Wright takes on a fight no one wanted
LAS VEGAS – Winky Wright has the unenviable task Saturday of not only facing a middleweight with a reach almost the equal of Lennox Lewis, but also fighting on the heels of a sensational card of lightweight bouts.
Wright hasn't been seen in a boxing gym in nearly two years, since getting bulldozed down the stretch by a bigger, stronger and more physical Bernard Hopkins.
He couldn't get a fight, and the rumor mill said it was because his price was too high. Wright, though, begs to differ and says his price was always right.
"Man, I just wanted to fight; I wouldn't have turned down anything," he said. Gritting his teeth, he adds, "Anyone who says I turned a fight down over money, they're lying. Plain lying."
But dalliances with middleweight titleholders Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham went nowhere, as did talks for a bout against highly regarded super middleweight Mikkel Kessler.
He finally had to sign on the dotted line against a guy few want to face, former welterweight and super welterweight champion Paul Williams. They'll meet at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday in a bout televised nationally in the United States on HBO.
Williams has an 82-inch reach, which is an inch longer than the 6-foot-6, 245-pound heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko, and only two inches less than Lewis, the mammoth ex-heavyweight king.
Williams has arms so long, he looks like he could dunk from the foul line. He's the Manute Bol of boxing.
To make matters worse, Williams is left-handed and is so awkward, he makes Wright look conventional.
For years, no one wanted to fight Wright, not simply because he is left-handed but more so because he was perceived as what's known in the industry as "cute."
A "cute" fighter is one who wins not so much by outslugging and outfighting his opponent but rather by making him look bad.
Wright recoils at such a description, believing it's a bad rap that has been picked up and passed around by those who accept it at face value and don't bother to check their facts.
"When have I ever run around or run away from anybody?" Wright asked. "Tell me one time you saw me run from anyone. I come to fight. Whoever I'm fighting, they don't ever have to go looking for me, because they always know where I am. I'm going to be right there in front of them."
What he believed might be the crowning achievement of his career, a 2005 thrashing of Felix Trinidad, turned out to be something far less. Wright, indeed, was never far from Trinidad and kept a steady staccato of punches in the Puerto Rican superstar's mug.
But the overwhelming majority of those punches were jabs and fans and media were disappointed that Wright failed to take a risk and try to finish Trinidad off.
It's been the way much has gone in the professional life of Ronald "Winky" Wright, who spent much of the first half of his career globetrotting to get a fight and then spent most of the second half shooting down allegations he's a boring fighter.
He turned Trinidad's face into ground chuck and won at least 11 of the 12 rounds, yet he was ripped for being too cautious.
"If you see me in there and it ain't a fight, you can bet yourself it ain't me," he insists. "It's easy to always go, 'Oh, it's Winky.' But make sure you're watching the fight before you say that."
Williams promoter Dan Goossen sympathizes with Wright, because he has had more doors slammed in his face than a traveling salesman as he has pitched fights for Williams. He made a hefty offer to Antonio Margarito for a rematch after Margarito beat Miguel Cotto in 2008, but Margarito chose to accept $2 million less to fight Shane Mosley.
When Margarito promoter Bob Arum pooh-poohed Goossen's contention that Margarito ducked Williams and dismissed the offer as "an Internet offer," Goossen provided reporters with a copy of a letter he had sent to Arum that backed his word.
"You know, I guess avoided and feared can be sometimes intertwined," Goossen said. "I do know that Winky has been the most avoided fighter for since I can remember."
Wright is 37 now and knows the pressure he faces against Williams. He's not only giving up three inches in height, 10 inches in reach and 10 years of age, but he's facing an opponent who has fought four times since he has last been in the ring.
Wright hasn't gotten many chances as an active fighter, frequently on television and ranked as one of the top 10 in the world. He's sure not going to get them if he loses.
Wright, though, is optimistic. He's kind of like the guy who still believes he can beat Tiger Woods even when he's down three holes with four to play.
Wright sincerely believes something good is going to happen to him even though his career has been dotted with so many disappointments.
"I just want to put it out there and make sure it's known that there is nobody I won't fight and money ain't gonna have anything to do with it," Wright said. "I'll fight anyone and I'll be right there and make it a fight. They want you to think it's me, because it's easy to blame Winky. They want to tell you that I ask for too much or I'm hard to deal with. That's why I brought in Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy.
"They're people who make deals and get things done and they can't get fights for me."
The only man near his class Wright said he wouldn't fight is Vernon Forrest, his close friend. Forrest's name was one of six on a list that HBO submitted to Wright's management as acceptable opponents. Four of the six – Pavlik, Abraham, Kessler and Jermain Taylor – declined. Wright passed on Forrest because of their friendship, so that left Williams.
"There ain't a lot of guys who want to fight him," Wright said. "You ask him. Or ask his promoter. They get guys turning them down left and right. But remember who did say yes: Winky Wright. They said to me, 'You want to fight Paul Williams?' I'm like, 'When?' It don't matter to me. I'll fight anybody, anywhere and I just want the people to know that if a fight don't happen, it won't be because of me. And I want them to know that when I do get a fight, that's what I'm going to do: I'm coming to fight."
