Well, on most P4P lists...Winky is top 5, so he would have to be up there at least...but IMO he's top 3. I actually don't think that a B-Hop KO is out of the question tho...Winky has been more aggressive, and is letting his hands go a lot more than usual. Which might play into B-Hop's advantage because his straight right against the southpaws is The One.
Looks like this may not be a boring chess match after all, if you believe what Wright's camp is saying about the strategy to force Hopkins to fight and throw 80-90 punches per round....Personally I think this is a great strategy since everyone knows b-hop is a slow starter and if Wright can accomplish this, you may see him with the win. However, it could also backfire - b-hop is very strong at light heavyweight and if Wright is throwing 90 punches per round, there will be plenty of open opportunities for b-hop to land a huge counter punch....
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Wright Plans To Test Hopkins' Age and Stamina
07-11-2007
By Mark Vester
During a recent conference call with the media, Dan Birmingham, trainer of Ronald "Winky" Wright, told the press that Wright is going to test the age and stamina of the 42-year-old Hopkins when they meet on July 21 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
In a report by ITV, Birmingham said that fans should not expect a chess match on July 21, because Wright is going to attack Hopkins early and make him work every second or every round. After reviewing Hopkins' dominating 2006 win over Antonio Tarver, they only saw Hopkins throwing 30-40 punches per round. Wright plans to throw up to 90 punches per round to overwhelm the naturally bigger man.
"We're going to force this fight. We're going to make Bernard fight, where he's never been hit this much and this often. You look at Winky's past fights, he's landed punches every five to 10 seconds on every opponent, and Bernard's not going to be any exception," Birmingham said. "We're coming right at him and we're going to force the fight. It's not going to be another Tarver situation where we laid back and try to wait for something to happen. We're going to force the issue."
Most experts view Wright, who moves up nearly two weight classes from 160 to a catch-weight of 170-pounds to fight Hopkins, at a disadvantage because he is going to be the smaller man. According to Birmingham, Wright has gotten a lot bigger and stronger with the added weight.
"He looks bigger and stronger than ever. Darryl Hudson to me is one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the country. He was a track star, one of the fastest guys in the country, competed against Carl Lewis. He's got a degree in nutrition and exercise physiology and he's really made a real change with Winky," Birmingham said. "Wink's not only going to be bigger and stronger, but he's still going to be flexible and fast as he usually is. So we're not worried about how big and strong Bernard is because Winky's going to be big and strong, too."
"If you look at Winky's past history the better the fighter, the more he gets up. And I've been putting it in his head since we signed for this fight that Bernard is going to be the best tactical fighter that you fought, the strongest guy that you're going to fight and the toughest guy you're going to fight."
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If there is one great thing about Hopkins its his stamina. I own over 25 Hopkins DVD's and I have never seen him look tired or warn. Even at 42 he probably is one of the most conditioned boxers in the sport so I don't think Wright can really challenge his stamina, however he can steel a lot of rounds by throwing 80-90 punches...
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Wright Plans To Test Hopkins' Age and Stamina
07-11-2007
By Mark Vester
During a recent conference call with the media, Dan Birmingham, trainer of Ronald "Winky" Wright, told the press that Wright is going to test the age and stamina of the 42-year-old Hopkins when they meet on July 21 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
In a report by ITV, Birmingham said that fans should not expect a chess match on July 21, because Wright is going to attack Hopkins early and make him work every second or every round. After reviewing Hopkins' dominating 2006 win over Antonio Tarver, they only saw Hopkins throwing 30-40 punches per round. Wright plans to throw up to 90 punches per round to overwhelm the naturally bigger man.
"We're going to force this fight. We're going to make Bernard fight, where he's never been hit this much and this often. You look at Winky's past fights, he's landed punches every five to 10 seconds on every opponent, and Bernard's not going to be any exception," Birmingham said. "We're coming right at him and we're going to force the fight. It's not going to be another Tarver situation where we laid back and try to wait for something to happen. We're going to force the issue."
Most experts view Wright, who moves up nearly two weight classes from 160 to a catch-weight of 170-pounds to fight Hopkins, at a disadvantage because he is going to be the smaller man. According to Birmingham, Wright has gotten a lot bigger and stronger with the added weight.
"He looks bigger and stronger than ever. Darryl Hudson to me is one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the country. He was a track star, one of the fastest guys in the country, competed against Carl Lewis. He's got a degree in nutrition and exercise physiology and he's really made a real change with Winky," Birmingham said. "Wink's not only going to be bigger and stronger, but he's still going to be flexible and fast as he usually is. So we're not worried about how big and strong Bernard is because Winky's going to be big and strong, too."
"If you look at Winky's past history the better the fighter, the more he gets up. And I've been putting it in his head since we signed for this fight that Bernard is going to be the best tactical fighter that you fought, the strongest guy that you're going to fight and the toughest guy you're going to fight."
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If there is one great thing about Hopkins its his stamina. I own over 25 Hopkins DVD's and I have never seen him look tired or warn. Even at 42 he probably is one of the most conditioned boxers in the sport so I don't think Wright can really challenge his stamina, however he can steel a lot of rounds by throwing 80-90 punches...
Good read, if anyone cares....
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Hopkins-Wright: Their Fight, Words and Legacies
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.
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Hopkins-Wright: Their Fight, Words and Legacies
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.
