Winky...Who Are You Going to Fight???

Ronald Winky Wright is one of the top pound4pound fighters in the world and he has no plans for a fight thus far in 2008. He last fought in July 2007 losing a UD to Bernard Hopkins at a catch weight of 170. There was no shame in Winky losing to Bernard at a higher weight but it surely did not help him. As 2008 kicks off and you hear all the fights being made there is one name you just do not hear... Winky Wright. You may wonder why that is, EASY because no one has to fight him. He is a 36 year old, strong, defensive southpaw who is hard to hit with clean punches and makes you look bad in the ring. So with a less than exciting style and not a huge draw; the interest in fighting him is very low. He currently is not a mandatory for any fighter which means he can continue to be avoided and on top of that, Winky tends to price himself out of fights like he did with Jermain Taylor for a rematch. A few weeks ago he had an offer to possibly fight Joe Calzaghe and when he asked for $6 Million he pretty much got a dial tone. Right now the real hot division is Welterweight which is 147 but Winky has never fought below 154. So who does Winky want to fight... Oscar De La Hoya of course because that is the biggest fight ever for him both literally and financially. Problem is Oscar wants to fight bigger name opponents and says he wants to fight at 147 only. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is on hiatus and probably will not fight above 147 again himself. Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik have a rematch date on February 16, Joe Calzaghe looks to be moving up to Light Heavyweight to challenge Bernard Hopkins in April. So who is left for Winky? Well the feasible opponents left for him are Vernon Forrest at Junior Middleweight (154) and Mikkel Kessler at Super Middleweight (168) but neither them nor Winky are calling each other's name. So as time keeps ticking and his youth continually leaving my only question is, Winky... Who Are You Going to Fight???

The Return of Friday Night Fights!!! and Dominick Guinn???---NOTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Yes Friday Night Fights is back on ESPN2 tonight at 8pm Central time. The main event is Dominick Guinn vs Robert Hawkins. No this is not the best fight in the world but for boxing fans we get to see decent fights on live television again. I believe this could be the very last chance to possibly move up again for both fighters. Robert Hawkins is probably going to lose because he is considered to be the opponent but with Dominick Guinn you just never know. Guinn who was thought to be a great heavyweight prospect a few years ago until he was beaten by Monte Barrett in 2004 has never bounced back. Since that fight he has achieved a journeyman 4-4-1 record in his last 9. In reality Guinn has become one of our very disappointing American Heavyweights that we had so much hope for in the beginning. He is not aggressive and is very lethargic in the ring which is a horrible combination for a fighter. Many times watching Guinn you get the feeling he is just going through the motions of boxing with no motivation or purpose. However maybe the light has come on that his career is almost completely dead and he will fight with a fire like never before. Ha ha I doubt it. Although I think Guinn will win I don't think we will see too much fire. But whatever happens tonight I am excited to have my boys Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas making the call on Friday Night Fights and I look forward to a great season of great fights.


**********************************UPDATE********************************
Even though he came into this fight on short notice and was supposed to be the opponent, Robert Hawkins earned a UD over the lazy, lethargic, pitiful, and pathetic Dominick Guinn. In a fight that was a MUST WIN FOR Dominick Guinn he did nothing to help himself win and essentially lost a lopsided UD to a glorified journeryman in Robert Hawkins. So I was wrong in thinking Guinn would win but correct in saying he would not have a fire lit in him. Oh well... boxing will go on.

My 2008 Boxing WishList

As the last few days of 2007 roll down I reflect on the year it was (with the help of Boxing's Best on HBO) and begin to look forward to 2008. 2007 for true boxing fans was a pretty good year especially from September 29 till December 8. The first thing I wish for in 2008 is no injuries to either delay or cancel fights. September was a rough month for boxing fans and it made us nervous for the rest of the year. The second thing I wish for is more great competitive fights such as Cotto-Mosley. What this really means is I want the best big names to actually fight the other big names, unlike Antonio Tarver who says he is the best but fights left over non-contender worthy opponents like Danny Santiago. So Hopkins-Calzaghe, Cotto-Mayweather, maybe a rematch of Margarito with the more improved Kermit Cintron, these are the type of fights we want in 2008. The third thing I wish for is that Floyd Mayweather Jr. does not actually do something stupid like join MMA but yet further prove his greatness in the boxing ring by fighting Miguel Cotto. Although boxing will make it without Floyd, we still need our best fighter to remain with us while he is still at his peak. The fourth thing I wish for is that Juan Diaz does NOT somehow have his career delayed because of contract issues with Don King. A few words of wisdom to other fighters who may think of signing with Don King, HAVE YOUR OWN LAWYER WHO IS IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS READ YOUR CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN. The fifth thing I wish for is that we get some clarity in the heavyweight division. Sure most boxing fans recognize Wladmir Klitschko as the champion but unifying titles will really clean the division up. The February 23 fight between Klitschko and Ibragimov is a good start. The sixth thing I wish for is the retirement papers of Evander Holyfield. We love you Evander but the fat lady has been singing for quite some time so please either clean out your ears or have someone show you the video of her singing. The seventh thing I wish for is an alliance between boxing and a major network to get some boxing on regular television. If UFC is going to get possibly get some exposure than boxing deserves it as well. Boxing has been around longer and is still strong despite what many ignorant people try to say. The eighth and final wish I have right now is just for all true boxing fans like myself to have a great year of boxing to witness. 2007 was a great year for us and it gave us a lot to smile about and I hope 2008 will make us smile even more. So Happy New Year and I hope all your boxing wishes come true.

