| Winky Wright | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Ronald Lamont Wright |
| Nickname(s) | Winky |
| Rated at | Middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 10" 1/2 |
| Reach | 72" |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | 26 November 1971 |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 57 |
| Wins | 51 |
| Wins by KO | 25 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971, in Washington, D.C.) is an American boxer, the former undisputed world light middleweight champion and a current middleweight contender.
In addition to Bernard Hopkins, Paul Williams, "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Angel Hernandez, Felix Trinidad, and Jermain Taylor, Wright has fought former world champions Bronco McKart three times, Keith Mullings, Fernando Vargas, Harry Simon and Julio Cesar Vasquez.
Though born in DC, he grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, which he continues to call home.
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After his second-round knockout of Carlos Santana on July 30, 1992, in St. Petersburg, Florida, the ring announcer called him "Winky" Wright, the name given to him by his grandmother when he was 18 months old. The nickname stuck for the rest of his career.
Big time promoters like Don King and Lou Duva would not promote Wright in the early part of his career. His first big time promoters were the French based Acaries brothers, who struck a deal for Wright to fight Darryl Lattimore in Luxembourg on January 1, 1993. Wright knocked Lattimore down three times, and the fight was stopped. Wright went on a tear during his tour of Europe, winning 8 straight in France, Germany, Monte Carlo, only fighting in the United States once over the next year.
On August 21, 1994, Wright received his first title match against WBA Light Middleweight titleholder Julio César Vásquez in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France. Although he was 25–0 at the time, Wright had not fought in a match that had gone more than 8 rounds. His inexperience showed as Winky lost a unanimous decision, with Vasquez knocking down Wright in the second, seventh, ninth, and twice in the round 12.
On February 4, 1995, Wright defeated Tony Marshall by unanimous decision, winning the NABF Middleweight Championship.
Wright continued fighting in Europe, only fighting in the United States once, until his unanimous decision victory against Andrew Council on March 5, 1996. His impressive win opened the door to fight WBO Light Middleweight champion Bronco McKart, a fight Wright won by split decision. He continued to tour the world, fighting and winning fights in South Africa and England.
After breaking with the Acaries brothers in 1999, citing that he was tired of all the travel, Wright knocked out Derrick Graham in the third round in Miami, Florida. This set the stage for his first major fight against IBF Jr. Middleweight Champion Fernando Vargas. Although some ringside fans and members of the media felt Wright won the fight, Vargas won a controversial majority decision.
Wright continued to defend the NABF and won the USBA light middleweight title in another decision over Bronco McKart.
Félix Trinidad's jump to the middleweight division left the IBF junior middleweight title vacant. Wright scored a unanimous decision over Robert Frazier on October 12, 2001, to win his first major boxing championship. In his first defense on February 2, 2002, Wright stopped Jason Papillion in the fifth round. He took a third fight against Bronco McKart, which ended in controversy as the referee disqualified McKart for repeated low blows in the 8th round.
For Wright's next fight, Oscar de la hoya offered to fight him. Because of the lack of money the Golden Boy was willing to give Wright for the fight the deal fell through and Oscar fought Luis Ramon Campas for the WBA & WBC light Middleweight Championships. Wright went on to debut on National Television Las Vegas against Juan Carlos Candelo on March 1, 2003. This fight would also be his first title defense and would win an impressive Unanimous Decision victory. He followed that up with another blowout victory over Angel Hernandez 8 months later.
To the surprise of many including Wright, Shane Mosley challenged Winky to a junior middleweight unification fight on March 13, 2004. Mosley was a celebrated fighter coming off his second win against Oscar De La Hoya and was looking for a tune-up fight to prepare for a super fight with Felix Trinidad. Shane had stated that he wanted to fight the winner of Winky Wright vs Angel Hernandez. Wright being the winner earned a fight with the great "Sugar" Shane Mosely. Wright was a 4 to 1 underdog against Shane Mosely. During the fight, Wright pressed his will early on and discouraged Mosely with his size, effective jabbing and defense. Winky won a lopsided unanimous decision, winning the Ring's light middleweight championship of the world and becoming the division's first undisputed champion in 29 years, and the first man to hold the IBF, WBA, and WBC junior Middlweight titles simultaneously and the first junior middleweight to ever hold the WBA, IBF, WBC, and the RING MAGAZINE championships all at once.
