Hopkins vs Shumenov: Peter Quillin training in New York ahead of April 19 bout

Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin is training alongside fellow Brooklynite Paulie Malignaggi in New York, as both men are working with trainer Eric Brown ahead of their April 19 bouts in Washington, DC, live on Showtime. That night, Malignaggi will challenge Shawn Porter for the IBF welterweight title, while Quillin defends his WBO middleweight belt against Lukas Konecny. The main event is a light heavyweight title unification bout between IBF champ Bernard Hopkins and WBA titlist Beibut Shumenov.

Quillin (30-0, 22 KO) usually trains in Hollywood, as Brown works out of the Wild Card Gym. But with he and Malignaggi fighting on the same date, it worked out for everyone to train in New York at Gleason's Gym and Trinity Gym. Quillin's wife Allison is pregnant with the couple's first child. Before Quillin's last fight, when he was in California, Allison suffered a miscarriage, and Quillin was unable to be at home with his wife during that time.

"Marriage has given me structure," Quillin said. "I'm fighting for my family, so my kids are much better off than I was growing up.

"Last fight, I was obligated to camp and she had to go through it all without me being there with her. I struggled with it and have worked on being more compassionate. I decided to train at home for this fight so I can be close to her. We're living separately, though, because she understands the importance of this fight. She's giving me space to focus on training."

Quillin, 30, will be making the third defense of the WBO belt, which he won from Hassan N'dam N'jikam in October 2012 in Brooklyn. Last year, he beat Fernando Guerrero and Gabriel Rosado in his first two title defenses.

Konecny (50-4, 23 KO) is a former junior middleweight world title challenger and European champion who moved up in weight after losing to Zaurbek Baysangurov in 2012. Konecny is 2-0 as a middleweight since officially moving up in weight.