By Dr. Peter Edwards
The fight is several days away, but the momentum is building. Ronald "Winky" Wright, the one time undisputed junior middleweight champion is to challenge the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, Jermain Taylor.
Initially the odds-makers labeled Wright as a 3-1 betting favorite. A few weeks later and the betting odds were even. After last Saturday's throwback performance by Bernard Hopkins when he dominated Antonio Tarver, it would not be surprising to see Taylor as the betting favorite by the time both men step in the ring.
Due to the obvious size difference between the two fighters, some of the boxing press has automatically labeled Winky Wright with the strategy of having to stay away from the bigger man by always staying on his toes. In his defining bout against Felix Trinidad, the same strategy was being pushed upon Wright by the experts. Wright, in a surprise to many, stood his ground and dominated Trinidad with the most fundamental punch in the business - the jab.
As always, whenever Wright is facing a much stronger challenger, his losing effort against Julio Cesar Vasquez gets brought up, where Wright was sent to the canvas on five occasions. The bout with Vasquez was the only fight where Wright was knocked down as a professional.
"They (press) keeps talking about a fight (against Julio Cesar Vasquez) I had twelve years ago when I only had 25 fights. I went down 5 times in that fight and still lost the fight by a few points which means I was winning almost every round." said Wright
Dan Birmingham, Wright trainer, said that only one of the five knockdowns in the Vasquez fight were legitimate. The other four were slips that were caused by a pair of brand new shoes that Winky wore to the ring.
Many think if Winky stands his ground like he did in the Trinidad fight, he will get knocked out by Taylor, who unlike Trinidad, is a big middleweight and is not one-dimensional like him either.
"They talk about the fight like I'm just going to just stand there and get hit, like I'm not going to do anything. Nobody has ever seen me hurt. I'm not going to be the one getting knocked out. He can't knockout what he can't hit. I may not have his power, but I can hit. My opponents know that I can hit."
The fight will without question settle the issue on who is the best middleweight in the world, and which of them should get a higher rank on the coveted pound for pound list.
Taylor is a tall order and the only man Wright wanted after negotiations for a bout with Floyd Mayweather had fallen apart. In a surprise to many, Mayweather, barely campaigning at 147 pounds, issued a challenge to Wright, who was competing at 160 pounds.
“I thought it was just people talking, but then I heard he wants a fight, so I was like ‘cool’ that’s a major deal. Then they kept going back and forth with the numbers and then I guess they got to a point where the numbers were pretty much good and then we didn’t hear nothing back. So, I think it could have been just a ploy. Like I said, just a way to keep his name out there, saying he will fight anybody, it don’t matter who it is, he’ll do this, he’ll do that. But when it came down to it, they didn’t want to sign a deal,” Wright said.
If there was ever a bout that came down to which fighter has the better game plan, this is the fight. Neither fighter is going to walk through the other and a close fight is anticipated.
Taylor is now given a lot more respect for his two victories over Bernard Hopkins, than he was previously given prior to Hopkins’ demolition of Tarver. The addition of hall of fame trainer, Emanuel Steward, to his corner will only enhance his chances of victory, or so it seems. Wright feels that Steward will only add confusion to Taylor’s camp, and his presence will not hurt him in the fight or lower his chances of victory.
Wright has finally reached the pinnacle of his career, a superstar in the sport, and all he wants to do is fight the very best. Should Wright beat Taylor, don’t be surprised to see him campaigning for Bernard Hopkins to come out of retirement for one last showdown.
“I’m trying to fight the best. If they want to say I’m pound for pound best, that’s cool. If they say I’m not, then that’s cool with me. But for me, I just want to fight the best fighters. “