Publicity Stunt or Reality????

Many of us have heard the rumors that #1Pound4Pound boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to make the leap from boxer to MMA fighter. The news is not being received very well by fans of either sport for various reasons. Personally I think if this is true it is a horrible idea, but I tend to believe this is a publicity stunt. Floyd became friends with Mark Cuban during their run on Dancing with the Stars. Mark Cuban who is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and also owner of HDNet which has MMA fights on the network. Cuban has been known for his wild attention driven tactics such as walking on the basketball court to argue calls and make outrageous comments about league officials. He is not a fan favorite person in many eyes. What better way to draw more attention to his HDNet MMA fights than to make us believe he has convinced the best boxer in the world to crossover? We all know that just because we don't like something we as a society will still tune in to watch just to be in the know (I Love NY ring a bell??) and this is no different. MMA is totally different than boxing, you have to be able to get on the ground and wrestle as well as know other forms of Martial Arts that takes years of study. So at close to 31 I find it extremely hard to believe Floyd who has no experience outside of boxing is about to try MMA. It took him several years to master boxing, which he has, and with the ego he has I am not sure he could take getting beaten by anyone let alone someone is not as popular as himself. In knowing this info about Floyd I have to declare this as another, yet bigger, Publicity Stunt by the great Mark Cuban in association with the Money driven Floyd Mayweather Jr. Let me know what you think!

One Last Great Fight or Payday????

January 19,2008 is the fight between Former #1Pound4Pound Champion Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Tito Trinidad. Many say it is a fight that should have happened about 6-7 years ago. Many question whether this is just another major payday for both fighters? Many think of it as a senior citizen's fight. Myself I will admit it is a fight that is not of high meaning except the fact it is two big name future Hall of Famers that have a huge following. Will it be fight of the year, I highly doubt but will it be a fight I will watch, you better believe. In boxing we tend to watch the fighters we know and have come to know. We all knew Arturo Gatti was past his prime but many of us still watched him get beat up by Alfonso Gomez. The case with Roy and Felix is somewhat similar. Roy Jones Jr. has not had a significant win since March 1, 2003 when he defeated John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight Title. Sure he fought and got a MD over Antonio Tarver, but that is not the Roy we were used to seeing. Then in their rematch in May 2004 he was knocked out and 4 months later he was knocked out in a more brutal fashion by Glen Johnson having most of us waving our white flags for him to retire. Like most boxers he kept fighting and again lost to Antonio Tarver before notching his first win since 2003 in July 2006 against Prince Badi Ajamu. He followed that win by beating Anthony Hanshaw in July 2007. Felix Trinidad has not be brutally knocked out but his inactivity is no help to him either. The last time we saw Trinidad we saw him get thoroughly dominated by Winky Wright in May 2005 with essentially one punch, a left jab. Personally I thought that was the last time I would see Trinidad but I see I was wrong. I know you are like what is your prediction well first I will give you my logic then my prediction. Logic tells me that based on Roy Jones Jr. being a light heavyweight for as long as he has he should be far superior than Felix Trinidad. Sure they are fighting at a catch weight of 170 but Trinidad has never fought above 160 and he was not the best there. Trinidad was dominated and KOd by Bernard Hopkins. When he came back in 2004 he beat a blown up welterweight in Ricardo Mayorga and got many people hype until he faced Winky Wright. After that fight Tito went back to retirement where I think (maybe wrong) he should have stayed. Now in 2008 he wants to come back at 170 against Roy Jones Jr. Roy is bigger, quicker and stronger than Trinidad based on natural logic. Felix still probably has some power but at 170 you have to question that. As with many fighters as they move up in weight the power seems to stay in the lower weights. Trinidad did KO William Joppy which is decent and Hacine Cherifi in 2002 which is not that impressive since 98% of the people who will read this will not have a clue who he is. Roy Jones has KOd light heavyweights but has not KOd someone since Clinton Woods in 2002. However I am led to believe Roy is still stronger and has the harder punch at 170. Also as a longtime Roy Jones Jr. fan and based on the logic I am seeing here when I go through past fights and information that Roy Jones Jr. will win by KO on January 19, 2008. If he stays true to his word about KOing Tito in 4 we may see a very aggressive Roy reminiscent of the one we saw in the rematch of the Montel Griffin fight. However with that said I do not see Trinidad really coming to lay down. Trinidad swears this is not a one fight comeback saying he wants to fight Hopkins which is a dumb move if he gets his wish. I suppose time will tell who is ready come fight night. Citing both fighters have lost a few steps we have no idea who will show up but in my eyes it will be a Roy Jones Jr. victory.

