Peter Quillin Talks Al Haymon and Gennady Golovkin

    2
    834

    video-undefined-18E9220B00000578-640_636x358Ever since Peter Quillin vacated his title belt by declining a 1.4 million dollar deal from Roc Nation, fight fans and media outlets have unremittingly bashed the Cuban American. This has not been the first time an Al Haymon fighter has received heavy criticism from the boxing landscape, by choosing an unpopular decision that seemingly ostracized the general public’s interest.

    Tha Boxing Voice recently interviewed Quillin to give him an opportunity to elaborate on these matters. Quillin as always, defended his manager. Quillin reiterated the point, “It’s funny how you hear so many people talk crap about Al Haymon, but you never hear his fighters talk bad about him.”

    Quillin is absolutely right. No fighter under the vast Haymon banner has ever complained of mistreatment, or questioned Haymon’s decisions to the degree where tension arises, and if they have, it was certainly a very rare occurrence. The only people who complain about the infamous decisions of Haymon are fight fans and rightfully so.

    Boxing has been plagued by mismatches, and desirable bouts never coming into fruition. Al Haymon and Top Rank are usually the ones to blame for their inability to negotiate for the betterment of the sport, but Haymon has prevented many great potential matchups amongst his own stable in 2014, which has further angered many fans. Supporters of the sweet science have a variety of reasons why they admire boxing. Some appreciate the technicians, others enjoy the brutality of it, but the majority of fans can agree it’s essential that the top fighters constantly compete against one another, to preserve the esteem of boxing.

    The underlying paradox of Haymon seems to be, the fighters are happy, but the fans are not. Quillin along with many other fighters have come to the defense of Haymon and its understandable why. There have been instances where an unscrupulous promoter or manager deprives their fighter’s financial gains thus crippling them long after their careers are over. It is an immoral script no one values in the sport of boxing. This is why many fighters are very wary towards suspicious characters and Quillin made a valid point when stating, “I hope fighters are working with people that will seek a return in an investment. We got fighters investing by putting endless hours in the gym, and there’s just a point in life you hope that it pays off.”

    Quillin also discussed the financial security of being with a manager such as Haymon, by drawing comparisons to Gennady Golovkin. Quillin stated, “Has he [Golovkin] made a million dollars yet? From what I heard it was 807,000. I just got offered 1.4 million dollars to defend my belt. I’m just asking why hasn’t he made 1.4 million yet? If he hasn’t gotten paid one million dollars yet, or if he did it hasn’t been publicized because when I got offered that, it became big news. It was big news, it was ringside all over the internet and for me to say no to that, people wanted to know why would I turn down the highest payday to date, when people don’t even know I’ve made close to a million dollars already.”

    Quillin also mentioned Haymon’s ability to revive a fighter’s career such as Andre Dirrell. Quillin stated, “Lets talk about Andre Dirrell. He kind of went away but now he’s back with Al Haymon and now he’s in the light of things. It just shows the power of Al. That’s why I’m not even worried about it, I’m in good hands I’m just trying to stay in shape.”

    Optimism for the upcoming year in boxing is not only found in Quillin but the majority of fighters under the Haymon banner. They are the ones who consult with Haymon, not the media. Perhaps the boxing world should take incentive of what these fighters are implying. Maybe under the grand scheme of things, boxing is where it needs to be right now. Many people are split in spewing negative and positive criticism, and the year 2015 will certainly be a year of judgment. Can Haymon be good for a fighter’s financial earnings, and the sport of boxing as a whole? Only time will tell.