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Peter Dobson is Building Himself into a Champion

Posted on 09/23/2019

By: Hans Themistode

Sell dugs or become a pro athlete? Those are typically the choices for a young kid growing up in the Bronx section of New York. This is particularly true if you are a young man of color.

For professional boxer Peter Dobson, he has heard this narrative his entire life.

“When I was coming up I actually wanted to be a drug dealer,” said Dobson. “I used to think that was the coolest thing ever. A lot of older people used to tell me negative things all the time so I always kind of thought that I’m either going to have to make it as an athlete or I would end up being a drug dealer.”


Photo Credit: Henry Deleon

To Dobson’s credit, he made the right choice. As a professional fighter he has managed to amass a record of 11 wins with 7 of them coming via stoppage in the welterweight division. It seems like his master plan is coming all together doesn’t it? Well, not exactly. Boxing was never supposed to be apart of his future. Instead of dominating foes in the ring, he dreamed of doing destroying his competition on the basketball court.

“I used to play basketball a lot. I played AAU ball for the New York Gauchos. Before boxing that was really my first love.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the New York Gauchos, they should do their research. Only the best of the best in the New York area have played for this team including former NBA players Stephon Marbury, Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland and countless others. Dobson, like many other troubled youth in this area, may have been talented enough to see his dreams come true but didn’t place enough emphasis on the work that needed to be done in the classroom.

“In school I would fail most of my classes so I wasn’t able to stay on the team. I would also get into a lot of fights. Once I wasn’t able to stay on the team it just got worse for me. I used to either slap someone or get into a fight every other day.”

Being a product of your environment seems like the appropriate diagnostic for Dobson. When you delve into his story however, it actually goes deeper than that. He wasn’t just emulating what he had grown accustomed to seeing in his neighborhood, but his behavior was actually engrained in his very DNA.

“My dad was pretty well known in the Bronx. He passed away when I was only a week old but people would always tell me about how he really struck fear in a lot of people. Plenty of guys started telling me that we have the same personality. For me, I didn’t really want to take that as a compliment because I knew exactly where that would lead me.”

A change in his personality is what Dobson wanted and it is exactly what he accomplished. He was still a young kid with a lot of anger and with no basketball to channel that anger, Dobson turned his sights towards the boxing ring.

“I first got into boxing when I was 16 years old. My aunt had a gym by her house so me and my cousin decided to start going to the gym. A whole bunch of my friends started with me but they all quit and I’m the only one who kept going. I really enjoyed it until the gym that I normally went to closed down. From there I wasn’t sure what to do. There were a few gyms that weren’t too far but a lot of them were dirty and I just didn’t like the vibe that I was getting in there.”

For a boxer, a gym is almost an extension of his home. Finding the best gym that he could took a bit of time. It seemed as though Dobson would have to settle for a raggedy gym but instead, he found one that was perfectly suited for him.

Hard-Work-Work is the phrase associated with South Box, a gym which is ran by former amateur standout boxer Eric Kelly and located at 2413, Third Avenue in the Bronx. What does it mean exactly? That’s simple.


Photo Credit: Henry Deleon

Hard work works and will yield desired results. If you aren’t ready to work hard then this isn’t the gym for you.

The slogan was a mirror image of how Dobson viewed himself. He was ready to put in all of the work necessary to achieve his goals.

“It’s been a bit of a blessing that my old gym closed down because South Box has been great to me. Just the atmosphere and work I’m able to get down there is perfect for me. I love it in there but what makes the gym even better for me is Eric Kelly. It’s defiently the hottest gym in the Bronx.”

The relationship Dobson has developed with Kelly has turned into something that goes far beyond just boxing.

“I’m usually a loner at heart but with Kelly he’s been my guy since day one. As soon as I met him it felt like we knew each other for a while, he was just a real cool guy. He shows me a lot of love. He’s almost like a big brother to me.”

With his new home at South Box, Dobson has had himself a great start to his boxing career. As an amateur he won the Golden Gloves tournament and a slew of other competitions along the way. His professional career is off to a spotless start after 11 pro fights as well.