Hate Him or Love Him, But You Can't Deny Him

You know I have been reading many articles about our current #1Pound4Pound Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. I have read things about his attitude, his unwillingness to exchange shots, the fact he has not been in any wars like Pacquiao, his claim to be the best ever etc. I have to say it is straight bullsh*t to me. Is Floyd Mayweather Jr. the greatest fighter of all time? I would answer no at this time. Like with any person in sports, their greatness is never realized until it is no longer in our face. You have to become an urban legend if you will, in order for your greatness to be realized. Right now the fighter that Floyd is compared to the most is Sugar Ray Leonard who is without a doubt an all-time great. Now lets break down these two great fighters. Sugar Ray Leonard had the speed, the flash, the power, and could just dazzle any opponent while in the ring. The same can be said for Floyd but possibly not as much power yet better defensive ability. Sugar Ray had a ring record of 36(25)-3(1) and 1 draw for a total of 40 professional fights. Currently Floyd has a ring record of 39(25)-0 for a total of 39 professional fights. Well when we look at fighters records first thing you do is look at the number of wins and losses and total fights. Well Floyd has definitely achieved more wins in less fights with the same amount of knockouts. The next thing people bring up is the level of opposition. Who did he fight? Was the fighter overrated? Was he past his prime? These are the things that make picking who the best is so d*mn subjective. However in order to state your opinion you have to back it up with facts, so lets start with Sugar Ray Leonard. He turned pro on February 5, 1977 and in his 26th fight November 30, 1979 he fought Wilfred Benitez for the WBC Welterweight Title. Benitez was a great fight and was undefeated at 38-0-1 and Leonard TKOd him in the 15th round. Very impressive wouldn't you say. On his 2nd defense of hiw WBC Welterweight Title, Sugar Ray got in with the rough and tough Roberto Duran who beat Leonard by UD in 15 rounds. However on November 25, 1980 just 5 months 5 days later Sugar Ray Leonard had his rematch with Roberto Duran and frustrated him by his quick movements and hard punches and made Duran quit in the 8th round. This was a great win for Leonard and showed he had the heart of a champion by beating Duran. On June 25, 1981 Sugar Ray moved up to light middleweight and TKOd Ayub Kalule for the WBA Light Middleweight title but came back to Welterweight for Super fight and 1981 fight of the year against Thomas Hearns. Once again a great fight where you saw Hearns beating Leonard and ahead on all scorecards when Leonard landed some hard punches and TKOd Hearns in the 14th round. Leonard would fight once in 1982 before being diagnosed with his supposedly career ending eye injury. Now this is where Sugar Ray in many people's eyes just used his star power to get him ahead of the game. No longer was he really working his way up the ranks, he would simply call out fighters and then fight. First he comes back in 1984 against Kevin Howard and surprisingly gets knocked down in the fight but he does come back to TKO Howard in the 9th. He announces his 2nd retirement but in 1987 he challenges Marvin Hagler for the WBC Middleweight Title. This is a fight that if you put 50 people in a room there is a good chance you would have 25 say Leonard won and 25 say Hagler won but alas the official scores came back as a SD for Leonard. Now here is when Leonard's star power really took over, Leonard got to fight Donny Lalonde at 167 for the newly created and vacant WBC SuperMiddleweight Title as well as the WBC Light Heavyweight Title. This was a very odd fight since Lalonde had not fought under Light Heavyweight in quite sometime however this fight took place. Leonard TKOs Lalonde in the 9th round becoming a 5 division champion if that is what you want to call it citing he never even fought at the light heavyweight limit. After this fight Leonard fought a super middleweight fight with Thomas Hearns that was ruled a draw although Sugar who was knocked down twice in the fight tends to say Hearns did beat him in the fight. After that he fought a older slower Roberto Duran then fought 2 more fights that should have never happed in 1991 and 1997 against Terry Norris and Hector Camacho being knocked down and TKOd respectively. Overall still a great career. Now we look at Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd