Winky Wright

Winky Wright
Statistics
Real name	Ronald Lamont Wright
Nickname(s)	Winky
Rated at	Light Middleweight Middleweight
Height	5 ft 10 1⁄2 in (1.79 m)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1971-11-26) 26 November 1971
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	57
Wins	51
Wins by KO	25
Losses	5
Draws	1
No contests	0

Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971, in Washington, D.C.) is an American professional boxer and the former Undisputed World Light Middleweight Champion.

In addition to Bernard Hopkins, Paul Williams, "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Angel Hernandez, Felix Trinidad and Jermain Taylor, Wright has fought former world champions Bronco McKart three times, Keith Mullings, Fernando Vargas, Harry Simon and Julio Cesar Vasquez.

Though born in DC, he grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, which he continues to call home.

Professional career

Early years

After his second-round knockout of Carlos Santana on July 30, 1992, in St. Petersburg, Florida, the ring announcer called him "Winky" Wright, the name given to him by his grandmother when he was 18 months old. The nickname stuck for the rest of his career.

Big time promoters like Don King and Lou Duva would not promote Wright in the early part of his career. His first big time promoters were the French based Acaries brothers, who struck a deal for Wright to fight Darryl Lattimore in Luxembourg on January 1, 1993. Wright knocked Lattimore down three times, and the fight was stopped. Wright went on a tear during his tour of Europe, winning 8 straight in France, Germany, Monte Carlo, only fighting in the United States once over the next year.

First step up in class

On August 21, 1994, Wright received his first title match against WBA Light Middleweight Champion Julio César Vásquez in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France. Although he was 25–0 at the time, Wright had not fought in a match that had gone more than 8 rounds. His inexperience showed as Winky lost a unanimous decision, with Vasquez knocking down Wright in the second, seventh, ninth and twice in the twelfth round.

On February 4, 1995, Wright defeated Tony Marshall by unanimous decision, winning the NABF Middleweight Championship.

Ongoing world tour and winning the WBO title

Wright continued fighting in Europe, only fighting in the United States once, until his unanimous decision victory against Andrew Council on March 5, 1996. His impressive win opened the door to fight WBO Light Middleweight champion Bronco McKart, a fight Wright won by split decision. He continued to tour the world, fighting and winning fights in South Africa and England.

Coming to America

After breaking with the Acaries brothers in 1999, citing that he was tired of all the travel, Wright knocked out Derrick Graham in the third round in Miami, Florida. This set the stage for his first major fight against IBF Light Middleweight Champion Fernando Vargas. Although some ringside fans and members of the media felt Wright won the fight, Vargas won a controversial majority decision.

Wright continued to defend the NABF and won the USBA light middleweight title in another decision over Bronco McKart.

First major payday

Félix Trinidad's jump to the middleweight division left the IBF light middleweight title vacant. Wright scored a unanimous decision over Robert Frazier on October 12, 2001, to win his first major boxing championship. In his first defense on February 2, 2002, Wright stopped Jason Papillion in the fifth round. He took a third fight against Bronco McKart, which ended in controversy as the referee disqualified McKart for repeated low blows in the 8th round.

For Wright's next fight, Oscar De La Hoya offered to fight him. Because of the lack of money The Golden Boy was willing to give Wright for the fight, the deal fell through and Oscar fought Luis Ramon Campas for the WBA & WBC Light Middleweight Championships. Wright went on to debut on National Television Las Vegas against Juan Carlos Candelo on March 1, 2003. This fight would also be his first title defense and would win an impressive unanimous decision victory. He followed that up with another blowout victory over Angel Hernandez 8 months later.