It might seem early, but Dobson wants his crack at a title soon. Many of you may look at his record and decide that he is a bit too inexperienced to jump in the ring with the best at the Welterweight Division but Dobson would disagree with you.

“I want to be a world champion after a few more fights. Maybe four or five. I know that I can compete with anyone right now. Everyone has always told me that I have the talent but my problem has always been my conditioning. I’ve worked really hard at that flaw and I believe that my conditioning is at an elite level now. I know the Welterweight division is possibly the best in boxing but I want to show that I belong. I’ve sparred Jaron Ennis, Erickson Lubin and a bunch of other top notch guys and I’ve held may own. People don’t realize that I have more experience than what my record says. I’ve gotten the chance to train at the TMT gym in Vegas and at Freddie Roach’s gym also so I’ve been everywhere. All I need is an opportunity.”

Dobson fully understands that he will have to continue to work hard for his chance to show what he can do on the big stage. If it was up to him however, he would love to jump in the ring against one big name fighter in particular right now.

“I want to fight Adrien Broner. That’s who I want the most. We sparred at Mayweather’s gym a few years ago and everybody saw that I was doing well. It was some really good sparring but what got me upset is that he put up clips on instagram of him hitting me and didn’t show any of the work that I was doing. He made it seem like he was just beating me up in the gym so yeah Adrien is number one on my list.”

Many young fighters wouldn’t call out a four division world champion in Adrien Broner, but the confidence that Dobson has in himself will never waver. He has been like this his entire life.

What exactly motivates and pushes him to attempt to be great? Fear and joy.

“Every time I go into the ring I’m scared but it just makes me fight harder. The fear that I have keeps me motivated but so does my son Eli. Before I had him I didn’t think I could get any more motivated but once he was born my desire to be great and my motivation has gone through the roof.”

It isn’t just his baby being born that keeps Dobson motivated. Even after so many years, he still remembers every bad word that everyone had to say about him when he was growing up. Proving the doubters wrong who believed that he wouldn’t amount to anything has pushed Dobson, but it has also shown him what he wants to do for the next generation.

“A lot of people told me that I wouldn’t amount to anything. I didn’t really have anybody to point me in a different direction. I want to be that person to show the younger generation the right path. Becoming a world champion and making a lot of money is important to me but so is inspiring the youth and showing them that they can do whatever that they want to do in life.”

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Fight Preview: Colbert vs. Beltran Jr., Angulo vs. Quillin

Posted on 09/19/2019

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfile California will be the host site for Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions Card. This event will be shown live on Fox Sports 1.

The main event will be a Super Middleweight bout between former world titlist Peter Quillin and Alfredo Angulo. The co-main event of the evening will be between Miguel Beltran Jr. and Chris Colbert in the lightweight division.

The undercard is stacked with fights and well known contenders and prospects. Fighters on the undercard include Thomas Dulorme, Jesus Ramos, Gary Antonio Russell, Francisco Ochoa, and Gary Antuanne Russell.

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the evening.

Chris Colbert (12-0) vs. Miguel Beltran Jr. (33-7); Lightweights

The co-main event of the night will be between Chris Colbert and Miguel Beltran Jr. in the lightweight division.

Colbert is a high ceiling prospects that actually qualified for the 2016 Olympics but decided to not participate and turned pro instead. Colbert is a former Golden Gloves Champion. Beltran has faced some significant opposition as a professional, but has no notable amateur experience.

Colbert is only twenty two years old and is eight years younger than Beltran. Colbert has also been significantly more active ein the past two years. He fought three times in 2019 and twice in 2018. Beltran has yet to fight in 2019 and fought twice in 2018.

Beltran does appear to have an edge in power. Beltran has twenty two stoppage victories while Colbert only has four stoppage wins. However, Beltran has been stopped twice in his career while Colbert is undefeated.

It should also be noted that Beltran is 2-2 in his last four fights.

Beltran doesn’t have many notable wins. His biggest wins were against Fernando Garcia, Miguel Roman, and Eduardo Lazcano. He has losses to Yuriorkis Gamboa, Casey Ramos, Francisco Gabiel Pina, Luis Sanchez, Carlos Diaz Ramirez, Roman Martinez, and Joksan Hernandez.

