Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the

undisputed Undisputed may refer to: Film * ''Undisputed'' (film), a 2002 action-thriller-drama film ** ''Undisputed'' (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film * Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, a 2006 American martial arts film * Undisputed III: Redempt ...

title at that weight until

Jermell Charlo Jermell DeAvante Charlo (born May 19, 1990) is an American professional boxer. He is currently the undisputed light middleweight world champion, having held the WBC title since 2019 (and previously from 2016 to 2018), the WBA (Super), IBF and ' ...

in 2022. In his later career he also challenged for a unified

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

world title. He announced his retirement from boxing in 2012, following a loss to

Peter Quillin Peter Quillin (born June 22, 1983) is an American professional boxer who held the WBO middleweight title from 2012 to 2014. He also challenged once for the WBA (Regular) middleweight title in 2015. Early life Peter Quillin was born in 1983 in ...

. In 2005, '' The Ring'' magazine ranked him as the world's second best active boxer,

pound for pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete direc ...

. In 2017, it was announced that Wright had been elected as an

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

member in the Modern Category, alongside

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Érik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...

, with the induction ceremony scheduled for June 2018.

Professional career

Early years

After his second-round knockout of Carlos Santana on July 30, 1992, in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, the ring announcer called him "Winky" Wright, the name given to him by his grandmother when he was 6 months old and that had unofficially stuck with him since he was 18 months old. The nickname stuck with him for the rest of his career following his win over Santana. Major promoters like

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

and

Lou Duva Louis Duva (May 28, 1922 – March 8, 2017) was a boxing trainer, manager and boxing promoter who handled nineteen world champions. The Duva family promoted boxing events in over twenty countries on six continents. Lou Duva was inducted into the ...

declined to work with Wright early in his career. His first promoters were the France-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. He then went on a tear during his tour of Europe, winning eight straight in France, Germany, and Monte Carlo while only fighting in the United States once over the next year.

First title shot

On August 21, 1994, Wright received his first title match against WBA

light-middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA a ...

champion

Julio César Vásquez Julio César Vásquez (born July 13, 1965) is an Argentine retired professional boxer best known to have held a WBA junior middleweight title. Amateur record Vasquez had an amateur record of 33-2. Professional career Vasquez, known as "El Zu ...

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
NABF light-middleweight title.

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 Bronco Banyon McKart (born March 20, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2014 and held the WBO light middleweight title in 1996. McKart is best known for his trilogy of fights against Winky Wright. Professi ...

, a fight Wright won by split decision. Wright successfully defend his title in England three times; twice in Manchester against local fighters Ensley Bingham and Steve Foster, and Adrian Dodson in London. Wright then traveled to South Africa where he lost his world title in controversial circumstances to the undefeated Harry Simon. After a very close contest the fight was initially ruled a draw, then minutes later changed to a majority decision win for Simon due to an apparent scoring error.

Moving to America

He stopped working with the Acaries brothers in 1999, stating that he was tired of all the travelling. He went on to knock out Derrick Graham in the third round in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Wright then challenged

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

light-middleweight champion

Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...

. Although some ringside fans and members of the media felt that Wright had won the fight, Vargas ended up winning a controversial majority decision.

Harold Lederman Harold Lederman (January 26, 1940 – May 11, 2019) was an American boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' in 1986, and was there until HBO dropped boxing ...

(a ringside boxing broadcaster for HBO whose job is to unofficially score fights) scored the bout 115–113, for Wright. Wright continued to defend the NABF and won the USBA light-middleweight title in another decision over Bronco McKart.

IBF champion

Félix Trinidad's jump to the middleweight division left the

light-middleweight title vacant. Wright scored a unanimous decision over Robert Frazier on October 12, 2001 to win the vacant title. 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 Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...

offered to fight him. However, 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 titles. Wright went on to debut on National Television

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

against Juan Carlos Candelo on March 1, 2003 in a title defense, winning a unanimous decision. 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 Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...

challenged Winky to a light-middleweight unification title fight on March 13, 2004. Mosley was a celebrated fighter coming off his second win against

and was looking for a tune-up fight to prepare for a super fight with Félix Trinidad. Shane had stated that he wanted to fight the winner of the fight between Wright and Angel Hernandez. Wright, being the winner, earned a fight with Shane Mosley. Wright was a 4 to 1 underdog against Mosley. During the fight, Wright pressed his will early on and discouraged Mosley with his size, effective jabbing and defense. Winky won a lopsided unanimous decision, unifying his IBF title with Mosley's ''Lineal''/''The Ring''/WBC/WBA titles, to become undisputed light middleweight champion. The rematch took place on November 20, 2004. This fight was much closer because Winky deliberately gave away some of the rounds and even dropped his hands in one round, in order to show that Mosley 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, which despite Wright blatantly giving away a few of the rounds, was still a decisive victory in his favour. Soon after, Wright would vacate his titles to move up to the middleweight division to challenge Félix 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 Félix 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 too 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). As a result of his dominant victory over such a highly regarded opponent, many placed Wright among the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world. His victory would send Trinidad into his second retirement for three years. Trinidad-Wright was also a WBC middleweight eliminator, giving Wright a shot at

middleweight champion

Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, a ...

for his titles.

