By Ryan Maquiñana

It appears that unbeaten middleweight Peter Quillin (25-0, 19 KOs) will make his HBO debut as the co-feature to Alfredo Angulo vs. James Kirkland when he meets Scottish southpaw Craig McEwan (19-1, 10 KOs) in Cancun on Nov. 5.

“I have my contract in my e-mail right now,” Quillin said.  “I can’t wait to go to Cancun, win, and then celebrate by having a vacation there afterward.”

After initial reports had Quillin traveling to Australia to fight Sam Soliman in an IBF semi-eliminator, promoter Golden Boy found a spot for the 160-pounder who has claimed the Michigan city of Grand Rapids, Brooklyn, and now Hollywood home.

The fight offers a subplot in the sense that once upon a time, the two men sparred each other at the Wild Card Gym before McEwan left following his first loss, a stoppage to Andy Lee despite the Scot accumulating an early lead on the cards.

In a brief chat with BoxingScene, Quillin was perturbed about McEwan’s comment that he was “going to knock him out.”  Here’s what the fighter known as “Kid Chocolate” had to say in response as well as getting the chance to fight on the “Heart and Soul of Boxing.”

ON MCEWAN DECLARING HE WILL KNOCK QUILLIN OUT:

“I always stay in shape.  I always look like a fighter.  I was speaking good about him, but now he’s talking about how he’s going to knock me out.  He’s a good fighter, and he’s dangerous because he’s got his back against the wall.”

ON MATCHING UP WITH MCEWAN:

“He’s one of those guys who fights at one pace.  You can’t have one-twos to beat a guy like me.  You have to mix it up.  I’m not going to tell you I’ll knock him out, but my objective is to beat him bad and get him out of there.

“It’s called destroy and rebuild.  I’m going to destroy the building, and he’s going to have to rebuild it when I’m through.  I know he’s trying to feed his family but so am I.  He ain’t going to be able to put a band-aid on the wound I’m going to give him on November 5.”

ON SPARRING MCEWAN IN THE PAST:

“I’ve sparred him a few times.  He never was really that friendly because I knew I probably had to fight him eventually.  It was a sparring match than actual boxing.  I don’t expect him to do the same things he would in a fight.  I know he’s going to come and bring his A-Game.

“I got Freddie Roach and Eric Brown and Brad Bose working with me, and McEwan used to have Freddie too.  But after he lost to Lee, he left the gym because he didn’t feel like he was getting enough time from Freddie.  But that’s the thing.   When you come to Wild Card, you know Freddie’s busy.  I take everything he gives me, even the little things he tells me.  I take them and use them to improve.”

ON THE EFFECT THE FIGHT WILL HAVE ON THE WILD CARD REGULARS:

“It’s kind of like people don’t want the fight to happen because you don’t want your own building to be knocked out and torn down, but I’m a new building that’s gotta keep rising from its foundation.”

ON HIS PREPARATION FOR THIS CAMP:

“I did nine rounds Friday and eight rounds yesterday.  Between New York and Hollywood, I sparred Roberto Garcia Michael Medina, DonYil Livingston, Ronson Frank, and Lennox Allen.  I’ll be ready.”

ON MAKING HIS HBO DEBUT:

“Being on HBO is a platform where everyone wants to fight.  Some people blow it and some don’t.  I have to do my part to keep my career moving.  I’m super excited that people across the world will see me.  That’s why I get on Twitter (@KIDCHOCOLATE) and thekidchocolate.com so I can talk to the fans and make sure they know who I am on November 5.”

Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.  He’s a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel.  E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.