Boxing

 Interview With Winky Wright


Photo: www.winkywright.com

By Ed Ludwig

07.08 - IBF Jr. Middleweight Champion Ronald “Winky” Wright sits and waits as the big names in the division continue to fight each other leaving him on the outside looking in. Whether or not he gets the “Super Fight” he so richly deserves is anyone’s guess. I spoke with the champion recently and he does not plan to sit around and wait as he is set to step back into the ring in November. Sometime in 2004 he will face the winner of the IBF elimination tournament. JC Candelo recently defeated Julio Garcia and now he awaits the winner of the upcoming Kassim Ouma vs. Carlos Bojorquez clash. Wright is ready for any of the three and looks forward to his next title defense. Before the champion’s career does wind down he hopes Oscar De La Hoya will “Do The Wright Thing” and unify the titles. I would like to thank Winky Wright once again for taking the time to speak with Eastside Boxing.

Ed Ludwig: You and Chris Byrd are in similar situations as you are both world champions and yet neither of you can land the big fight you are looking for. Why is that?

Winky Wright: We are two guys who can fight and are good at what we do. Other fighters seem to not want anything to do with us.

EL: What did you think of Fernando Vargas’ comeback fight against Fitz Vanderpool?

WR: That fight was bullshit. Vanderpool was so scared before he even got in the ring. He was punching and running and Vargas comes in overweight. His inactivity is no excuse. Vargas is not ready for a high caliber fighter like me so he’s better off fighting eliminators to try and get another big payday. I would give him the opportunity he never gave me. I had to wait until I was ranked number one before I could fight him.

EL: Some critics are calling Fernando Vargas a shot fighter and I was curious as to what you think?

WR: First off, there is no excuse for Vargas looking or fighting the way he did. I only fight about every nine months plus he fought a bum and should have looked better and for him to run around and claim he is the best and this and that is bullshit. He still gets on HBO and he won’t fight the best.

EL: I assume you still want a rematch with Vargas but under the right circumstances?

WR: In one word, yes!

EL: A few weeks back the IBF Elimination tournament began with the winner getting a shot at your title. Did you see the fight between JC Candelo and Julio Garcia and what were your thoughts on the fight and when you heard that Garcia was calling you out prior to his loss?

WR: I saw the fight and Candelo looked real impressive. He showed that I am out there fighting real number one contenders and not guys who are shot and past their prime. Candelo came out and looked real sharp and I think he is good and not and easy guy to fight. He shut the Cuban dude’s mouth. Garcia did not earn the right to call me out. I have earned the right to call people out because I have fought and beat everybody. That Cuban lover dude has fought nobody and when he stepped up look what happened, he got beat down.

EL: Candelo will now face the winner of Kassim Ouma vs. Carlos Bojorquez to become the number one mandatory challenger. There is a very good chance you could square off against Candelo for a second time. If you had a choice is their one in particular you would like to fight?

WR: I don’t like to choose and whoever the best man is will be the one I want. If it’s Candelo again then he has earned that right.

EL: Oscar De La Hoya will meet Shane Mosley for a second time next month. Who do you think will win and why?

WR: It’s going to be a very good fight and I wouldn’t count Shane out because of the fights against Vernon Forrest. It’s going to be a tough fight and it’s a toss up.

EL: We have covered this before but I will ask you again, will Oscar De La Hoya ever accept the fact that you are a legitimate threat and try to unify the titles or will he continue with the excuses and avoid you?

WR: So far the only thing he has been doing is making excuses and running away. It’s getting to the point now where he has nobody else to fight so he fights these other guys over and over to stay away from me. If he wants to be the undisputed champion then tell him to come on and fight but obviously I can fight and that’s something he’s scared of. I used to respect Oscar because he was fighting everybody but now I see that he keeps running away from me. Why fight Mosley now when you got a chance to unify the titles? It makes no sense to me.

EL: On ESPN’s Tuesday Night Fights last week Scott LeDoux said you were unsure about what you were going to do, be it vacating the title and move up perhaps. Do you know what they were referring to exactly?

WR: I really don’t know what they were referring to but I definitely want to stay and unify the titles. If it gets to the point where I can’t get any of these fighters to fight me and they go and fight Joe Blow’s then whatever, I’ll move up if I have too. I just want to fight the best. The best have been running from me my whole career.

EL: When do you expect to be back in the ring and would you consider a tune-up bout while you wait to find out who your mandatory contender will be?

WR: Oh yeah, definitely. I’ll be fighting again in November. It will be a tune up that I feel I deserve as I’ve been fighting all my number one contenders. Roy says he is going to fight in November and after that lets hope that the winner of De La Hoya and Mosley will want a shot at me.

EL: You are good friends with Roy Jones Jr. I am wondering if there is anything concrete in the works and not speculation?

WR: He is working on a November date to challenge Antonio Tarver for the Light Heavyweight championship. It is just talk right now but I know Roy is going to do something in November.

EL: Going back to Vargas for a moment, you were quoted the following after his last fight “ Now I know why Fernando didn’t want to fight me and frankly I agree with him. Fighting him now would be like shooting a fish in a barrel and there is no challenge in it for me” so do you stand by what you said and if Vargas can pick up some big wins will it be worth your time to fight him again?

WR: I would like to punish him right now but it would be such a mismatch and he does need some key victories because he doesn’t look good at all. I want him to be serious and take a good look at himself before getting in the ring with me and I do stand by what I said.

EL: It looks like Vargas might hook up with Javier Castillejo next. Is this a step up for him?

WR: Man, I don’t care about the Castillejo fight. The point of that fight is they keep giving him eliminators and he keeps running from me but he gets the opportunity to fight Oscar again. If they want an eliminator fight then give me one but we all know that they won’t do it. The whole thing is that they are trying to keep me out of the loop but like I said I would consider moving up if I don’t get the winner of Oscar and Shane or I might not box at all.

EL: I suppose you can categorize fighters like De La Hoya and Vargas as glory hounds, not so much from seeking attention but they do get everything handed to them on a silver platter. Do you agree?

WR: They are getting pampered. There are a lot of good fighters out there but Oscar and Fernando never give anyone an opportunity so the contenders can’t show their skills against the worlds best.

EL: People are questioning if Vargas is shot and drained after twenty-five fights.

WR: Let me interrupt, do you know what that’s from? He’s trying to fight for the people and not himself. HBO puts him on because he’s exciting and luckily he has made the money but if he didn’t then it would have been a different story, Maybe he is shot as he has been in tough fights and started his career at an early age. I have been boxing for almost thirteen years and no one questions if I am shot because I have skill and twice as many fights. Boxing is a crazy sport and weird sometimes but my main goal is to win the big one then call it quits.

EL: Any comments for your fans?

WR: I want to thank all my fans. Without having them behind me and with fighters trying to keep me out of the loop the fans voices are heard and they know what they want. The fans are the true people of boxing and they know what they want to see and I thank you all very much.

EL: As always, it was a pleasure speaking with you again and I thank you for your time.

WR: Your very welcome, Ed. Thanks and I will talk to you soon.

The champs new website www.winkywright.com will be up shortly so make sure to visit the site and send him an email as he appreciates all the support.

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