Wright vs. Mosley I & II

To the surprise of many, including Wright, Shane Mosley challenged Winky to a light middleweight unification fight on March 13, 2004. Mosley was a celebrated fighter coming off his second win against Oscar De La Hoya and was looking for a tune-up fight to prepare for a super fight with Felix Trinidad. Shane had stated that he wanted to fight the winner of Winky Wright vs. Angel Hernandez. Wright, being the winner, earned a fight with the great "Sugar" Shane Mosely. Wright was a 4 to 1 underdog against Mosely. During the fight, Wright pressed his will early on and discouraged Mosely with his size, effective jabbing and defense. Winky won a lopsided unanimous decision, winning the The Ring's Light Middleweight Championship of the world and becoming the division's first undisputed champion in 29 years. Wright was the first man to hold the IBF, WBA and WBC light middlweight titles simultaneously and the first light middleweight to ever hold the WBA, IBF, WBC and the The Ring Championships at once.

The rematch took place on November 20, 2004. This fight was much closer because Winky gave away rounds, even in one round dropping his hands to show Mosely couldn't hurt him. Two judges scored 115–113 for Wright and one judge scored the bout a draw. Wright was awarded the majority decision. Soon after, Wright would vacate his titles to move up to the middleweight division to challenge Felix Trinidad.

Wright vs. Trinidad

On May 14, 2005, with Wright once again playing the underdog role, he easily defeated Félix Trinidad by unanimous decision. Wright credits this fight as his greatest achievement in his career as he earned the respect and fan base of many that Felix Trinidad had behind him. Trinidad was a fan favorite and a feared power puncher, and many figured he would be able to knock Wright out. But Wright's signature style defence and piston-like jab was to much for the Puerto Rican hero as Trinidad was having trouble landing punches throughout the fight (Two judges scored the fight 119–108 and one judge scored it 120–107). Wright established himself as a top contender to challenge for the WBC Middleweight Championship. Wright's dominance over such a highly regarded opponent led to many placing him among the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, just behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. Wright's victory sent Trinidad into his second retirement for three years.

This fight was a WBC Title Eliminator, giving Wright a shot at Undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor for his titles.

Wright vs. Taylor

After winning a unanimous decision over Sam Soliman in December 2005, Wright faced off against Undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor on June 17, 2006, at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee for the WBC and WBO titles. Jermain Taylor had just came off 2 exciting, spectacular victories against [[[Bernarn Hopkins]]. In a very close fight, the match was ruled a draw. Two judges scored the bout 115–113 for each fighter, while the final judge scored it 114–114. Winky upset that he was not awarded the decision. Both camps attempted at negotiating a rematch, but talks failed after neither side could agree on how to split the money—a problem attributed to Wright's insistence on parity and Taylor's reluctance to give 50 percent to a non-champion.

Wright vs. Quartey

Before Wright jumped up to challenge Bernard Hopkins for his light heavyweight crown, he wanted to get a personal issue out of the way by taking a fight with Ike Quartey.

Quartey had been for years saying that Winky took his style and ran with it. Winky responded with a, "I don't understand how you can say something like that." He went on talking about how he and Quartey used to train in the same gym together and how he looked up to Quartey. Wright used Quartey's insults to fuel him in the fight. With a chip on his shoulder from the Taylor fight, Wright won via unanimous decision and, for the first time in years, knocked his opponent down in the early rounds.

Two judges had the fight 117-110 and one had the bout 117-109.

Wright vs. Hopkins

Wright's next fight came against Bernard Hopkins. They fought at 170 pounds on July 21, 2007. The bout aired on HBO pay-per-view. In the early rounds of the fight, there was no love lost as Hopkins outpointed Wright until a clash of heads (ruled unintentional) by Hopkins left a deep gash over Wright's eyebrow leading to Wright becoming the aggressor in the fight. Now fighting with a sense of urgency, Wright gave problems due to his tight defense guarding the cut and landing combinations from the outside. Hopkins seemed to stick through the pressure and land flush combinations targeting the bloody eye. Hopkins won via unanimous decision on the judges' score cards (116–112, 117–111, 117–111).

It was Winky's first loss in 8 years. In the post-fight interview, Wright was asked why he took the fight. He responded by saying, "I wanted to show everybody that I'm the best fighter out there, regardless of weight. If I fight the best, then I'll be the best."

