Peter Quillin lives the dream, buys his mom a house

Peter Quillin's mother, Deborah, is a proud new homeowner thanks to her son.

If you said “buy mom a new crib,” then the top of your list is a pretty common dream, and absolutely should be your first choice. (Though if you said “swim through a pile of money like Scrooge McDuck,” we'd totally understand.)

Peter Quillin worked a lot harder than hitting the Quick Pick button at the gas station, but he nonetheless found himself in a position to make good on that dream last week when he plunked down on a house in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for his mother, Deborah.

“When you’re from the ‘hood, this is always a dream of yours," Quillin said. "Especially the dream of putting your mom in a mansion. Unfortunately, I didn’t do that, but I did buy a house in cash for my mom  where she owns it. She doesn’t have to pay no mortgage on it. It’s hers.”

While Quillin was busy training in camp for his September 12 tilt against Michael Zerafa (NBC, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT) at Foxwoods Resort Casino, he had his business manager out scouting real estate spots.

When the business manager found something that worked, he brought Deborah in for the best kind of surprise a person can get, short of winning a free-beer-for-life contest.

Deborah, naturally, couldn’t stop crying when she heard the news.

“A lot of people move their family out,” Quillin said. “I just kept my mom in Grand Rapids in a nice area where there are a lot of homeowners on the block, and for me it’s more realistic and valuable that my mom gets to have her grandkids come to the house and have space for them and not just showcase all the things you can flash off like money. I can say my mom owns a house because my hard work paid the way for her.”

And Quillin isn't going to stand pat with just one house, either. He has one more tribute left for his fallen uncle, Eric Munson, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in February 2014.

“I’m buying his crib, too,” Quillin said. “He told me it was important to keep the house in the family.”

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