“IT’S TIME FOR ME.”
LOS ANGELES, June 5 – Following a hard-fought 10-round battle with Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin this past Saturday night at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., former Undisputed Junior Middleweight World Champion and longtime middleweight contender Ronald “Winky” Wright has decided to retire at the age of 40.
“Part of being a boxer is knowing when to call it quits,” said Wright. “It’s time for me. I did what I set out to do and that was to be great and become a world champion. I have a lot of great memories from my career and will still support this great sport which I have dedicated my life to. I want to thank all of the people who helped me along the way and especially the fans that supported me all of these years.”
“Winky Wright is a class act in and out of the ring and if you wanted to see what true skill was, you watched him fight,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “I congratulate him on his amazing career. I know we’ll be seeing him in the Hall of Fame very soon. Winky, it was an honor to watch you in the ring and to promote some of your fights.”
“Winky is the consummate athlete, but more importantly a man of character, trust and a great parent,” said Jim Wilkes, Wright’s attorney and long-time friend. “In a world of indulgence, he has never smoked a cigarette or had a drink of alcohol. He is a great friend and I look forward to his adventures to come.”
“It’s been an incredible and blessed experience to represent one of the all-time greatest pound-four-pound fighters in Winky Wright,” said Damian Ramirez, Wright’s advisor and long-time friend. “I’ll miss the fun times and laughs we enjoyed during his road to greatness inside the ring. I consider him not only a friend, but a brother. He is an extraordinary person and, in my eyes, a world champion for life!”
A true throwback fighter who competed around the world while taking on all comers, Wright (51-6-1, 25 KO’s) thrilled fans in the United States, France, Germany, Argentina, South Africa and England over the course of his nearly 22-year career, showing off the finer points of the sweet science every time he stepped into the ring.
After building his reputation on the international scene, the only place where he could get anyone to fight him, the pride of St. Petersburg, Florida finally got his first shot at a world title in August of 1994, when he lost a decision to WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Julio Cesar Vasquez.
Undeterred, Wright ran off nine consecutive victories and in his 10th fight following his fight against Vasquez, he defeated Bronco McKart on May 17, 1996 to win the WBO Junior Middleweight World Title. Wright defended the belt three times before a loss to Harry Simon in August of 1999. Two fights later he made his HBO debut and lost a highly controversial decision to then unbeaten Fernando Vargas which was widely seen as one of the worst verdicts of 1999.
Wright’s resilience was unmatched and by 2001, he was a world champion again, defeating Robert Frazier for the IBF 154-pound title. For the next six years, no one touched Wright as he earned a place on the pound-for-pound list by unifying the junior middleweight titles while defeating the likes of Sugar Shane Mosley (twice), Felix Trinidad and Ike Quartey.
Fighting sporadically following a 2007 loss to Bernard Hopkins, Wright would suffer defeats in 2009 to Paul Williams and this past Saturday night to Quillin, but as was his custom, he went out fighting, leaving it all in the ring for the world to see.
Wright now looks forward to the day he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Until then, he’ll spend his time with loves of life; his wife Pie, his children, nieces, nephews and the golf courses of the west coast of Florida.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com; follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/RealWinkyWright or visit us on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page.
When Worlds Collide on July 14th
Millennium Events, Inc. in association with Wealth TV proudly present World Class Championship boxing scheduled to take place July 14, 2012 inside the award winning “Pearl” theatre at the Palms Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas NV. The prestigious event billed as “WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE” really promises to deliver outstandingly exhilarating match-ups to the fans at ringside and millions of television viewers worldwide as it will feature some of the world’s premium boxers of our era competing at their best.
In the main event, the former two time World Champion Anthony “The Man” Mundine (43-4-0) will take on former WBO and IBA Light Middleweight Champion, Bronco “Superman” McKart (54-9-1) in a ten round bout… In the clash of “The Man” vs “Superman” the winner will surely be rewarded with another opportunity to fight for a World Title or a huge marquee fight in the next outing. Despite enjoying the status as the most popular and recognized Australian boxer today, this will be Mundine’s first USA appearance as he endeavors to win over American fans with his debut performance. However, there will be no shortage of support from his loyal fans at ringside including celebrities ready to cheer their hero to a win on American soil. Actor Russell Crowe who is a good friend and a huge fan promised to be at Anthony’s side for the big collision July 14.
Hailing from Sydney, Down Under Anthony “The Man” Mundine has bravely called out to the boxing’s elite names including Floyd Mayweather and the rest of the highly rated Champions. He believes that coming to Mayweater’s back yard and producing an impressive win is exactly what he needs to deserve the right for a Mega fight with Floyd.
Bronco “Superman” McKart on the other hand is determined and hungry to fulfill his dream of winning a third World Title honor. He is coming off three solid wins and feels ready for whatever Mundine has to offer. Undoubtedly, there will be fireworks in the making when these two collide!