Wright vs. Williams

Winky Wright ended a 21-month layoff when he faced Paul Williams on April 11, 2009 on HBO. The fight took place at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds. The site of the fight was the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Wright lost via decision. Two judges scored the bout 119-109 for Williams while the 3rd judge scored the bout 120-108 for Williams. Wright won only the 5th round on two judges cards, while the 3rd judge scored all the rounds for Paul Williams.

Later Years

After several failed attempts to stay active after the one-sided sweep by Paul "The Punisher" Williams, Wright decided to get surgery on his knee during his inactivity, in the summer of 2010. Wright's most recent attempts were to get fights with Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez, who knocked out Paul Williams, and also a 160 lb. fight with Kelly Pavlik. He, however, successfully landed a fight with contender Grady Brewer on December 11, 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Winky Wright and Grady Brewer were ready and set to do battle until weeks before the fight, the promoters shut the PPV matchup down due to poor ticket sales.

On November 16, 2010, it surfaced on the internet that Winky Wright's Grandmother, Mary Dorsey, died on November 3. Winky credits his grandmother for all the achievements in his career. When Winky Wright was only 6 months old, Mrs. Dorsey was the first to call him Winky because he used to wink at people a lot. After the new year of 2011, Wright came out and gave his side and strategies to the Super Fight between Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao. During the interview, he also stated that he'll be coming back to fight on April 9 on the undercard of Marques-Morales against Matthew Macklin. Although it was not a title fight, both fighters have hopes that with the win over each other, they would have a shot at the Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez at 160 lbs. Once again, weeks before the PPV the fight had to be canceled due to an injury to Winky's right hand.

Shortly after the showdown between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson was made, it was stated that Dawson would not be working with trainer Emanuel Steward and instead would work with his previous trainer John Scully. Wright, being a good friend of Dawson's, offered to help him on his upcoming fight while getting him into physical shape. He stated in a brief, short interview, "No, I'm not a trainer and I'm not training Dawson. The fighting part of my career isn't even over, why would I want to start training? I'm just there to give advice and pointers to Dawson. Help him prepare for Hopkins and his dirty tactics. Hopkins is a dirty fighter." In a October interview, he stated that he will once again be coming back stating, "The junior middleweight division is full of people that call themselves champions when they ain't fought nobody. I'm coming back to take what's rightfully mine." He also stated that he'd made a mistake with just coming back and taking on a fighter like Paul Williams. He confirmed that he's going to take a couple tune-up fights hoping to grab one by December. He also, in the interview, he expressed interest in fighting WBA Light Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto, WBC Light Middleweight Champion Saul Alvarez and The Ring Magazine Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez in the future.

Life outside the ring

Wright has appeared in music videos for Busta Rhymes' "Touch It Remix" (feat. Mary J Blige, Missy, Rah Digga, Lloyd Banks, Papoose, DMX) 50 Cent's "Outta Control Remix" (feat. Mobb Deep) Jamie Foxx's "DJ Play a Love Song" (feat. Twista) and 2 Pistols's "She Got It" (feat. T-Pain). He also appeared briefly in the cult hit State Property 2 along with Dame Dash and Beanie Sigel.

Wright has previously entered into ventures and endorsements with brands such as Reebok, Vitamin Water, Rocawear, State Property and 2(x)ist men's underwear among many others^{[citation needed]}. Through these partnerships, Wright has appeared in television commercials and ad campaigns around New York City and in Men's Fitness, Men's Health, VIBE and VIBE VixeN magazines.

He currently owns an independent record label, Pound 4 Pound Records, also based in St. Petersburg. The label consists of a talent roster which covers genres of music from rock & roll to hip hop.

Winky now has his own promotion company called Winky Wright Promotions.

Winky Wright got married to Sayquana Barney on August 1, 2009. Winky often participates in charity events, in which he also has his own charity event called Winky Wright Foundation which gives him the opportunity to give back to the community.

