WINKY WRIGHT READY TO BLOW OUT CANDELO!

IBF CHAMP WINKY WRIGHT READY TO IMPRESS IN LAS VEGAS DEBUT

22.02 - IBF jr. middleweight champion WINKY WRIGHT breaks camp tomorrow and heads to Arum-Country, where he will make his Las Vegas debut, March 1, defending his title against No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger J.C. Candelo. The Wright-Candelo rumble will be a featured bout on the John Ruiz - Roy Jones, Jr. WBA heavyweight championship HBO Pay-Per-View telecast.

Candelo, 26-4-3 (18 KOs), is the second consecutive mandatory challenger Wright,44-3 (27 KOs), has faced in five months. Wright literally made then-No. 1 contender Bronco McKart quit in the middle of their September 7, 2002 title fight in Portland, OR.

"The Winky Bandwagon" has traveled the globe throughout Wright's 13-year career, which also includes a two-year reign as WBO jr. middleweight champion. Since making his pro debut, October 16, 1990, Wright has fought 20 times on foreign soil including, South Africa, England, France, Argentina, Germany, Monaco and Luxembourg. Add in the United States, that makes eight countries on four different continents. No wonder he is known as "Winky Wright, International Man of Misery!"

"I will go anywhere, anytime, for a good fight," said Wright. "Oscar and I agree on one thing, we both want career-defining fights. Unfortunately, Oscar's promoter, Bob Arum, only wants career-protecting fights for his golden goose. Yory Boy Campas? The only sponsorships Arum will get for that fight are AARP and Geritol."

Wright has made it no secret that he wants to fight WBC/WBA super welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya for the undisputed 154-pound title.

"If Bob has worries about a title unification bout, just say so," continued Wright. "Arum hiding behind his excuses that a title unification fight is not saleable have no validity. Oscar sold 60,000 seats for his fight against Patrick Charpentier. Oscar sold out Madison Square Garden for his fight against Derrell Coley. Last time I checked, Charpentier and Coley were not the biggest names in the sport.

"I feel sorry for Oscar that he is not allowed to try and achieve the one thing he has never had in his career – being an undisputed champion," Wright said. "Every time Oscar mentions he would like to fight me for an undisputed title, Arum comes back with names like Mayorga and Margarito. They are welterweights! And now Arum is promoting Daniel Santos' WBO jr. middleweight title defense. Gee, I wonder why?"