sleeping where he could, taking a few more amateur bouts before turning professional, teaching white-collar Wall Streeters to box in fitness classes for between-fights pocket cash.
He had a bit of an entourage for a while, then realized how silly it was for him. Today, the only camp regulars besides Quillin and his trainer Eric Brown are three of the fighter's long-time friends who help shield distractions, Johnny Burress and Antoine Gooch from Grand Rapids, and a Florida man, Lemeck Rucker.
Those distractions grew exponentially on championship week.
"There are people calling now saying they've got this, they've got this money for me, they can do that for me," Quillin said. "It's all kind of crazy. But I have some key people around me. They know exactly what I'm trying to get out of boxing. They're my friends, but they've also helped me get where I'm at."
Quillin becomes the fifth world champion in Grand Rapids' illustrious boxing history, along with early-1900s middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel, who in 1954 was part of the Boxing Hall of Fame's first induction class; 1980s two-division champion Roger Mayweather; 1987 heavyweight title-holder Tony Tucker; and the current pound-for-pound king and five-division title-holder Floyd Mayweather.
Throughout his difficult journey, there's one thing Quillin didn't do. He didn't lose. He is 28-0 after beating N'Dam. That and a new championship belt in what historically is the second-most-important division in boxing make for a pretty good calling card.
"I'm just trying to inspire through my hard work," Quillin said. "When people think that they can't be something, you've got to remember that if you're willing to sacrifice and put the hard work behind it, and not make excuses about nothing, that's how you become successful."
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