By Cliff Rold
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
Perception is not always reality.
In an excellent match-up, current Ring Magazine light heavyweight titlist and former middleweight emperor Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KO) of Philadelphia knows it. So too does his opponent this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, former World jr. middleweight king Ronald “Winky” Wright (51-3-1, 25 KO, #1 contender at middleweight) of St. Petersburg, Florida.
They know because, heading into this pay-per-view showdown, they are confronted by a sizable base of fans and pundits who don’t think much of their pending contest. Skeptics look at their age and technical competence, coming away with a single expectation: boredom. It’s the first time I can recall where two of the sports universally recognized best fighters facing off for the first time has met with negative reactions. It’s a bizarre mixed signal. In a sport criticized, falsely, for not presenting enough top tier matches, a top-tier match is being criticized.
HBO boxing head Kery Davis isn’t among the skeptics. I asked him about the criticism of the fight. “I don’t think anyone can prognosticate what is going to happen when two elite fighters get into the ring. This is a fight where two of the top five or six fighters in the world are fighting each other. That’s enough to sell it. What you want is the best fighting the best and let’s see who wins the competition. Every fight doesn’t have to be Ward-Gatti. I have no idea who’s going to win the fight. I watch fights like (Wright-Hopkins) because I want to see who wins.”
Each man can take solace that perceptions of them individually, if not as a duet, in July 2007 are pretty strong. Look around from Ring to ESPN to here at Boxing Scene and you’ll find both anywhere from top five to seven in the mythical pound-for-pound ratings. It’s a remarkable feat considering the age of each man. Hopkins is 42; Wright is just shy of 36. An observer with little knowledge of the past would look at such a thing and reasonably assume that each must have been perceived even greater a decade ago.
They’d be wrong.
Almost exactly ten years ago, on July 20, 1997, Hopkins was 32-2-1 and facing an undefeated Glenn Johnson on CBS in the fifth defense of his IBF 160 lb. strap. Seen as the best of a weak middleweight field, Hopkins was the leading contender for a then five-year's vacant lineal crown. He tortured the future light heavyweight titlist Johnson in front of that national audience, winning every round before scoring a stoppage in the 11th round. Review of the tape leaves one to ponder if it was Hopkins first truly great performance.
Hopkins was faster then, throwing more, throwing harder, all while showing the defensive prowess that allows his aged bones to still carve away at more youthful flesh today. In short, ten years ago Hopkins was even better than he is today. To the public though, he was just another good fighter with a loss to Roy Jones.
Wright was also a titlist then. 1997 was not a banner year; it wasn’t a bad one either. He made the second and third defenses of the WBO’s 154 lb. title, one against an undefeated Steve Dodson, both away from the eyes of the U.S. public. Those were Wright’s nomad days, a period when, from 1993 to 1998, he fought almost exclusively overseas. England, France, Germany, Argentina, South Africa. He finished 1997 with a career mark of 38-1.
Wright, like Hopkins, was physically better in those days. He hadn’t perfected his game yet, he was not as refined, but he was faster, his shots had a tad more snap, his legs allowed him to trade inside longer. Alas the best wins on his record were Tony Marshall, Andrew Council and Bronco McKart; only McKart was considered to be a top ten foe. He was only three years removed from a disastrous five-knockdown loss to then still-reigning WBA titlist Julio Cesar Vasquez.
In short, he wasn’t Winky Wright yet, at least not as the world sees him now. Using it as a reasonable gauge of the times, the December 1997 issue of Ring Magazine rated him the fourth best in his class, three spots behind lineal king and future Hall of Famer Terry Norris.
He was much farther behind in the same issues pound for pound ratings. That top ten featured, in order: Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Pernell Whitaker, Felix Trinidad, Ricardo Lopez, Junior Jones, Norris, Evander Holyfield, Johnny Tapia, and a Mark Johnson who moved in just ahead of the previous months ten man Ike Quartey. No Hopkins. No Wright. Yet Hopkins and Wright were better then, faster then, younger then…
Perception is not always reality.