turned professional on October 11, 1996 and fought Genaro Hernandez on October 3, 1998 for the WBC Super Featherweight Title. At the time many believed Floyd was too young in his career and not ready for a title shot and he was a heavy underdog. Not only was Floyd ready he dominated Hernandez and Hernandez did not answer the bell for the 9th round giving Floyd his first title in just under 2 years as a professional. Floyd defended this title 8 times with some hard opposition including Angel Manfredy whom he TKOd in the 2nd round. On January 20, 2001 Floyd fought the hard punching undefeated Diego Corrales for the WBC Super Featherweight Title. Once again Floyd came in as heavy underdog because of Corrales height, reach and alleged heavy punch advantages. Floyd was not bothered by any of these so called disadvantages he had in front of him, he dominated Corrales and knocked him down 5 times in route to a 10th round TKO when Corrales's corner threw in the towel. In April 2002 Floyd moved up in weight and challenged the tough Jose Luis Castillo for the WBC Lightweight Title. In what turned out to be a tough fight, and what many believe is the closet fight Floyd ever came to lose he pulled out a UD. Since the public had issues with the closeness of the fight Floyd had a rematch with Castillo that left no doubt who was the better fighter. In 2004 after defending his WBC Lightweight belt 3 times Floyd moved up to 140 and fought former titlist Demarcus Corley. Floyd dominated Corley and knocked him down twice in the fight. On June 25, 2005 Floyd went to Atlantic City and challenged Arturo Gatti for the WBC Light Welterweight Title in front of Gatti's fans. Floyd put on one of the most dominating performances of his life stopping Gatti at the end of the 6th round. Never defending that title Floyd moved up to Welterweight later in 2005 and beat Sharmba Mitchell in the 6th round. In April 2006 Floyd challenged always unpredictable Zab Judah for the tainted IBF Welterweight Title. What started out a little shaky for Floyd ended up becoming another dominating UD for Floyd despite the dirty tactics from Judah. Floyd later that year challenged Carlos Baldomir for the WBC Welterweight title and easily took the belt from him by using his sheer quickness and skill. Then May 5, 2007 Floyd landed the fight of his life challenging Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC Light Middleweight Title in what eventually became the richest fight in boxing history. Floyd earned a SD and was officially a 6 time World Champion in 5 different divisions. On December 8, 2007 Floyd dropped back down to Welterweight and TKOd Ricky Hatton from England to put a huge stamp on his status as #1Pound4Pound in the world today. So now I have broke down both Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Jr. you look at how Floyd actually fought at each division he won a belt in unlike Sugar Ray Leonard. Floyd has only had one rematch and that was against Jose Luis Castillo, but Sugar Ray Leonard fought Roberto Duran 3 times and was 2-1 and he fought Thomas Hearns 2 times and was 1-0-1 controversial draw. Floyd has only been down once in his career and that was when he took a knee because he injured his hand, Sugar Ray Leonard has been down multiple times. Floyd has only had one fight that was somewhat controversial in some eyes where Sugar Ray Leonard had a controversial win over Marvin Hagler and a controversial draw with Thomas Hearns. When you look at opposition, Sugar Ray Leonard stopped fighting consistently after 1982 and then just picked his opponents as he wanted to come in and out of retirement. Floyd continued to fight consistently and move up and fight tough competition and not use star power to claim an extra division he never made weight for. Now the issue right about now comes down to who was the better fighter, well Floyd has never lost and has beaten all of his opponents. Sugar Ray who picked and choosed who he fought lost 3 times being TKOd in 1 and fighting past his prime. Fighting repeat fighters does not do as much for me as a fighter who dominated his opponents so bad rematches were not necessary. I know some will have issues with what I said and how I compared but if you be honest and look at the facts you can't deny that the better fighter between Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is Floyd Mayweather Jr. The only issue is Floyd has not officially retired and urban legends have not sank in so give it around 10 years and you will see Floyd was better than Sugar Ray Leonard.