The 29 year-old, who claimed the belt with a unanimous decision to win over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam at the same venue last October, is ready to fight tooth and nail to preserve his newfound status after a wide decision win over the Frenchman.
“I picked up where I left off. I went back to you, New York, and cleared my mind. But made sure that I stayed in shape the entire time,” Quillin told World Boxing News.
“I came back to LA prepared for another agonizing camp, but my mind is right as it always is.”
Quillin will put his perfect 28-fight record on the line along with his title belt in New York and, as usual, won’t take any challenger lightly – as Guerrero has only lost once in 26 outings himself.
“I know enough about Guerrero as I know he wants to be a middleweight champion as badly as I did when I was a challenger, and I give him credit for that,” said Quillin, who wouldn’t be drawn on the possibility of a rematch with N’Dam after the former ruler filed a protest against his loss.
“How the fight goes is all up to Fernando Guerrero. He wants to beat me as badly as I want to beat him, but my fans expect me to be an animal – so it’ll turn me all the way on my animal status.”
The Chicago-born belt holder then responded to a question on some of the more meaningful encounters on offer in the division, although Quillin wouldn’t be drawn further than stating that he fears no-one at 160lbs.
On potential battles with top-ranked middleweights Sergio Martinez, Julio Cesar Chavez, or Matthew Macklin, Quillin said: “Guerrero is my focus right now. I can’t look beyond that, but I welcome any challenge.”
And of a move up to super-middleweight anytime soon, he added: “I’m campaigning as a middleweight, and I feel strong as a middleweight. I’m living in the now and will wait to see what the future holds.”
Quillin v Guerrero provides chief support to the unified light-welterweight clash between double title-holder Danny Garcia and number one contender Zab Judah, with Danny Jacobs v Billy Lyell adding more weight to a big Golden Boy Promotions card in New York.
