One West Magazine recently had a chat with the former undisputed Jr. Middleweight champion of the world Ronald "Winky" Wright. A native of Washington D.C, Wright has been in the ring with the biggest names in boxing. Classic bouts with future Hall Of Farmer's Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, & Fernando Vargas to name a few.
Wright first tasted world championship gold when he defeated Bronco McKart by split decision winning the WBO Jr. Middleweight Championship. After a controversial decision against Oxnard, California's Fernado Vargas for the IBF Jr. Middleweight crown , Wright would get another shot at the title when Felix Trinidad moved up to the middleweight division. In 2001 Wright scored a unanimous decision over Robert Frazier to finally capture the IBF Jr. Middle Title. After a couple of successful title defenses, Winky was in position for a mega-fight against Olympic gold medalist & Los Angeles native Oscar De La Hoya. However after questionable purse offers to Wright, the mega-fight would never materialize. Winky would move on to defend his title two more times before an offer came from the popular Sugar Shane Mosley of Pomona, California. Finally with a huge fight lined up that would definitely cement Wright's legacy in boxing, he found himself coming into the bout a huge underdog. Regardless of the odds Winky Wright would seize the moment to capture the WBC/WBA(Super)/The Ring light-middleweight titles making him the undisputed champion.
In one of the biggest rematches in boxing history Winky Wright stepped back into the ring to once again defeat the one who just conquered Oscar De La Hoya. In doing so he became the second fighter to turn back Mosley on two occasions since it was done by the late Welterweight Champion Vernon Forrest. Having cleaned out the Jr. Middleweight division Wright found it difficult to find any new challengers. Recognizing this Wright made the leap to middleweight to challenge and defeat Felix Trinidad & Sam Soliman before fighting to a controversial draw with then Middleweight Champion Jermaine Taylor. Many in the boxing community felt that Wright deserved the nod, nevertheless terms for a rematch could not be reached. Had Wright been given the decision he would have become the first fighter to be the Undisputed Middleweight & Jr. Middleweight Champion at the same time.
Winky Wright would bounce back with a win over the hard hitting Ike Quartey setting up a fight against Bernard Hopkins at a 170lbs catch weight. Wright would lose by Unanimous decision as well as dropping his next two bouts sending the legendary fighter into retirement in 2012. Winky Wright will be remembered as a fighter that over came the odds when it was time to step onto the big stage. When others counted him out, he consistently proved them wrong earning himself a place on the mantle of boxing's all time elite.
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