The rematch took place on November 20, 2004. This fight was much closer, Because Winky gave away rounds and even in one, dropped his hands to show Mosely couldn't hurt him. Two judges scored 115–113 for Wright and one judge scored the bout a draw. Wright was awarded the Majority Decision. Soon after, Wright would vacate his titles to move up to the Middleweight Division to challenge Felix "Tito" Trinidad.[1][2][3]
On May 14, 2005, With Wright once again playing the underdog role, he easily defeated Félix Trinidad by Unanimous Decision. Wright credits this fight as his greatest achievement in his career as he earned the respect and fan base of many that Felix Trinidad had behind him. Trinidad was a fan favorite and a feared power puncher, and many figured he would be able to knock Wright out. But Wright's signature style defence and piston-like jab was to much for the Puerto Rican hero as Trinidad was having trouble landing punches throughout the fight.(Two judges scored the fight 119–108 and one judge scored it 120–107)[4] Wright established himself as a top contender to challenge for the WBC middleweight championship. Wright's dominance over such a highly regarded opponent led to many placing him among the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, just behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. Wright's victory sent Trinidad into his second and 3 year retirement.
This fight was a WBC Title Eliminator, which Wright won giving himself a shot at Undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain "Bad intentions" Taylor for the titles.
After winning a unanimous decision over Sam Soliman in December 2005, Wright faced off against undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor on June 17, 2006, at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee for the WBC, and WBO titles. Jermain Taylor had just came off 2 exciting, spectacular victories against the legendary Bernarn Hopkins. In a very close fight, the match was ruled a draw. Two judges scored the bout 115–113 for each fighter, while the final judge scored it a 114–114 draw.[5] Winky upset that he was not awarded the decision. Both camps attempted at negotiating a rematch, but talks failed after neither side could agree on how to split the money—a problem attributed to Wright's insistence on parity and Taylor's reluctance to give 50 percent to a non-champion.
Before Wright jumped up to challenge Bernard Hopkins for his light heavyweight crown he wanted to get a personal issue out of the way by taking a fight with Ike Quartey.
Quartey had been for years saying that "Winky took his style and ran with it". Winky responded with a "I don't understand how you can say something like that". He went on talking about how he and Quartey used to train in the same gym together and how he looked up to Quartey. Wright used Quartey's insults to fuel him in the fight. With a chip on his shoulder from the Taylor fight, Wright won via UD and even for the first time in years, knocking his opponent down in the early rounds.
Two judges had the fight 117-110 and one had the bout 117-109.
Wright's next fight came against Bernard Hopkins. They fought at 170 pounds on July 21, 2007. The bout aired on HBO pay-per-view. In the early rounds of the fight, there was no love lost as Hopkins outpointed Wright until a clash of heads (ruled unintentional) by Hopkins left a deep gash over Wright's eyebrow leading to Wright becoming the aggressor in the fight. Now Fighting with a sense of urgency, Wright gave problems due to his tight defense guarding the cut and landing combinations from the outside. Hopkins seemed to stick through the pressure and land flush combinations targeting the bloody eye. Hopkins won via UD on the judges' score cards (116–112, 117–111, 117–111).[6]
It was Winky's first loss in 8 years. In the post-fight interview, Wright was asked why he took the fight. He responded by saying, "I wanted to show everybody that I'm the best fighter out there, regardless of weight. If I fight the best, then I'll be the best."
Winky Wright ended a 21-month layoff when he faced Paul Williams on April 11, 2009 on HBO. The fight took place at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. The site of the fight was the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Wright lost. Two judges scored the bout 119-109 for Williams while the 3rd judge scored the bout 120-108 for Williams. Wright won only the 5th round on two judges cards, while the 3rd judge scored all the rounds for Paul Williams.