Middleweight title shot

After winning a unanimous decision over

Sam Soliman Sam Soliman (born 13 November 1973) is an Australian professional boxer, and former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In boxing, he held the IBF middleweight title in 2014. Kickboxing career Soliman is a former world champion in kickboxi ...

in December 2005, Wright faced off against undisputed middleweight champion

on June 17, 2006, at the

FedEx Forum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home g ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

for the ''Lineal''/''The Ring''/ WBC/ WBO titles. 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. 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 challenger. Wright returned to defeat

Ike Quartey Isufu "Ike" Quartey (born 27 November 1969) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for IBF junior-middleweight title in 2000. Early year ...

at middleweight by a unanimous twelve-round decision at St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida in December 2006. Two judges scored the fight 117–110, and one had the bout 117–109, all for Wright.

Hopkins vs. Wright

Wright's next fight came against

Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight clas ...

at a catch weight of 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 Hopkins 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 eight 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."

Later years

Wright ended a 21-month layoff when he faced former welterweight title holder Paul "The Punisher" Williams in a middleweight bout at

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circu ...

, Las Vegas in April 2009. 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. After several failed attempts to stay active after the one-sided sweep by Paul 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 Martínez, who knocked out Williams, and also a 160 lb. fight with

Kelly Pavlik Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three ...

. He, however, successfully landed a fight with contender

Grady Brewer Grady Lamont Brewer (born December 22, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2015. A former IBA and International Boxing Council (IBC) Light Middleweight titleholder, he is the 2006 winner of the ESPN reality ...

on December 11, 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Wright and 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 Wright's grandmother, Mary Dorsey, had died on November 3. When asked to give his thoughts on what had happened, Winky credited his grandmother for everything he had accomplished during his boxing career, in which he primarily stated that he wouldn't have been world champion if it wasn't for her. After the new year of 2011, Wright came out and gave his side and strategies to the Super Fight between

and

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

. 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 Matthew Macklin (born 14 May 1982) is a British-Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2016, and has since worked as a boxing manager and commentator. He challenged three times for middleweight world titles between 2011 and ...

. 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 Martínez 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 Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He has held multiple light heavyweight world championships, and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that division between 2006 and ...

was made, it was stated that Dawson would not be working with trainer

Emanuel Steward Emanuel "Manny" Steward (July 7, 1944 – October 25, 2012) was an American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. He was also called the Godfather of Detroit Boxing. Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his care ...

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 an 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 Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...

, WBC Light Middleweight Champion

Saul Alvarez Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

and ''The Ring''

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

Champion Sergio Martínez in the future. After a 3-year hiatus from boxing, Wright was expected to face

on May 26, 2012, but the date was changed to June 2, 2012 in order to satisfy the California State Athletic Commission. Quillin defeated Wright via a ten-round unanimous decision. Wright announced his retirement shortly after the fight.

Professional boxing record

Filmography

Life outside the ring

Wright has appeared in music videos for Busta Rhymes' "Touch It Remix", 50 Cent's "Outta Control Remix",

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

's "DJ Play a Love Song", and 2 Pistols's "She Got It" . He also appeared briefly in the cult hit ''

State Property 2 ''State Property 2'' is a 2005 American crime film directed by Damon Dash and produced and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment. A sequel to 2002's '' State Property'', the film stars rap artists and other musicians such as Cam'ron, The Diplo ...

'' along with

Dame Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barb ...

and Beanie Sigel. Wright has previously entered into ventures and endorsements with brands such as

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

Vitamin Water Energy Brands, also doing business as Glacéau, is a privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company based in Whitestone, Queens, New York, that manufactures and distributes various lines of drinks marketed as enhanced water. Founded in May 1 ...

Rocawear Rocawear (Stylized Roc-A-Wear) is an American Clothing Brand founded in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records Co-Founders Damon Dash and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. The brand has had annual sales of $700 million. Rocawear expanded through licensing to sell aff ...

State Property State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

and 2(x)ist men's underwear among many others. Through these partnerships, Wright has appeared in television commercials and ad campaigns around New York City and in ''

Men's Fitness ''Men's Fitness'' was a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series '' The Greatest American Hero''. The magazine's slogan was "How ...

'', ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

'', ''

VIBE ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

'' and ''VIBE VixeN'' magazines. He currently owns an independent record label, Pound 4 Pound Records, also based in

. The label consists of a talent roster which covers genres of music from rock & roll to hip hop. Wright now has his own promotion company called Winky Promotions. Wright married 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. He currently resides in his hometown

References

External links

*
Ronald "Winky" Wright profile
at Cyber Boxing Zone {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Winky 1971 births Living people African-American boxers Middleweight boxers World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions International Boxing Federation champions World Boxing Organization champions Southpaw boxers American male boxers World light-middleweight boxing champions The Ring (magazine) champions Boxers from Florida Boxers from Washington, D.C. Light-heavyweight boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees

Professional career

Early years

First title shot

Ongoing world tour and winning the WBO title

Moving to America

IBF champion

Wright vs. Mosley I & II

Wright vs. Trinidad

Middleweight title shot

Hopkins vs. Wright

Later years

Professional boxing record

Filmography

Life outside the ring

See also

References

External links