A source close to the information has confirmed that a deal has been reached between former undisputed jr. middleweight champion Winky Wright and undefeated middleweight contender Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin to face each other on the undercard of Mayweather vs. Cotto, which takes place on May 5th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. An official announcement will be coming soon from Golden Boy Promotions.
The 40-year-old Wright will be returning to the ring after a 3-year layoff. His last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Paul Williams in 2009. Prior to that, Wright also lost a unanimous decision to Bernard Hopkins in 2007. Wright's heyday in the sport was from November of 2003 until 2006 when he went 6-0-1, including victories over Angel Hernandez, Shane Mosley (twice), Felix Trinidad, and Ike Quartey, and a draw with then middleweight champion Jermain Taylor.
Quillin (26-0 20 KO's) is coming off his biggest victory to date in November when he knocked out Craig McEwan on the James Kirkland vs. Alfredo Angulo undercard in Mexico. Quillin is rated as the #7 ranked middleweight in the world by the WBA and Boxrec.com. He is expected to earn a world title shot sometime in 2012 and a win over Wright on the biggest pay-per-view event in recent memory could give Quillin the chance he has desperately seeking.
The Wright vs. Quillin fight adds to an already stacked pay-per-view fight card including Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Mosley, and the main event featuring the #1 and #3 pay-per-view draws in the sport of boxing in Mayweather and Cotto respectively. The last three major pay-per-view fight cards (Mayweather vs. Ortiz in September, Pacquiao vs. Marquez III in November, and Cotto vs. Margarito in December) have signified a shift in pay-per-view fight cards where the main event is not the only appealing fight that fans want to see. When boxing fans complained about seeing rising prospects in the ring against over-matched opposition leading up to the main event, which more often than not disappointed, promoters responded strong in 2011, bringing fans exciting televised fights leading up to the main event.
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