Winky Wright has recently been spotted in the Michael Jordan 10th Annual Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament with other stars like John Smoltz, Ken Griffey Jr., Penny Hardaway, Larry David, among others.

Professional boxing record

51 Wins (25 knockouts, 25 decisions, 1 disqualification), 5 Losses (0 knockouts, 5 decisions), 1 Draw
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rounds	Date	Location	Notes
N/A	N/A	Peter Quillin	N/A	(10)	26/05/2012	United States
Loss	51-5-1	Paul Williams	UD	12	11/04/2009	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	51-4-1	Bernard Hopkins	UD	12	21/07/2007	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For The Ring Light Heavyweight title. 170 pound catch weight.
Win	51-3-1	Ike Quartey	UD	12	02/12/2006	St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, United States
Draw	50-3-1	Jermain Taylor	PTS	12	17/06/2006	FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, United States	For WBC & WBO Middleweight titles.
Win	50–3	Sam Soliman	UD	12	10/12/2005	Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States	WBC and IBF Middleweight Title Eliminator.
Win	49–3	Felix Trinidad	UD	12	14/05/2005	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator.
Win	48–3	Shane Mosley	MD	12	20/11/2004	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained WBC & WBA Light Middleweight titles.
Win	47–3	Shane Mosley	UD	12	13/03/2004	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained IBF Light Middleweight title. Won WBC & WBA Light Middleweight titles.
Win	46–3	Angel Hernandez	UD	12	08/11/2003	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained IBF Light Middleweight title.
Win	45–3	Juan Carlos Candelo	UD	12	01/03/2003	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained IBF Light Middleweight title.
Win	44–3	Bronco McKart	DQ	8 (12)	07/09/2002	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon, United States	Retained IBF Light Middleweight title.
Win	43–3	Jason Papillion	TKO	5 (12)	02/02/2002	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, United States	Retained IBF Light Middleweight title.
Win	42–3	Robert Frazier	UD	12	12/10/2001	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, United States	Won vacant IBF Light Middleweight title.
Win	41–3	Keith Mullings	UD	12	16/12/2000	Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States	Retained NABF & USBA Light Middleweight titles.
Win	40–3	Bronco McKart	UD	12	09/09/2000	Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort, Chester, West Virginia, United States	Won NABF & vacant USBA Light Middleweight titles. IBF Light Middleweight Title Eliminator.
Loss	39–3	Fernando Vargas	MD	12	04/12/1999	Chinook Winds Casino, Lincoln City, Oregon, United States	For IBF Light Middleweight title.
Win	39–2	Derrick Graham	KO	3 (12)	27/03/1999	Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, United States	IBF Light Middleweight title eliminator.
Loss	38–2	Harry Simon	MD	12	22/08/1998	Carousel Hotel & Casino, Temba, North West, South Africa	Lost WBO Light Middleweight title.
Win	38–1	Adrian Dodson	TKO	6 (12)	19/12/1997	New London Arena, Millwall, London, United Kingdom	Retained WBO Light Middleweight title.
Win	37–1	Steve Foster	TKO	6 (12)	03/05/1997	Nynex Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom	Retained WBO Light Middleweight title.
Win	36–1	Ensley Bingham	UD	12	09/11/1996	Nynex Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom	Retained WBO Light Middleweight title.
Win	35–1	Bronco McKart	SD	12	17/05/1996	Glen Stock Arena, Monroe, Michigan, United States	Won WBO Light Middleweight title.
Win	34–1	Andrew Council	UD	12	05/03/1996	Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia, United States	Retained NABF Light Middleweight title.
Win	33–1	Jean Paul D'Alessandro	UD	8	06/01/1996	Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Win	32–1	Young Dick Tiger	TKO	9 (10)	23/10/1995	Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
Win	31–1	Anthony Ivory	UD	12	23/08/1995	La Palestre, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France	Retained NABF Light Middleweight title.