In the co-main feature deserving of the main event status on its own, Russia’s best light heavyweight boxer, WBO International Champion, WBO #1 and IBF#5 rated Dmitry Sukhotsky will be making his USA debut against the dangerous Cornelius “Da Beast” White (19-1-0) from Houston, Texas for the IBF International Light-Heavyweight Title in a twelve round bout. Russia vs USA knock out artist vs big puncher promises to have all the ingredients of a real fans Championship fight which may not go the distance. Both of the combatants are big punchers and have compiled an impressive total of twenty nine knockouts between them. They will be expected to come out with bombing raids from the outset as the winner of this contest should solidify the World #1 ranking and Mandatory obligation to fight for a World Title.
In a Special Heavyweight attraction scheduled for eight rounds will be featured the hard hitting sensation Olanrewaju “God’s Power” Durodola (9-0-0) formerly from Nigeria now calling Kansas his home. Given that he has stopped eight out of his nine previous opponents inside the distance and seven of those inside the first round, he has been compared by some critics and fans to a young “Iron” Mike Tyson.
His opponent will be the tuff and ever exciting Henry Namauu (10-4-0) from Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be the toughest test for Duradola as he will learn if he has what it takes against the battle tested Namauu to move to the next level.
The undercard bouts will feature upcoming boxers and local favorites from the West Coast and Las Vegas area.
In a highly anticipated rematch of Light-Flyweights, Edwin Reyes will take on Yosigey Ramirez. In their last encounter April 13, they fought to an exciting draw and received a standing ovation from the fans at ringside.
“When Worlds Collide” will be televised exclusively on WealthTV and its affiliates internationally, as well as Main Event PPV platform in Australia and New Zealand. WealthTV is the premier lifestyle and entertainment network – the destination for exclusive and original programming, simultaneously transmitted in high definition and standard definition. WealthTV delivers informative shows that provide invaluable insights on what every American dreams of – from travel secrets to fast cars, from better etiquette to better investing, and much more. The network fills a television vacuum by delivering intellectually stimulating, thought-provoking entertainment and always-unbiased news from an insider’s perspective. For more information, please visit www.wealthtv.com.
IABA UPDATE (ELITE SQUAD GET ROUND ROBIN TOURNAMENT UNDERWAY IN FRANCE)
Irish Amateur Boxing Association
Darren O’Neill and Adam Nolan, who have both qualified for the 2012 Olympics, and Joe Ward recorded a hat-trick of wins over Moroccan 2012 Olympics in France tonight.
A nine-man Irish squad are in Calais competing in a Round Robin tournament with France, Germany and Morocco.
Bray BC welterweight Nolan impressed en route to a 10-5 verdict Mehdi Khalsi and Kilkenny middleweight O’Neill followed that up with a hard-fought 8-7 decision over Badr-Eddine Haddioui.
Ward, the current European light-heavyweight champion, cruised to a landslide 13-1 decision over Amhed Barki. All three Moroccan boxers booked their tickets for London 2012 at the African qualifiers in Casablanca earlier this year.
Meanwhile, David Oliver Joyce lost out 11-7 to French 2012 Olympian Rachid Azzedine this evening.
Irish 2012 Olympians Michael Conlan and John Joe Nevin experienced mixed fortunes earlier today.
Conlan, from the St John Bosco BC in Belfast, beat France’s Elie Konki 15-11.
But World number 4 Nevin, who boxes out of the Cavan BC, lost by a single point to experienced German international Artur Schmidt.
The Irish team will be back between the ropes on Friday evening.
Results June 7th.
52kg: Michael Conlan (Ireland) beat Elie Konki (France) 15-11
56kg: John Joe Nevin (Ireland) lost to Artur Schmitd (Germany) 12-13
60kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) lost to Rachid Azzedine (France) 7-11
69kg: Adam Nolan (Ireland) beat Mehdi Khalsi (Morocco) 10-5
75kg: Darren O’Neill (Ireland) beat Badr-Eddine Haddioui (Morocco) 8-7
81kg: Joe Ward (Ireland) beat Amhed Barki (Morocco) 13-1
Irish squad Round Robin Calais France June 7/10th
49kg Paddy Barnes (Holy Family)
52kg Michael Conlan (St John Bosco)
56kg John Joe Nevin (Cavan)
60kg David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy)
64kg Ross Hickey (Grangecon)
69kg Adam Nolan (Bray)
75kg Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)
81kg Joe Ward (Moate)
91kg Steven Ward (Monkstown)
Team manager: Des Donnelly
Coaches: Billy Walsh, Zuar Antia, Jimmy Halpin
R&J: Paul McMahon
Physio: Scott Murphy