by David P. Greisman

The Sweet Science, unlike the Beautiful Game, does not rewards ties with points or plaudits. Instead, a draw is unfinished business, a lack of forward progress that is rarely beneficial, aside from the occasional titlist retaining his belt by default.

Such was the case in March, when Hasim Rahman’s even outing with James Toney did little to bring clarity to the heavyweight division, nor did it have fans begging for an immediate rematch.

And although Marco Antonio Barrera’s split decision victory over Rocky Juarez in May invalidated the initially-announced draw, neither the win nor a draw could make Barrera’s night feel like anything but a loss. Juarez had exerted his force, established his presence and entered stardom, even in defeat.

So how is it that, with this weekend’s entertaining draw between Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright, fight fans can feel satisfied while the fighters themselves can find positives in both their performances and the results?

Wright himself seemed quite unhappy with the decision, storming out of the ring and forcing HBO’s Larry Merchant to track him down in back for an interview. He compared the outcome to his controversial majority decision loss to Fernando Vargas in 1999, blamed hometown judging in favor of Taylor and ignored his choice to move but not stick in the last round, a strategy that cost him that one crucial point on Melvina Lathan’s 114-114 scorecard.

Yet Wright has established himself as a true middleweight contender, a marquee name who is able to bring a tight defense alongside a come-forward offense, and a man whose lack of knockout power matters much less than the manner in which his jabs and left crosses do enough punishment to keep his foes honest.

Since Wright is upset, he should channel the emotion into a productive outlet. Like Michael Jordan going off for 50 thanks to real and imaginary slights, and just as Barry Bonds has taken criticism and converted it into focused aggression, Wright should feel hungry for respect.

Until he won two straight against Shane Mosley, Wright was far from a household name, but instead a two-time 154-lb. titlist wearing the outfit of a journeyman, a top-level pugilist nonetheless forced to travel to Europe, Argentina and South Africa for bouts.

After humiliating Felix Trinidad, Wright, for once, was the headliner, the main attraction in his victory over Sam Soliman. With people demanding Taylor-Wright, Winky had respect, and the accompanying big payday in front of him.

It’s not that Wright became complacent. He earned the draw against a younger, stronger opponent. But this perceived slight, if treated properly, could fuel one great final run before Wright retires.

Taylor, meanwhile, finally cashed in on his chance to shine against a high-quality rival. Prior to facing Bernard Hopkins, he had feasted on foes that were blown-up junior middleweights, lower-level competitors or just otherwise past their primes.

Against Hopkins, Taylor was unable to look good due to Hopkins’ style and his own inexperience. Taylor is more comfortable in the role of counterpuncher, but with Hopkins as frugal as ever, the opportunities for offense were rare. And due to the close nature of the rare action, Taylor was able to take two controversial decisions and the middleweight championship.

This past weekend, with Wright pushing the fight, Taylor was happy to have a target to throw punches at. Although he trapped himself in corners too often and left his hands too low, Taylor also showed his power by needling straight rights and body shots through and under Wright’s guard, and demonstrated heart by fighting through the compromised vision caused by a closed left eye.

As raw and flawed as Taylor has been, he is improving markedly under the guidance of Emanuel Steward and, not to be underappreciated, due to the honesty with which he evaluates his own performances. The 2000 Olympian who was once regarded as the heir apparent by default is now one large step closer to being so de facto.

The 10 Count

1.  It’s amazing that, after the Corrales-Castillo III fiasco, the World Boxing Council has decided to exercise its three mandatory weigh-ins for fighters competing for their belts, a measure that did not seem so mandatory in previous years. On June 8, the WBC issued a press release, “sending a reminder” to the camps of Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright about their required weigh-in seven days prior to their bout. Yet the WBC is still inviting trouble by not sending a party to supervise or issue the weigh-ins. Instead, they leave the duties to the promoters, who must have promised to tell the truth via pinky swears or the honor code.

2.  Meanwhile, Diego Corrales and promoter Gary Shaw have sued Jose Luis Castillo, asking for millions in compensation and damages. After perusing the 16-page summons, one of the more interesting accusations is that on June 2, the day of the weigh-in, Top Rank chief Bob Arum and Top Rank employee Dena duBoef allegedly made two separate phone calls to Gary Shaw. According to the document, Arum allegedly called Shaw the morning of June 2, saying Castillo would be overweight but could make 135 in the two hours following the initial weigh-in time. As for duBoef’s alleged phone call, she supposedly requested of Shaw that the weigh-in be moved from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. “in order to give Castillo more of a chance to reduce his weight during the two hours after the weigh-in.”

3.  Sadly, it is doubtful that the whole truth will ever come out about the events preceding the canceled Corrales-Castillo III. I expect that the case will be settled out of court, and that aside from a precedent being set for the consequences of a fighter not making weight, the only punishment will be financial. With the accusations being lobbed against Top Rank, it is likely that Castillo’s promoters will support their fighter, working to restore his wallet even if his integrity remains damaged.

4.  Introducing the new Lennox Lewis drinking game: Take a shot every time the former heavyweight champion says “definitely” or “absolutely” while doing color commentary.

5.  I’ve picked on Lewis after each of his recent television appearances, but I must balance the criticism with a compliment: Lewis did a very good job during the Taylor-Wright broadcast, and hopefully he will continue to improve.

6.  After seeing Bernard Hopkins’ drubbing of Antonio Tarver again, it was evident after the first round that the fight was won not solely by Hopkins’ experience or physical skills, but also due to his ability to remain focused and driven. In contrast, Tarver’s voice clearly betrayed that his mind was elsewhere, his defeated “okay” replies and constant downward glances showing that no amount of Buddy McGirt advice could make a difference.

7.  According to Dan Rafael, the oft-delayed rematch between lightweight titlist Juan Diaz and Lakva Sim has once again been delayed, if not canceled altogether. Sim was unhappy with the amount he was to get paid, and now promoter Main Events is considering subbing in Almazbek Raiymkulov, the fighter also known as Kid Diamond. If this goes through, Diaz-Raiymkulov has the potential, like many of Diaz’ bouts, to be quite exciting. And if Diaz successful wins that July fight, I’d love to see him face Acelino Freitas before the year is over.

8.  I’d still enjoy a Freitas rematch with Diego Corrales, too.

9.  Heavyweight contender Calvin Brock has a big fight this Saturday on HBO’s Boxing After Dark, his first appearance since February, when he knocked Zuri Lawrence out on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas pay-per-view. Brock, who is 28-0 with 22 knockouts, will face Timur Ibragimov, who at 21-0-1 (13) is also undefeated. Yet despite Timur’s record, Brock may be facing the wrong Ibragimov. Timur’s cousin Sultan is undefeated, too, and has faced slightly better quality of opposition. Nonetheless, Brock needs to win big and then move on to a bout against a top contender, because since outpointing Jameel McCline in April of last year, Brock has done little but stay busy against opponents that have not furthered his momentum.

10.  I’m looking forward to Cory Spinks’ return to the ring on July 8, when he challenges Roman Karmazin for a 154-lb. title. Here are the odds: if Spinks dances all the way to the squared circle like he did in his last appearance, a stoppage loss to Zab Judah that, like Karmazin-Spinks, occurred in front of Spinks’ hometown crowd in St. Louis, then Karmazin will win. Otherwise, expect Spinks to triumph.