Colbert has never been defeated as a pro. He has defeated the likes of Alberto Mercado, Mario Briones, Josh Hernandez, Fatiou Fassinou, Austin Dulay, and Titus Williams.

This should be an easier win for an uprising Colbert against a downward trending Beltran.

Peter Quillin (34-1-1) vs. Alfredo Angulo (25-7); Super Middleweights

Peter Quillin is a former belt holder in the middleweight division, until he lost it by TKO to Daniel Jacobs. Since then he hasn’t been very active and only fought once in 2019, once in 2018, and once in 2017.

Luckily he is facing someone who has fought only once in 2019, once in 2018 and zero times in 2017. Both Angulo and Quillin are past their primes, but Quillin is one year younger at thirty six years old. They are about equal in power, with Angulo having twenty one stoppage victories and Quillin having twenty three stoppage victories.

Quillin will have a four inch height advantage and about a two inch reach advantage. Quillin also has a clear edge in speed over the at times plodding Angulo.

Quillin had a rather short amateur career and turned pro at a young age. Angulo competed for Mexico in the 2004 Olympics.

Quillin has defeated the likes of J’Leon Love, Michael Zerafa, Lukas Konecny, Gabriel Rosado, Fernando Guerrero, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Ronald Wright, and Craig McEwan. His lone loss was to Daniel Jacobs.

Angulo does not have the professional resume of Quillin. He has defeated the likes of Evert Bravo, Jorge Silva, Raul Casarez, Joachim Alcine, Joel Julio, Harry Joe Yorgey, and Gabriel Rosado. His losses were to Kermit Cintron, James Kirkland, Sergio Mora, Freddy Hernandez, James De La Rosa, Canelo Alvarez, and Erislandy Lara.

Angulo has struggled as of late and has gone 3-5 in his last eight fights. Even though Quillin is getting older, he still has the goods to dispatch of Angulo.

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PBC on Fox Preview: Quillin vs. Love, Alexander vs. Berto

Posted on 08/01/2018

By: Daniel Smith

This Saturday night, on August 4th, former welterweight world champs Andre Berto and Devon Alexander will mix it up within the square jungle in a 12-round main event. The undercard of the fight features former middleweight champ Peter Quillin vs. contender J’Leon Love in a super middleweight bout. The event takes place at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and will be televised live by FOX.

First and foremost, let’s sample the undercard before the main event.

Peter Quillin vs. J’Leon Love (Super Middleweight Division).

At thirty-five- years of age, the former WBO middleweight world champion, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin is chomping at the bit for another world title shot. A shot and prospect which he believes is potentially within touching distance.

However, he first needs to eradicate his opponent and younger contender, J’Leon Love, from a long line of rapacious super middleweight fighters within a rough, tough and dangerously competetive division.

Both Quillin and Love’s professional records are blemished with a loss and draw a piece, and both men will be more than prepared to rage against the tide and be dragged into deep waters; dissolving all strategic-game plans, scrapping it out in a brutal tear-up in order to advance to the next phase of their careers and compete at the top level for a super middleweight title.

Peter Quillin

Until 2015, Peter Quillin was ploughing his way through middleweight boxers, accumulating and notching up an impressive score of 23 knockouts on his professional record. However, since suffering a vicious first-round TKO at the fast-flurrying, lethal hands of Daniel Jacobs back in 2015, Quillin began re-scaffolding his boxing career, and in 2017, he fought for twelve rounds and earned a unanimous decision against Dashton Johnson.

Now, “Kid Chocolate” seems raring to go and ready to steamroll his way to victory against the (24-1-1) J’Leon Love. But can he achieve it? Can Quillin, at 35, return to the sport after a hefty 21 month lay off, only to come back in heavier weight class and present a challenge to the top, youthful, title-hungry super middleweight lions? Well, all will be revealed this commencing Saturday night, where a cracking night of boxing should be on the cards!