After several failed attempts to stay active after the one-sided sweep by Paul "The Punisher" Williams, Wright decided to get surgery on his knee during his inactivity, in the summer of 2010. Wright's most recent attempts were to get fights with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez who knocked out Paul Williams, and also a 160 lb. fight with Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik. He however, successfully landed a fight with the contender champion, Grady "The Bad Boy" Brewer on December 11, 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Winky Wright and Grady Brewer were ready and set to do battle until weeks before the fight, the promoters shut the PPV matchup down due to poor ticket sales.
On November 16, 2010, It surfaced on the Internet that Winky Wright's Grandmother, Mary Dorsey died on November 3. Winky credits his grandmother for all the achievements in his career. When Winky Wright was only 6 months old, Mrs. Dorsey was the first to call him Winky because he used to wink at people a lot. After the new year of 2011, Wright came out and gave his side and strategies to the Super Fight between "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Manny "Pac-man" Pacquiao. During the interview, he also stated that he'll be coming back to fight on April 9 on the undercard of Marques-Morales against Matthew "The knife" Macklin. Although it was not a title fight, both fighters have hopes that with the win over each other, they would have a shot at the Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez at 160 lbs. Once again, weeks before the PPV the fight had to be canceled due to an injury to Winky's right hand.
Shortly after the showdown between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson was made, it was stated that Dawson would not be working with trainer Emmanuel Steward and instead would work with his previous trainer John Scully. Wright, being a good friend of Dawson's, offered to help him on his upcoming fight while getting him into physical shape. He stated in brief, short interview, "No, I'm not a trainer and I'm not training Dawson. The fighting part of my career isn't even over, why would I want to start training? I'm just there to give advice and pointers to Dawson. Help him prepare for Hopkins and his dirty tactics. Hopkins is a dirty fighter." In a October interview he stated that he will once again be coming back stating, "The Junior middleweight division is full of people that call themselves champions when they ain't fought nobody. I'm coming back to take what's rightfully mine." He also stated that he'd made a mistake with just coming back and taking on a fighter like Paul Williams. He confirmed that he's going to take a couple tune-up fights hoping to grab one by December. He also, in the interview, expressed interest in fighting WBA Light Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, WBC Light Middleweight champion Saul Alvarez and Ring Magazine Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in the future.
Wright has appeared in music videos for Busta Rhymes' "Touch It Remix" ( feat. Mary J Blige, Missy, Rah Digga, Lloyd Banks, Papoose, DMX) 50 Cent's "Outta Control Remix" (feat. Mobb Deep) Jamie Foxx's "DJ Play a Love Song" (feat. Twista) and 2 Pistols's "She Got It" (feat. T-Pain). He also appeared briefly in the cult hit State Property 2 along with Dame Dash and Beanie Sigel.
Wright has previously entered into ventures and endorsements with brands such as Reebok, Vitamin Water, Rocawear, State Property and 2(x)ist men's underwear among many others. Through these partnerships, Wright has appeared in television commercials, ad campaigns around New York City, and in Men's Fitness, Men's Health, VIBE and VIBE VixeN magazines.
He currently owns an independent record label, Pound 4 Pound Records, also based in St. Petersburg. The label consists of a talent roster which covers genres of music from rock & roll to hip hop.
Winky now has his own promotion company called Winky Wright Promotions.
Winky Wright got married to Sayquana Barney on August 1, 2009. Winky often participates in charity events, in which he also has his own charity event called Winky Wright Foundation which gives him the opportunity to give back to the community.
Winky Wright has recently been spotted in the Michael Jordan 10th Annual Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament with other stars like John Smoltz, Ken Griffey Jr., Penny Hardaway, Larry David, and others.
