Winky Wright On Target!
By Ed Ludwig
03.03 -IBF Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright (45-3 25 KO’s) made his third successful title defence as he out pointed mandatory challenger JC Candelo (26-5-3 18 KO’s) on the under card of the John Ruiz vs. Roy Jones Jr. Pay Per View extravaganza.
Saturday was the Las Vegas debut for Wright who has travelled extensively in Europe for the most part. The champion was able to work through the six-inch reach disadvantage and score a convincing unanimous decision victory over Candelo.
The challenger who is a staple of the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights series earned his shot at Wright by defeating Angel Hernandez in a rematch that took place in December of last year. On Saturday night, Wright pressed the action and landed heavy blows that appeared to stun Candelo on a couple of occasions. He systematically broke the challenger down to earn the victory.
I scored the fight 117 to 112 in favour of the champion. Many boxing fans let it be known that this was the most competitive fight on the card and I agree. The exposure for Wright was long overdue and he made a strong case that he is not to be taken lightly.
If Bob Arum was looking for flaws in Wright’s performance I doubt he found any as the champ was technically sound and on target throughout the fight. This brings me to another issue. What is wrong with Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya? Since De La Hoya’s victory over Fernando Vargas I have seen him on various talk shows and not once was the name “Winky Wright” mentioned as a possible opponent. In fact there was no names mentioned at all.
On the plus side for Wright, he does have his mandatory out of the way now and he can take his pick of the litter and maybe find a way to lure De La Hoya into a unification showdown. The reasons for the fight not happening have been well documented.
I am tired of the excuses coming from Arum and the lack of respect that Wright is receiving from the Top Rank brass. They hope the talk of De La Hoya vs. Wright will subside and eventually go away but as long as I have a voice I fully intend to keep my views known.
What bothers me is the idiotic comment made by Arum that a fight with Wright has no appeal and would not put fans in the seats. Who is he kidding? Oscar’s name sells period and he could have a pay per view sparring session and it would sell.
De La Hoya vs. Wright has to be made. The appeal of a unification fight is what gets people talking and pitting two high calibre fighters against each other will not only help them but the sport in general. Oscar has his bout with Yory Boy Campas coming up and after that Winky Wright is available.
Since Shane Mosley and Fernado Vargas are not in the grand scheme of things right now, who is left? The answer is obvious. Maybe Roman Karmazin will get a shot after his bout with De La Hoya was postponed and eventually scrapped all together sometime ago. Nothing would surprise me anymore.
The Jr. Middleweight division is not very deep after the top five and with De La Hoya and Wright on their “A” game this fight has to be made. Wright keeps winning yet he doesn’t get the respect he deserves. For this fight to happen Wright will need a poor performance or a loss to give De La Hoya a boost in confidence. I’m willing to bet that a fight having Wright coming off a poor performance or a loss would sell.
The Bob and Oscar show will continue for who knows how long. They can keep throwing their fishing lures into the ocean and catch a Campas or a Karmazin but they need to watch out for “The Great Wright Shark”. He is hungry and ready to strike.