Perceptions and realities change with time and opportunity. The boxing gods had not yet granted Hopkins and Wright their time or their biggest opportunities. So the boxing world went about its conjectures based on what they knew then, not knowing yet that one day rating De la Hoya, Trinidad, Junior Jones, Norris, Quartey or Tapia ahead of Hopkins and Wright would, historically, seem almost absurd.
It turns out that Hopkins and Wright were better than the ‘good’ fighters they were seen as a decade ago. They were great fighters undiscovered, the best of their generation in their respective domains. Hopkins would make twenty defenses of his IBF title, six of them for the true World title he claimed after defeating Trinidad, before his controversial losses to current champion Jermain Taylor in 2005.
Wright would suffer two narrow, controversial losses of his own in 1998 and 99, to Harry Simon and Fernando Vargas respectively, in lost classics. Rising from that adversity, Wright embarked on the defining run of his career.
Wright has gone 12-0-1 since the Vargas loss, to include a 2004 victory over Shane Mosley for the lineal World title at 154 lbs. as well as dominating victories over McKart (twice), former champion Keith Mullings, Trinidad in his first fight after vacating the jr. middle crown and Quartey. His only blemish on this run, the Taylor draw, was of the same vein as his last two losses. Narrow. Controversial.
Thus we arrive at this Saturday, a reckoning between the best junior middleweight of his time and the best middleweight of his time, officially at a catch weight of 170 lbs., and for a light heavyweight title. A conversation with Wright over the weekend indicated that he understands the stakes. “(Hopkins) ran the middleweight division for a long time and I took over the junior middleweight division and chased everybody away from it. It’s a great fight, just for the fans to see two fighters that know how to win, to see two warriors get in the ring with each other that didn’t have to. There were no mandatories or anything like that. We wanted to give the people the best fight out there.”
That brings me to more perceptions and the chance for new realities. If history stopped today, very few would argue that Wright has been a greater or even better fighter than Hopkins. He has twelve rounds to start that argument and that’s usually plenty of time. Wright seems ready for that chance. “Camp has been great. Preparation has been great. I’m definitely just looking forward to whooping on Bernard.”
Wright clearly hasn’t bought into the skepticism of some who are expecting a dull affair. “No matter what the press says, the fight’s gotta’ be a great fight. They always try to say Winky isn’t an exciting fighter but every time I fight it’s exciting and the fans love it…People have certain fighters they like and everyone else they’re down on.”
Wright has a point in that regard. Few if any of his fights are dull. Wright sits in the trenches and throws, his arms held in an awkward high guard, his jab pumping, waiting for openings. It’s a shell game that few have been able to crack.
Hopkins may be one of the few smart enough to do it. A master in the old school vein of the news reel legends, Hopkins best punch has always been the overhand right. The fighters who have had the most success against Wright are those who can pressure him, getting the right hand over and behind his guard. Vasquez, thirteen years ago, did it better than anyone though Winky held his hands much lower in those days. I asked Hopkins earlier this summer if he’d tracked down a copy of that relatively obscure tape and if he was thinking about the right hand as a Wright vulnerability.
“(Wright) is vulnerable to a lot of things and if you picked up something then I’ll look at that and make sure to add it to my reservoir. Thanks for the tip” Hopkins joked, letting me know that anything he needed to know had been seen and played out in his head dozens of times already. “I’m a master of solving difficult puzzles. I’ve been great at that. I’m a boxing student…there are a lot of vulnerable points that Winky will give you. He’s not running no where. He’s right there. It’s about picking the spots at the right time. It’s about tricking the turtle (an allusion to Wright’s defensive stance) into sticking his head out of the shell.”
Hopkins’ reference to himself as a student carries a heavy meaning. Both Wright and Hopkins are attuned to the deep, rich history of the sport. They each know that their fight will play a role in their legacies not only as key pieces in their time but for all time.
