Boxing

"ANGEL AND THE BAAAAD MAN"

WINKY WRIGHT TO DEFEND WORLD TITLE AGAINST ANGEL HERNANDEZ ON ROY JONES, JR - ANTONIO TARVER PPV SAT., NOV. 8, AT MANDALAY BAY

10.10 - IBF jr. middleweight champion WINKY WRIGHT, the most feared man in his weight class, will defend his world title against NABA super welterweight champion, and the IBF's No. 6-rated contender, Angel Hernandez, Saturday, November 8, at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The Wright-Hernandez rumble will be the co-main event on the Roy Jones, Jr. - Antonio Tarver world light-heavyweight title fight card, which will be broadcast live, via HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 P.M. EST / 6 P.M. PST.

Wright, a two-time world jr. middleweight champion, returns to Las Vegas for his second consecutive defense of the IBF title he has held for two years. He is hopeful another impressive performance will lead to showdowns against former world champions Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas, undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins and eventually, world super welterweight champion Sugar Shane Mosley.

"Oscar De La Hoya kissed greatness goodbye when he passed on fighting me for his first chance at becoming an undisputed champion," said Wright from his training camp in St. Petersburg, FL. "And now that Shane Mosley shellacked him again, Oscar won't even consider a rematch against Shane, much less me, because Oscar only wants to fight 'megafights.' I can only imagine the career-defining 'mega-fights' he and his protector, er, promoter, Bob Arum are thinking about --rematches against an overweight Fernando Vargas, who now has a bad back, Julio Cesar Chavez or Jimmi Bredhal. You might as well call him Oscar De Avoida!"

Winky is even willing to challenge Hopkins for his middleweight crown.

"No catch-weight for me," said Wright. "I would fight him at the 160-pound limit for his undisputed title. De Avoida and Mosley keep saying they would like to end their careers by challenging him at a catch-weight. I am ready to fight him now and I do not need a weight handicap. Weight handicaps are for horses and jockeys. I am a fighter. Bernard is a fighter. If we are fighting for the middleweight title, we fight at the middleweight limit. End of story."

Wright, 45-3 (25 KOs), boasts a winning percentage that approaches 94%, with more than 55% of those victories coming via knockout. How many world champions can boast that kind of record, especially when you consider that over 41% of these fights (20 fights to you non-math majors) took place on foreign soil?!! In fact, Winky has fought professionally in eight different countries on four different continents, including Luxembourg, Monaco, Germany, England, France, South Africa, Argentina and the U.S. No wonder Winky Wright is known as the "International Man of Misery" (to his opponents!)

He captured his first world title in 1996 when he traveled to Monroe, MI, winning a tough split decision over hometown hero and WBO jr. middleweight champion Bronko McKart. Wright then traveled to England where he successfully defended his title in consecutive bouts against British contenders - Ensley Bingham in 1996, and Steve Foster and Adrian Dodson in 1997, by unanimous decision against Bingham and sixth-round knockouts against Foster and Dodson.

Wright lost the title to South African Harry Simon by a highly controversial majority decision in 1998. The fight, which took place in South Africa, was announced as a 'Draw", but after an "error" was discovered in the addition of one of the scorecards, the decision was changed to Simon's favor.

Wright returned to the U.S. and after a tune-up, stepped into the ring against reigning or former world champions in his next three consecutive bouts.

First was then-undefeated IBF jr. middleweight champion Fernando Vargas, at the end of 1999. A clear winner in the eyes of the media and spectators alike, Wright lost a controversial majority decision despite the fact Winky had Vargas backing up the entire fight.

"Vargas has not been the same since," said Wright. "I softened him up plenty for the knockout losses he suffered against Felix Trinidad and De Avoida. If Vargas is such a tough man, why not fight me for my title instead of fighting in elimination bouts and tune-ups against nobodies? I have never heard of a fighter refusing a world title fight. Vargas is not a man, he is a wreck."

Wright followed that fight with 12-round unanimous decisions over former world champions McKart and Keith Mullings in 2000.

Winky captured the IBF title, October 21, 2001, a title Felix Trinidad vacated rather than face Wright, by winning a unanimous decision over Robert Frazier. He has successfully defended the title three times since, his most recent, a unanimous decision over No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger J.C. Candelo, last March, in Las Vegas, as the co-main event on the historic Roy Jones, Jr - John Ruiz WBA Heavyweight Championship card, which was televised by HBO Pay-Per View.

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