By Matthew Hurley

There is a very famous line of dialogue uttered by Joe Frazier to an up-and-coming Marvin Hagler that boxing insiders and fans are familiar with.  It’s a line Hagler could have repeated to Ronald “Winky” Wright years later after Marvelous Marvin had jumped over endless hurdles to achieve his goals while Winky was in the formative years of a boxing career that would mirror Hagler’s in terms of frustration and disillusionment.  Frazier, no stranger to heartbreak himself, leaned into the young, angry Hagler and said, “You got three strikes against you, son.  One you’re black, two you’re a southpaw and three you’re good.”

Winky Wright has been good, damn good, for years now but has only recently been accorded the praise and the money befitting such a fine prize fighter.  His tricky defense and southpaw stance immediately labeled him as dangerous opposition.  Dangerous because he could beat you with a stiff, unrelenting right jab, and doubly dangerous because he was a high risk low reward proposition.  What rising contender, newly crowned champion or aging champion would want to face a fighter who could very well make them look bad?  The answer is ‘no one.’ 

Faced with that reality Winky Wright became something of a traveling salesman.  He sold his prodigious boxing skills to promoters in Europe, South Africa, Argentina and even Luxembourg.  It was an arduous task but it kept him busy and, to his satisfaction, boxing fans outside of the United States appreciated his technical style.

“They enjoyed what I was doing,” he reflects.  “Television announcers embraced me and gave me credit for what I was doing in the ring.  I was beating their fighters but they appreciated my skills.  I didn’t have a problem fighting in those places, but I wanted my shot.  I deserved it because I was beating every one that was put in front of me.”

After losing by decision to Harry Simon in 1998, a young rising star named Fernando Vargas, who was being groomed by HBO to be a signature fighter on the network, opted to face Wright for the IBF junior middleweight title.  Vargas was just a talented, untested kid at the time but he represented a huge step up in class for Wright.  Fernando was the betting favorite and few outside the boxing world anticipated the nip and tuck battle that would ensue.  It would be Wright’s coming out party and yet at the same time it would be the fight that would push him deeper into the shadows.

“I won that fight,” he says, the hint of bitterness in his voice still apparent.  “I knew I could have boxed him and stayed away but I fought him on his terms and I still beat him and they took it away from me.”

Vargas won a majority decision and went on to bigger paydays while Wright, now seen by upper echelon fighters as a legitimate threat, was ignored.  In many ways he represented his era’s Mike McCallum.  McCallum had the unfortunate timing of becoming a junior middleweight title holder in an era that boasted Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran. 

While those marquee names engaged in a series of bouts against each other, McCallum was left to defend his title against the rank and file and was basically overlooked by all but the true boxing aficionados.  It wasn’t until years later that his true worth was fully appreciated.

Wright would rebound from the Vargas loss and go on an eleven bout winning streak.  Tucked in that impressive run were signature victories over Shane Mosely and Felix Trinidad.  So dominant were those performances that the fighter with the odd nickname who had been ignored for so long could no longer be shunted aside.

“It was Mosley that put me over the top,” he says.  “I give Shane all the credit in the world because he was a true champion.  He gave me the opportunity when no one else would.  Vargas wouldn’t give me a rematch.  Oscar (De La Hoya) didn’t want to fight me.  But Mosley stepped up.  When I beat him I gave him his props and gave him a rematch because he deserved it.  Same with Trinidad.  He could have fought anyone when he came back, but he is a fighter who feels he can win.  I beat him easily but I would have given him a rematch if he wanted it.”

Wright pauses and then adds, “I’ll give anyone a second shot, because I know what its like (not to get one).” 

What about Vargas? 

Wright, always gracious and pleasant, smiles and shakes his head.  “Nah,” he says with a laugh.  “He didn’t show me the respect.”

Respect is what it’s always been about for Ronald “Winky” Wright.  He takes his profession extremely seriously and it’s apparent that he is now fighting for both the big pay day and his place in history.  All fighters fight for the money.  It’s only when those special fighters begin to realize their potential and the possibility that they may actually be hall of fame caliber boxers that the money becomes secondary to their desire for immortality. 

Wright has always had the air about him that he was a different breed of fighter.  He wasn’t spectacular, more workmanlike, but precise with an impregnable defense that befuddled opponents.  He hasn’t changed a thing in his repertoire, which is a testament to his longevity.  It has also led him into the biggest bout of his career.  A middleweight title shot against another fighter beloved by HBO, Jermain Taylor.

The difference between this fight and his fight with Vargas is that while Winky may still fight exactly as he did seven years ago, he is now a multiple champion with a lot of money in the bank and a heaping helping of respect from fans and journalists alike on his fistic plate. 

This fight, the most important of his career, doesn’t faze this older, wiser version of Ronald Wright.  He’s been there, he’s done that and he knows what it takes to win.  But the fire of a champion still beats furiously in his chest.  His laid back demeanor and, indeed, his ring style belies the ferocity of his spirit but it is there and it has always served him well when faced with a sturdy challenge.  And the young champion whose belts he will attempt to lift is no slouch.  Winky knows this and he knows that his legacy depends on a victory this Saturday night.

“Once I become middleweight champion, nobody can deny me any longer.”

They shouldn’t deny this great fighter his just do now, considering all he has accomplished.  But there are always dissenters.  Ronald “Winky” Wright has been dealing with them his entire career.  All he does is wave them off, smile, climb into the ring ply his trade, and win.