SHOWTIME® BOXING ANALYST AL BERNSTEIN ENTERS AWARD SEASON PRIMED FOR THE SPORT’S HIGHEST HONOR AND MORE

Bernstein to be Inducted into International Boxing Hall Of Fame,

Honored with “Good Guy’’ Award by Boxing Writers Association of America,

Release New Book, “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV”

NEW YORK (May 24, 2012) – Al Bernstein has always been a man that likes to stay busy, but the coming weeks may be a tad hectic – even for him.

As SHOWTIME Sports^® gears up for what will be a sizzling summer of fistic action, Bernstein will be preparing himself for his impending induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the honor of being named the winner of the Marvin Kohn “Good Guy” Award by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and the launch of a new book, “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports and TV.” All the while, he’ll continue to prepare for the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts on June 2 and June 23.

Just days after the respected, longtime broadcaster calls the June 2 quadrupleheader in Los Angeles on SHOWTIME featuring boxing legends Antonio Tarver and “Winky” Wright in separate bouts, Bernstein will be at The Copacabana in New York City to receive the “Good Guy” Award at the Copacabana on Wednesday, June 6 before heading to Canastota, N.Y., for the 23^rd annual Hall of Fame induction weekend ceremonies which takes place June 7-10.

Bernstein will join an elite group of “Good Guy” Award recipients. Past winners include George Foreman, Don Dunphy and Alexis Arguello. It is the second major award he has received from the BWAA. In 1988, Bernstein won the prestigious Sam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcast journalism.

Bernstein will enter the Hall after being nominated for the first time. He is only the seventh broadcaster (and first from SHOWTIME) to be inducted.

Since 1980, Bernstein has chronicled the sport of boxing on television as ringside analyst, play-by-play announcer, host and reporter. He has called more than 2,500 fights and 68 pay-per-view telecasts. Bernstein has been at SHOWTIME since 2003. He started on national television at ESPN in the 1980s.

Bernstein’s book, “30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths about Boxing, Sports and TV” (published by Diversion Books) is scheduled for a mid-June release. In it, Bernstein humorously tells the story of his 30-year run as the “voice of boxing,” recounting the people and events that made this a special time in boxing, sports and television. The upcoming book is Bernstein’s sophomore effort; in 1980, he wrote “Boxing For Beginners,” a historical and instructional look at boxing.

Before that, Bernstein was a featured writer for The RING Magazine and Boxing Illustrated. From 1974-79, he was managing editor of Lerner Newspapers in Chicago. During that time, he won the Chicago Newspaper Guild’s award for best news story – an investigation into illegal land deals by suburban officials.

Bernstein, who’s the executive producer and host of the Boxing Channel at www.boxingchannel.tv, was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009, having received the highest number of votes ever for a non-boxer inductee.

'Kid Chocolate' plans to crack Winky's shell on Showtime

Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin and trainer Eric Brown training at Wild Card Gym (Photo by Emilio Sanchez) LOS ANGELES (April 23, 2012) - Undefeated middleweight contender Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin plans to crack Ronald "Winky" Wright's defensive shell, in addition to possibly becoming the first to knockout the four-time light middleweight champion, June 2 in their 10-round Showtime co-feature at Home Depot Center in Carson, California.  "I love crabmeat," Quillin said.  "It's in a shell and you have to crack it to get to the meat.  That's what I'm going to do to 'Winky'; hit his arms, body, all over - take no prisoners!" The 40-year-old Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs), naturally, has a tremendous experience advantage over Quillin (26-0-, 20 KOs), who was seven years old attending  grammar school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when "Winky" made his pro debut in 1990. "Winky" hasn't fought in three years but he has had significantly more fights (57-26), rounds (394-97), and years as a pro (21 ½ - 6 ½) than Quillin, who, of course, hopes to be the first non-world champion to defeat Wright, as well as stop the defensive southpaw for the first time.  In a class comparison, Wright has a decided edge having defeated all-time greats such as Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosely, while Qullin's most notable win came against Craig McEwan in his last fight and HBO debut. "I understand the risk," Quillin commented.  "I fear no man and I'm so confident because I'm working hard, six days at week, at Wild Card Gym (trainers Freddie Roach and Eric Brown), and with (strength-and-conditioning coach) Brad Bose.  I've dedicated my life to boxing.  'Winky' is a future Hall of Famer.  Beating him will give me respect.  He's a good defensive fighter and I need rounds. None of my last five fights have gone more than six rounds (19 total).  "I'm not taking him lightly, even if he's 40 and has been off for a few years. I am challenging myself to see if I can be the first to stop him.  I worked five weeks with Freddie Roach, soaking up everything he said and showed me, to learn about becoming a more complete fighter.  This fight is make-or-break for me." Team Kid Chocolate believes the risk of fighting an experienced, potentially dangerous Wright is well worth the reward.  "We feel Peter is on the threshold of becoming a special fighter," explained John Seip, who co-manages Quillin with Jim McDevitt.  "He is fighting a future Hall of Fame fighter who still possesses a lot of boxing skills, knowledge and experience.  This fight is a good test for Peter.  We take one fight at a time but are confident and ready for 'Winky.'  Peter is training hard and he is not taking anything for granted.  He is focused and prepared.  This will be the beginning of a very exciting year for Peter. The middleweight division has become a very interesting weight class and beating 'Winky' will position Peter as one of the top middleweight contenders in the world." For more information about Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin go online towww.TheKidChocolate.com or follow him on Twitter @ Kid Chocolate.