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Wright, Williams feel fighters ducking them
by Steve Bien-Aime, FOXSports.com
Winky Wright and Paul Williams enter their light middleweight bout Saturday angry — just not with each other.
Both men have large chips on their shoulders because they feel disrespected. They each said that fighters perceived as elite champions are ducking them and in turn hurt their quests to be considered among the top pound-for-pound fighters.
Make no mistake about it, the drive money and fame play a part in their feelings. But, these men genuinely want to prove they're on the same level where Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez operate.
"Nobody wanted to fight," Wright said. "Everybody was saying 'Winky was outpricing himself.' But, that wasn't the case."
He added that his potential middleweight opponents were offered more money than he was going to earn.
Wright said the lack of a quality challenger caused him not to fight almost two years. He knows that his ring rust will be a tough obstacle to overcome.
"You can't avoid it," he said. "It is what is. You just have to get in and fight."
Williams said he isn't be banking on Wright's rust in the interim WBO title bout (10 p.m. ET/HBO) in Las Vegas. He thinks his opponent easily could have been training during his entire absence and will be ready to fight.
In fact, he gives Wright credit for being "the only one who stepped up to the plate to fight me."
Williams (36-1, 27 knockouts) was a welterweight champion last year and the division's talent is perhaps the deepest in boxing. But, he said finding willing big-name opponents was near impossible. Many speculate it's because he's bigger than most welterweights.
Well, he's bigger than many light middleweights, too.
Wright, who dominated the light middleweight division from 2001 to 2004 before moving up, is almost three inches shorter than the 6-foot-1 Williams and gives up 10 inches in reach. Wright said he's never fought a fellow southpaw like his opponent.
For most of his career, Wright (51-4-1, 25 knockouts) was thought of as a defensive boxer whose style made most of his opponents look awkward at best and wasn't ideal of big-time audiences. He's opened up his offense in recent years, but he said it wasn't because he wanted to be considered an exciting fighter.
"It got to the point that I wanted to inflict more pain, so I had to let my hands go," he said.
Whatever the reason for the lack of big-time fights, the frustration has caught up with Williams, who moved up in weight at the end of 2008. Now the 27-year-old is already contemplating retirement.
"I'm tired on waiting on guys to fight," he said. "In two or three years, I'll be retired."
Wright, who's 10 years older than Williams, also knows his time in the ring is soon coming to a close. He said he's still has plenty left, but wants to have a few marquee bouts to punctuate his career.
"I'm not here to fight just to be fighting," he said.
When asked to look beyond Saturday's bout, Williams issued an open challenge, asking top fighters to "sign the dotted line."
"Keep ducking me," he continued. "That makes me hotter. They can't say they're the baddest in their weight class when they keep ducking me."
by Steve Bien-Aime, FOXSports.com
Winky Wright and Paul Williams enter their light middleweight bout Saturday angry — just not with each other.
Both men have large chips on their shoulders because they feel disrespected. They each said that fighters perceived as elite champions are ducking them and in turn hurt their quests to be considered among the top pound-for-pound fighters.
Make no mistake about it, the drive money and fame play a part in their feelings. But, these men genuinely want to prove they're on the same level where Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez operate.
"Nobody wanted to fight," Wright said. "Everybody was saying 'Winky was outpricing himself.' But, that wasn't the case."
He added that his potential middleweight opponents were offered more money than he was going to earn.
Wright said the lack of a quality challenger caused him not to fight almost two years. He knows that his ring rust will be a tough obstacle to overcome.
"You can't avoid it," he said. "It is what is. You just have to get in and fight."
Williams said he isn't be banking on Wright's rust in the interim WBO title bout (10 p.m. ET/HBO) in Las Vegas. He thinks his opponent easily could have been training during his entire absence and will be ready to fight.
In fact, he gives Wright credit for being "the only one who stepped up to the plate to fight me."
Williams (36-1, 27 knockouts) was a welterweight champion last year and the division's talent is perhaps the deepest in boxing. But, he said finding willing big-name opponents was near impossible. Many speculate it's because he's bigger than most welterweights.
Well, he's bigger than many light middleweights, too.
Wright, who dominated the light middleweight division from 2001 to 2004 before moving up, is almost three inches shorter than the 6-foot-1 Williams and gives up 10 inches in reach. Wright said he's never fought a fellow southpaw like his opponent.
For most of his career, Wright (51-4-1, 25 knockouts) was thought of as a defensive boxer whose style made most of his opponents look awkward at best and wasn't ideal of big-time audiences. He's opened up his offense in recent years, but he said it wasn't because he wanted to be considered an exciting fighter.
"It got to the point that I wanted to inflict more pain, so I had to let my hands go," he said.
Whatever the reason for the lack of big-time fights, the frustration has caught up with Williams, who moved up in weight at the end of 2008. Now the 27-year-old is already contemplating retirement.
"I'm tired on waiting on guys to fight," he said. "In two or three years, I'll be retired."
Wright, who's 10 years older than Williams, also knows his time in the ring is soon coming to a close. He said he's still has plenty left, but wants to have a few marquee bouts to punctuate his career.
"I'm not here to fight just to be fighting," he said.
When asked to look beyond Saturday's bout, Williams issued an open challenge, asking top fighters to "sign the dotted line."
"Keep ducking me," he continued. "That makes me hotter. They can't say they're the baddest in their weight class when they keep ducking me."
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