“I’m a boxing historic researcher.” Hopkins declared. “I look at the old fighters from yesterday. I am the Jersey Joe Walcott of this era, who won his title at 37 years old. I am the Gypsy Joe, the Ezzard Charles, those throwback fighters who fought way past forty and competed at a high level and they were most feared and most dangerous. We don’t have that anymore. That’s why a lot of writers and a lot of those who have followed me have always called me a throwback fighter.”
Hopkins knows that he has carved his niche, and in the grand tale of the middleweight division no less. Hopkins will one day retire and sit back to watch as historians debate and re-debate where he ranks with the greats at 160 lbs. Could Hopkins have defeated a Carlos Monzon or Marvin Hagler or Mickey Walker? Did his consistency and longevity earn him a top five ranking or was he ‘merely’ top ten? The only fighter of elite stature from near that class he hasn’t faced faces him now.
Jr. middleweight isn’t as rich in history but since its birth in 1963 the division has had its share of great champions. I asked Wright how he feels he rates with the great champions at 154 lbs., where he sees himself in comparison to a Nino Benvenuti, Tommy Hearns or Mike McCallum. “Oh man, those were great fighters. If anyone just mentions my name with those fighters, I’m honored. I don’t want to say I feel I’m better than any of those fighters.” Wright was gracious in stating that it was an honor, but he never denied that he belonged in such a conversation. Not too deep down, he must know he does.
Hopkins, with wins over Trinidad, De La Hoya, his middleweight title reign and his (“Easy,” Hopkins adamantly reminded me) light heavyweight title win over Tarver last year can claim victories over the top welterweights, middleweights of his time and the top light heavyweight of this decade. Of the five division span from welterweight to light heavyweight, the only notable foes he’s missed are Wright and current World super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.
I asked Hopkins if, with a win against Wright, we could expect him to go after Calzaghe and lay some claim to having defeated all the top dogs from five different weight classes. “I think it would be very important, especially across five weight classes. I think it will be more historic when I knock Winky Wright out. Whether it’s a TKO or a KO, I think that would be a real feather in my cap. Let’s face it, no one can get more than four or five clean shots on Winky Wright…it’s like trying to find Bin Laden in the mountains.”
Wright has a different angle to work towards in contemporary history. He stands out as one of the very few top fighters in his weight range not to secure a bout with future Hall of Famer Oscar De la Hoya even though he has defeated in Trinidad and Mosley two of Oscar’s conquerors. Hopkins of course is another with a win over Oscar and I asked if beating Hopkins would be a win that locks Winky as having a Hall of Fame ledger.
“I feel beating all the dudes that beat him…Oscar’s going to the Hall of Fame, I’m definitely going to be in the Hall of Fame. I’d still love to fight De La Hoya because of his name and in this era, anyone who talks about boxing, they speak Oscar De la Hoya and I want Winky Wright’s name to be spoken in that same breath.” Wright also noted that this sojourn to light heavyweight is likely a one night affair and that fans are likely to see him return to middleweight after this bout.
Clearly, both Wright and Hopkins are fighters of great accomplishment and these great fighters both still have an A-game. Those are the parameters of a great sporting event and, with the addition of leather gloves, blood and sweat, the parameters of a great fight. Maybe the skeptics are right but these are men who have spent the last ten years proving that perception is not always reality and there’s no reason not to think they’ll prove it again Saturday night.
SHOCKER!: I had already submitted my weekly offering when news out of Japan surprised me as much as anything I’d heard in the last couple of years: as of Wednesday night, July 18, 2007, we have a new lineal World flyweight champion. In a rubber match no one who follows boxing closely even remotely took serious, Japan’s Daisuke Naito (31-2-2, 19 KO, #9, new WBC titlist) defeated the division’s record holder for title defenses, Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (65-3, 34 KO). The record (and, yes, padded) run stops at 17 successful defenses. Two of them had been against Naito and that’s where the shock kicks in.
This was supposed to be another WBC-mandated nightmare for fans; it was instead for the champion. The champion since 2001, Wonjongkam, allegedly came out lethargic and paid the price. I haven’t seen the tape yet but no hint of controversy has yet to be whispered. How shocking is this?