| 51 Wins (25 knockouts, 11 decisions), 5 Losses (0 knockouts, 5 decisions), 1 Draw [1] | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Rounds | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 51-5-1 | Paul Williams | UD | 12 | 11/04/2009 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 51-4-1 | Bernard Hopkins | UD | 12 | 21/07/2007 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | This fight was for The Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight championship belt. |
| Win | 51-3-1 | Ike Quartey | UD | 12 | 02/12/2006 | St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, United States | Quartey was knocked down in this fight. |
| Draw | 50-3-1 | Jermain Taylor | PTS | 12 | 17/06/2006 | FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, United States | For WBC & WBO Middleweight titles. |
| Win | 50–3 | Sam Soliman | UD | 12 | 10/12/2005 | Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | WBC and IBF Middleweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 49–3 | Felix Trinidad | UD | 12 | 14/05/2005 | MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | WBC Middleweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 48–3 | Shane Mosley | MD | 12 | 20/11/2004 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Retained WBC & WBA Light Middleweight titles. |
| Win | 47–3 | Shane Mosley | UD | 12 | 13/03/2004 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Retained IBF Light Middleweight title. Won WBC & WBA Light Middleweight titles. |
| Win | 46–3 | Angel Hernandez | UD | 12 | 08/11/2003 | Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Retained IBF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 45–3 | Juan Carlos Candelo | UD | 12 | 01/03/2003 | Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Retained IBF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 44–3 | Bronco McKart | DQ | 8 (12) | 07/09/2002 | Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon, United States | Retained IBF Light Middleweight title. McKart disqualified for excessive low blows after having 5 points deducted. |
| Win | 43–3 | Jason Papillion | TKO | 5 (12) | 02/02/2002 | American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, United States | Retained IBF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 42–3 | Robert Frazier | UD | 12 | 12/10/2001 | Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, United States | Won vacant IBF Light Middleweight title. Title vacant after reigning champ Felix Trinidad moved up to Middleweight division. |
| Win | 41–3 | Keith Mullings | UD | 12 | 16/12/2000 | Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | Retained NABF & USBA Light Middleweight titles. |
| Win | 40–3 | Bronco McKart | UD | 12 | 09/09/2000 | Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort, Chester, West Virginia, United States | Won NABF & vacant USBA Light Middleweight titles. IBF Light Middleweight title eliminator. |
| Loss | 39–3 | Fernando Vargas | MD | 12 | 04/12/1999 | Chinook Winds Casino, Lincoln City, Oregon, United States | For IBF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 39–2 | Derrick Graham | KO | 3 (12) | 27/03/1999 | Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, United States | IBF Light Middleweight title eliminator. |
| Loss | 38–2 | Harry Simon | MD | 12 | 22/08/1998 | Carousel Hotel & Casino, Temba, North West, South Africa | Lost WBO Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 38–1 | Adrian Dodson | TKO | 6 (12) | 19/12/1997 | New London Arena, Millwall, London, United Kingdom | Retained WBO Light Middleweight title. Bout was stopped after the 6th round due to cuts. |
| Win | 37–1 | Steve Foster | TKO | 6 (12) | 03/05/1997 | Nynex Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom | Retained WBO Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 36–1 | Ensley Bingham | UD | 12 | 09/11/1996 | Nynex Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom | Retained WBO Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 35–1 | Bronco McKart | SD | 12 | 17/05/1996 | Glen Stock Arena, Monroe, Michigan, United States | Won WBO Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 34–1 | Andrew Council | UD | 12 | 05/03/1996 | Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, United States | Retained NABF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 33–1 | Jean Paul D'Alessandro | UD | 8 | 06/01/1996 | Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France | |
| Win | 32–1 | Young Dick Tiger | TKO | 9 (10) | 23/10/1995 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Win | 31–1 | Anthony Ivory | UD | 12 | 23/08/1995 | La Palestre, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France | Retained NABF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 30–1 | Larry LaCoursiere | TKO | 1 (?) | 25/07/1995 | Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France | Wright knocked LaCousiere down three times. |
