18.06.06 -By Sean Ocampo: On Saturday night, the highly anticipated showdown between Middleweight Champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor and former Junior Middleweight Champion Ronald “Winky” Wright ended with a disputed draw. Unfortunately, questions will now pile up about decision, causing to endlessly speculate about who actually won the fight. The fight was not the snoozefest that we all expected and was a battle right from the get go. The early part of the fight looked like Jermain Taylor was just too strong for the challenger Winky Wright, with Taylor’s long jab and occassionally his straight right hand making it past Winky’s stone wall defense.
As the fight progressed, the challenger was slowly figuring out the champion’s style. At this point, Winky Wright’s accuracy was growing and his trademark jab was tagging Taylor’s face. He showed the young champion that he’s here to fight. Both fighters traded blows, but Wright’s punches seem to be the more effective of the two and the majority of Taylor’s punches were no longer getting through Wright’s defense, hitting Wright’s arm and gloves. The tide turned in the middle rounds, when Wright showed Taylor why he is considered as Pound for Pound one of the best fighters in the world, peppering him with his trademark right jab.
Wright looked like he was pulling away with a clear unanimous decision going in to the championship rounds. He was already dictating the pace and throwing Taylor out of his game. During this stage in the fight, Taylor looked like a beaten fighter with his busted nose and completely closed left eye. When Taylor got in range, Wright threw unanswered combinations that stopped Taylor in his tracks. Clearly, Taylor wasn’t able to respond convincingly to Winky’s accuracy and faster combinations.
In the 12th round, Taylor was put to desperation mode, chasing after Wright in the ring and trying to out on pressure. However, Wright just kept his hands up and blocked most of Taylor’s punches and Wright cruised to a clear cut victory.
Little did Wright know, the final round would be crucial round in two judges’ scorecards? Just think, if Winky could have been busier in the final round then Winky could have won the fight by a split Decision.
Did Wright really need the final round?
My answer would be a big NO. I think Wright did enough to beat the younger Taylor. Wright was more accurate and he even out landed the younger fighter by 63 more punches. On the other hand, Taylor was busier, but Wright just threw more effective and accurate punches.
Taylor’s actions after the fight showed that he wasn’t convinced with his performance, as he didn’t even raise his hands in the end of the fight. He was in total disbelief. I think he knew that he didn’t beat Wright in the top of his game.
The fight pretty good overall with both fighters showing everything they got in their own respective arsenals. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing them fight one more time so we can get a clear winner.