J’Leon Love

The former Olympian, sports a professional career of (24-1-1) – a fairly decent record with its sole defeat coming from a the Rogelio Medina fight, where a steely left hook rendered Love out by the eight count. However, this fight is a “must-win” if he is to be thrown into the blend of fighters that present a serious threat to the division’s reigning champions, Groves (WBA), Benavidez (WBC), Ramirez (WBO) and Uzcategui (IBF). If so, J’Leon needs to execute his game-plan with precision and effect; deploying and detonating with hard, clean-crisp punches and convincingly winning the bout to aid his ascending climb on the competitive super middleweight ladder.

This weekend, we’ll see if Love has the skill, determination and calibre to be regarded as a genuine contender that possess champion material.

The Main Event – Berto vs Alexander (Welterweight Division)

The main event will showcase Devon Alexander vs. Andre Berto. The former two-weight class, unified world champion, Devon Alexander – a man whose held the WBC and IBF light welterweight titles as well as the IBF welterweight belt, will trade leather against the two-time former welterweight world WBC, IBF and WBA champion, Andre Berto. Berto will clash with the No 4 ranked IBF, welterweight contender in a fight (if he’s successful) that will potentially hurl him back in contention with the division’s elite welterweight warriors.

Let’s take a preview and analysis of both men going into the bout.

Devon Alexander

Devon Alexander “The Great” (27-4-1) needs to be sharp and slick in this fight when utilising his solid three punch combinations. It’s clear that Alexander is capable and prepared to stand toe-to-toe and involve himself with terse and brutal, “fighting in a phone booth” slugfests – his battle against Ortiz springs to mind. However, “The Great” should get behind his jab, set traps and fire “in and out” with poised, venomous shots that rattle and breakdown his opponent.

With the No. 1 slot vacant for the IBF title, Alexander, absolutely needs to make this one count and do it in style, too if he’s to knock the top welterweight dogs from their championship spots.

Andre Berto

Andre “The Beast” Berto – with 36 fights, 31 wins and 5 losses in his repertoire; Berto should be licking his lips at the prospect of causing an upset by defeating the bookies favourite in this contest. If “The Beast” emerges victorious as the underdog going into the fight, then it would certainly raise his stock and add further spice to an already fiery division. But only time will tell.

For this fight, both men should prepare for vicious trades within an ugly, Gran Prix paced scrap that displays fast hands, rapid combinations and hard, solid punishing blows. Both fighters can’t afford to get caught cold and both need to be vigilant and wired-up, yet capable to dispatch a dynamite, powerhouse ferocity that explodes “at the ready.” Essentially, a convincing win is definitely required from one of the two boxers. But who wins and who goes away with second prize from a two horse race?

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Is “Kid Chocolate” the Most Used Name for a Boxer?

Posted on 08/14/2017

By Ken Hissner

The last name Smith has many boxers with that name but “Kid Chocolate” has to be right up there with seventy-two, yes 72 boxers have used that name!

The most famous was Havana Cuba’s Kid “Bon Bon” Chocolate, 136-10-6 (51), NBA World Super featherweight and NYSAC World Featherweight champion.

There were 12 Young Kid Chocolate’s. There were also Kid Chocolate l, plus 3 Kid Chocolate ll’s and 1 Kid Chocolate lll’s. Also, a Kid Chocolate, Jr. Philadelphia’s Ronnie Walker, 19-7, was one of the Baby Kid Chocolate’s.

Only 17 of the 72 Kid Chocolates had a winning record even if it was 2-1. The worst record was Baby Kid Chocolate 26-50-10, and believe it or not from Hershey, PA, the Chocolate town known for their Hershey chocolate candy bars.

The name Kid Chocolate did few boxers any good since only one of them had 20 and one 10 wins with the rest below 10 wins of the 72 except “Bon Bon” whose real name was Eligio Sardinias Montalvo and was the original Kid Chocolate starting in 1927.

The greatest P4P boxer ever “Sugar” Ray Robinson’s real name was Walker Smith, Jr. There were 40 named John Smith, 25 named James Smith and 24 Charley Smith names boxers.

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