Win	30–1	Larry LaCoursiere	TKO	1 (?)	25/07/1995	Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
Win	29–1	Leon Cessiron	PTS	6	11/04/1995	La Palestre, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Win	28–1	Anthony Ivory	PTS	8	01/04/1995	La Palestre, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Win	27–1	Tony Marshall	UD	12	04/02/1995	Beziers, Hérault, France	Won vacant NABF Light Middleweight title.
Win	26–1	Ernesto Rafael Sena	RTD	2 (10)	11/11/1994	Club Caja Popular, San Miguel, Tucuman, Argentina
Loss	25–1	Julio Cesar Vasquez	UD	12	21/08/1994	Jai Alai, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France	For WBA Light Middleweight title.
Win	25–0	Orlando Orozco	TKO	1 (8)	04/06/1994	Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Win	24–0	Armando Herrera	KO	1 (8)	19/03/1994	Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Win	23–0	Tony McCrimmion	TKO	5 (?)	04/12/1993	Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Win	22–0	Gilberto Barreto	TKO	2 (10)	16/10/1993	Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Win	21–0	Leon Rouse	KO	1 (8)	21/08/1993	Salle des etoiles, Levallois-Perret, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Win	20–0	James Stokes	KO	1 (8)	28/05/1993	Punta Gorda, Florida, United States
Win	19–0	Eric Holland	UD	8	20/03/1993	Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Win	18–0	Roland Commings	UD	8	31/01/1993	Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Win	17–0	Darryl Lattimore	TKO	1 (8)	02/01/1993	Differdange, Luxembourg
Win	16–0	Carlos Santana	TKO	2 (10)	30/07/1992	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	15–0	Delfino Marin	TKO	1 (10)	28/05/1992	Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	14–0	Mike Howard	TKO	4 (8)	27/03/1992	Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	13–0	Persephone Van Reenen	TKO	3 (?)	28/02/1992	Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	12–0	Lennell Strohman	UD	6	13/12/1991	Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	11–0	Gary McCall	RTD	1 (6)	15/11/1991	Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	10–0	Glenn Major	TKO	2 (6)	18/10/1991	Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	9–0	Jeff Johnson	UD	6	17/09/1991	Marriott World Center, Orlando, Florida, United States
Win	8–0	Edison Martinez	TKO	1 (?)	30/08/1991	Orlando, Florida, United States
Win	7–0	Rocky Fabrizio	UD	6	13/08/1991	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	6–0	Lorenzo Bouie	UD	6	26/07/1991	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	5–0	Jeff Johnson	TKO	4 (6)	29/03/1991	Convention Center, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	4–0	Stedroy Bolus	TKO	3 (4)	25/01/1991	Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win	3–0	Tony Graham	TKO	2 (?)	14/12/1991	Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win	2–0	Christopher Conrad	TKO	1 (?)	28/11/1991	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	1–0	Anthony Salerno	UD	4	16/10/1991	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, United States	Wright's professional debut.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	The Jury	Winky Wright	TV Series 1EP
2005	State Property 2	Winky Wright	Cameo
2006	Loren Cass	Voice 1	Documentary

External links

• Professional boxing record for Winky Wright from BoxRec
• Solid boxing Bio and profile

Sporting positions
Preceded by Bronco McKart	WBO Light Middleweight Champion May 17, 1996 – August 22, 1998	Succeeded by Harry Simon
Vacant Title last held by Félix Trinidad	IBF Light Middleweight Champion October 12, 2001 – April 19, 2004 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Verno Phillips
Vacant Title last held by Koichi Wajima	Undisputed Light Middleweight Champion March 13, 2004 – April 19, 2004 Titles fractured	Vacant
Preceded by Shane Mosley	WBC Light Middleweight Champion March 13, 2004 – March 5, 2005 Vacated	Succeeded by Javier Castillejo Interim Champion promoted
	WBA Light Middleweight Champion Super Title March 13, 2004 – March 20, 2005 Vacated	Succeeded by Travis Simms as Champion
	The Ring Light Middleweight Champion March 13, 2004 - March 20, 2005 Vacated	Vacant