| Win | 29–1 | Leon Cessiron | PTS | 6 | 11/04/1995 | La Palestre, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France | |
| Win | 28–1 | Anthony Ivory | PTS | 8 | 01/04/1995 | La Palestre, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France | Sometimes listed as KO win for Wright. |
| Win | 27–1 | Tony Marshall | UD | 12 | 04/02/1995 | Beziers, Hérault, France | Won vacant NABF Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 26–1 | Ernesto Rafael Sena | RTD | 2 (10) | 11/11/1994 | Club Caja Popular, San Miguel, Tucuman, Argentina | Ernesto Sena did not answer the bell for the third round. |
| Loss | 25–1 | Julio Cesar Vasquez | UD | 12 | 21/08/1994 | Jai Alai, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France | For WBA World Light Middleweight title. Wright down in rounds 2, 7, 9 and twice in round 12. |
| Win | 25–0 | Orlando Orozco | TKO | 1 (8) | 04/06/1994 | Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France | |
| Win | 24–0 | Armando Herrera | KO | 1 (8) | 19/03/1994 | Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France | |
| Win | 23–0 | Tony McCrimmion | TKO | 5 (?) | 04/12/1993 | Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France | |
| Win | 22–0 | Gilberto Barreto | TKO | 2 (10) | 16/10/1993 | Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France | Barreto knocked down twice. |
| Win | 21–0 | Leon Rouse | KO | 1 (8) | 21/08/1993 | Salle des etoiles, Levallois-Perret, Monte Carlo, Monaco | |
| Win | 20–0 | James Stokes | KO | 1 (8) | 28/05/1993 | Punta Gorda, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 19–0 | Eric Holland | UD | 8 | 20/03/1993 | Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany | |
| Win | 18–0 | Roland Commings | UD | 8 | 31/01/1993 | Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France | |
| Win | 17–0 | Darryl Lattimore | TKO | 1 (8) | 02/01/1993 | Differdange, Luxembourg | |
| Win | 16–0 | Carlos Santana | TKO | 2 (10) | 30/07/1992 | Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States | Santana was dropped once in the 1st round and three times in the 2nd. |
| Win | 15–0 | Delfino Marin | TKO | 1 (10) | 28/05/1992 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States | Marin got knocked down 10 seconds after the opening bell. Wright had a knockout two minutes later. |
| Win | 14–0 | Mike Howard | TKO | 4 (8) | 27/03/1992 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 13–0 | Persephone Van Reenen | TKO | 3 (?) | 28/02/1992 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 12–0 | Lennell Strohman | UD | 6 | 13/12/1991 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 11–0 | Gary McCall | RTD | 1 (6) | 15/11/1991 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States | McCall retired at the end of the 1st round. |
| Win | 10–0 | Glenn Major | TKO | 2 (6) | 18/10/1991 | Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Jeff Johnson | UD | 6 | 17/09/1991 | Marriott World Center, Orlando, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Edison Martinez | TKO | 1 (?) | 30/08/1991 | Orlando, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Rocky Fabrizio | UD | 6 | 13/08/1991 | Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Lorenzo Bouie | UD | 6 | 26/07/1991 | Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Jeff Johnson | TKO | 4 (6) | 29/03/1991 | Convention Center, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Stedroy Bolus | TKO | 3 (4) | 25/01/1991 | Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Tony Graham | TKO | 2 (?) | 14/12/1991 | Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Christopher Conrad | TKO | 1 (?) | 28/11/1991 | Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Anthony Salerno | UD | 4 | 16/10/1991 | Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States | Pro debut for Wright. |
| Year | Title [7] | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Jury | Winky Wright | TV Series 1EP |
| 2005 | State Property 2 | Winky Wright | Cameo |
| 2006 | Loren Cass | Voice 1 | Documentary |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bronco McKart |
WBO Junior Middleweight Champion May 17, 1996 – August 22, 1998 |
Succeeded by Harry Simon |
| Vacant
Title last held by
Félix Trinidad |
IBF Junior Middleweight Champion October 12, 2001 – April 19, 2004 Vacated |
Vacant
Title next held by
Verno Phillips |
| Vacant
Title last held by
Koichi Wajima |
Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion March 13, 2004 – April 19, 2004 Titles fractured |
Vacant |
| Preceded by Shane Mosley |
WBC Super Welterweight Champion March 13, 2004 – March 5, 2005 Vacated |
Succeeded by Javier Castillejo Interim Champion promoted |
| WBA Super Welterweight Champion Super Title March 13, 2004 – March 20, 2005 Vacated |
Succeeded by Travis Simms as Champion |
|
| The Ring Junior Middleweight Champion March 13, 2004 - March 20, 2005 Vacated |
Vacant | |