Their first bout, in April 2002, ended in 34 seconds of the first round on a single lightning left hook. It was the fastest KO ever in a flyweight title fight. Their second bout in October 2005 was a one-sided technical decision in the Thai king’s favor in a fight he was leading by scores of 68-62 on all cards at the time of an injury stoppage. Today’s result, in light of Wonjongkam’s camp finally talking unification bouts, is just out of left field for this scribe.
This is officially the year of the upset in this talented mini-mite minefield. Lorenzo Parra and Roberto Vasquez found themselves on the wrong side of bouts against Takefumi Sakata, a man both had already defeated; Parra twice over. Vic Darchinyan may still not know he got knocked out by Nonito Donaire. This though is the biggest shock of all.
And perhaps, for fans who follow the flies, the biggest opportunity yet.
Flyweight, as I have written in the past, is a division of talent tragically untested at its peak levels. Yet here we are, with a new world champion and top contender, Sakata, both from Japan. The two faced off years ago, scrapping to a ten-round draw and would make one hell of a rematch today. The former champion of course will want his rematch and that still doesn’t factor in Donaire or one of the sports biggest international stars, Japan’s Koki Kameda.
For the former king, this is both sad and fitting. Wonjongkam has had the talent of a fighter who deserves more but he, or perhaps more appropriately his management, went for business over bad-assery. That neglect, the parade of steady alphabelt mandatories…Wonjongkam may have just rotted on the vine. Maybe though, just maybe, this is the wake-up call his team needed to send him after the greatness the numbers of his long reign deserved. Ball’s in their court. I can’t wait to see the serve.
FOTY: A few days removed, it’s easy to ask where South Carolina’s Paul Williams (33-0, 24 KO, WBO titlist) sensational victory over Mexico’s Antonio Margarito (34-5, 24 KO) falls in Fight of the Year voting. To these eyes, it could possibly have moved to the head of the class over the flyweight rematch between Takefumi Sakata and Roberto Vasquez but there are many varied opinions. Maybe you like Jean Marc Mormeck World cruiserweight title victory over O’Neill Bell? Or Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah? Or Either Marquez brother’s career defining win? Oh, and then there’s Katsidis-Earl and Pavlik-Miranda?
The real point here is that fans of the sweet science are a lucky bunch in 2007. There still hasn’t been a legendary epic this year, but the pool of excellence is deep. There are some ten fights that all can be argued as the best of this earthly trip around the sun and the year has five months remaining. We haven’t even seen Jermain Taylor-Kelly Pavlik or Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler. Heck with the fights; 2007 is turning into one of the great action years, period, in boxing history.
So why Williams-Margarito for me to day (even if Sakata-Vasquez II again tomorrow)? There are a couple of factors, not the least of which is swings in momentum accompanied by wild spurts of violence. Williams took a solid early lead. Margarito gutted his way back into the fight. Williams then outgutted him in the final round. I had the fight 115-113, or 7 rounds to 5, for Williams as did two of the official judges. That makes it closer, and more competitive, than most any of the year’s best. That counts for a lot.
Aside from where it ranks in the year, let me commend both warriors. I wrote last week in picking Margarito that Williams hadn’t faced the tests yet to know what he brought to the table. Now we know. Margarito hadn’t lost at welterweight in a decade and Williams succeeded where six other top ten welterweights have failed in the last five years. Williams showed not just talent and skill but sheer will, an intangible that truly special fighters carry.
For Margarito, it was a tough loss but fans can salute his blue collar class in taking the fight. Margarito could have, astute business minded types might say should have, taken the route that so many have taken in regards to him. He could have side stepped Williams and gone straight to Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25 KO, and now a deserving #1 contender at welterweight). He didn’t. It cost him but rewarded fans and, according to some reports, may still result in a Cotto fight in the fall. If it does, so be it. That’s still a hell of a fight and Margarito has earned better than to be shuttled all the way down the ladder even if Williams-Cotto or Cotto-Shane Mosley might be more immediately tantalizing.
