Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin will look to be fighting for at “another level” when he puts his unbeaten record and WBO middleweight belt on the line against Philadelphia’s Gabriel Rosado on the undercard of Bernard Hopkins’ IBF light heavyweight title defense against Karo Murat on Oct. 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

“I don’t feel that I’m underrated. I know I have my share of supporters,” Quillin, a 30-year-old boxer-puncher with a mark of 29-0 with 21 knockouts, said during a during a recent media conference call.

“But I also know that I’m still looking for that clear, career-defining performance against the kinds of guys I can get the credit for fighting. So, until then, until I’m in with those kinds of guys, I can’t really say I’ve accomplished anything that would make me feel like I’m the guy that gets all the credit.”

In his past two performances at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Quillin dropped Hassan N’Dam six times on his way to a unanimous decision for the WBO belt last October, and he scored four more knockdowns during a seventh-round stoppage of Fernando Guerrero in his first defense of that title in April.

In June of last year, Quillin dropped former titleholder Winky Wright in the fifth round of an eventual unanimous decision victory. Quillin could do more of the same against Rosado (21-6, 13 KOs), but even then, he might not quiet his critics.

“I have had 11 knockdowns in my last three fights. I only had 15 amateur fights. People see or hear about those knockdowns and they have a lot to say about it,” said Quillin.

“‘If you hit so hard and have so much power, why don’t they just stay down?’ But that is not up to them to tell us why they got back up from a punch and fought on. It is up to the guy that I am fighting. The more times you get up, the more times I am going to try to knock you down.”

Rosado is coming off of a fight with J’Leon Love in May, a split-decision loss that became a no-decision after Love was fined $10,000 and suspended for six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his failed post-fight drug examination.

Before facing Love, Rosado lost by a bloody seventh-round stoppage to WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin, ending his run of seven straight victories, five of them by knockout.

“Rosado presents his own challenges. He’s coming to win my world title. I have something that he wants, so I have to respect him for that,” said Quillin.

“Going into the fight, I have to take myself to a whole another level as far as my work ethic. I’m doing a lot more than I ever have. I’ve had tremendous training camp. Now I have to prove what my hard work does, like I always have, by just going in there and trying my best.”

Beyond Rosado, Quillin knows that bouts against the likes of Golovkin or RING and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez can bring the sort of respect that he craves.

“Yeah, I beat Winky Wright, and, yeah, I beat some guys with good records, but beating another world champion is something I really want to do. I feel that once that superstar fight comes along and is on the line, then that’s when the credit will come my way,” said Quillin.

“I would love to fight any of the top guys. I didn’t come in here picking and choosing who I want to fight. I have a good team behind me. They make sure when it comes to me proving myself with, that I do my part and they do their part by making the best fights out there for me.”

Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]