And let’s all hope Williams talents get him the opportunities he’s earned with this victory as well. His freakish size and speed are a tall order for anyone, ANYONE, at welterweight and it would be a shame if he, like Margarito for years, were made to wait in line for the big names behind Cosme Rivera’s and Miguel Angel Gonzalez’s.
For World welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather (38-0, 24 KO) this much was made clear: the division he reigns over has a new landmine to go with the slew the world already knew was there. History’s greatest weight class might be gearing up for another of its historic runs.
Paraphrasing the immortal words of Librado Andrade, we are all collectors of time and 2007 is a wonderful time for boxing fans.
Cliff’s Notes: The countdown is on. We are officially 107 days from witnessing the best fight in boxing, the World super middleweight title fight between Joe Calzaghe (42-0, 30 KO) and Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KO). As announced last week, negotiations had begun to make this fight part of my honeymoon and I am glad to announce that I have an exemplary fiancée. Now it’s an issue of semantics and budgets. In these notes every week from here to the fight, I’ll keep everyone posted on the navigating I’m making my way though to both get married and make the fight…
Only on HBO would a list of top welterweights, displayed after Margarito-Williams, remove Margarito due to a narrow competitive loss and replace him with a Kermit Cintron (28-1, 26 KO, IBF titlist) who still hasn’t beaten anything more than realistically fringe contenders since being obliterated in five rounds by Margarito in 2005. For those who wonder why Margarito defenders can be so passionate about the perceived slights against their guy, that’s a pretty good clue…
No Hopkins-Wright is not for the lineal World light heavyweight title, but Zsolt Erdei’s (27-0, 17 KO) lack of challenging fights recently in a pretty solid division make his historic distinction an embarrassing, idiosyncratic footnote…
Former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones (51-4, 38 KO) continued his comeback with a strong decision win over fringe super middleweight contender Anthony Hanshaw (21-0-1, 14 KO) last Saturday but one wonders what it means. Jones best hope to finally redeem his three losses in 2004 and 2005 is for Hopkins to beat Wright this weekend and have a taste for avenging his 1993 loss to Jones. Those two have had negotiations in the past that make the Cold War look docile so, really, where does Roy go from here?...
What does it say that 6’7, 25-year old Ukrainian heavyweight Alexander Dimitrenko (26-0, 16 KO), who defeated fringe foe Malcolm Tann (23-4, 12 KO) last Saturday in Germany, has defeated lesser foes than Russian prospect Alexander Povetkin (13-0, 11 KO) in twice as many fights? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. Time will tell but Dimitrenko is certainly a fighter worth keeping an eye on regardless…
Former Olympic medalists Amir Khan (13-0, 10 KO, a lightweight) of the UK and Andre Ward (13-0, 8 KO, a super middleweight) of Oakland, CA are both beginning to look like future champions. Ward faced some tough tests early in his career and looks to have learned from them. He was solid in the highlights seen of his Margarito-Williams undercard bout with Francisco Diaz (16-2, 8 KO) on HBO. Khan survived a huge scare overseas and off U.S. TV, rising from the deck Saturday in the sixth to stop rugged veteran Willie Limond (28-2, 8 KO) of Scotland in eight. Getting up off the floor is what future champions do and Khan, only 20-years old, might just be the goods…
For those still on the fence about ordering the Hopkins-Wright show, the undercard should put you over the top. Jorge Linares-Oscar Larios pits one of the best featherweight prospects in the game, Linares (23-0, 14 KO), against a rugged veteran and former titlist, Larios (59-5-1, 37 KO) who only a year ago went twelve hard with Manny Pacquiao. Then of course, there is WBO lightweight titlist Michael Katsidis (22-0, 20 KO). If you were lucky enough to see his brawl with Graham Earl earlier this year, knowing he is on the card is all one needs to know…
Finally, one last thank you to Arturo Gatti. He gave more of himself than any fan ever had a right to ask for and will be talked about as long as boxing elicits a reaction. Considering that it’s been getting a reaction since Homer’s Iliad, Gatti can rest assured he got himself a little piece of forever.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
