Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971, in Washington, DC) is an American boxer, the former undisputed light middleweight world champion and a current middleweight contender. Though born in DC, he grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, which he continues to call home.

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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 titleholder 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 round 12.

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 Jr. 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

Felix Trinidad's jump to the middleweight division left the IBF junior 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.

Wright's Las Vegas debut was against Juan Carlos Candelo on March 1, 2003. Wright won 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 challenged Winky to a junior middleweight unification fight on March 13, 2004. Mosley was a celebrated fighter coming off his second win against Oscar de la Hoya. Wright beat Mosley soundly with his effective jabbing and defense, winning a lopsided unanimous decision, winning the Ring Magazine light middleweight championship of the world and became the division's first undisputed champion in 29 years, and the first man to hold the IBF, WBA, and WBC junior Middlweight titles simultaneously. The rematch took place on November 20, 2004. This fight was much closer, with one judge scoring the bout a draw. However, the other two judges scored 115–113 and gave the majority decision to Wright.

Winky dominates Felix Trinidad

On May 14, 2005, he defeated Felix Trinidad by unanimous decision. Trinidad was a fan favorite and a feared power puncher, and many figured he would be able to knock Wright out. Instead, Wright's jab and defense once again prevailed, and Wright won a unanimous decision (120–107 and 119–108 on two scorecards) ^[1] to establish 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 two pound-for-pound boxers in the world, just behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. Wright's victory sent Trinidad into his second and 3 year retirement.

Taylor-Wright

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 WBA, WBC, and WBO titles. In a close fight, the match was ruled a draw. Two judges scored the bout 115–113 for each fighter, while the final judge scored it a 114–114 draw. ^[2] Once the decision was announced, Winky stormed out of the ring, upset that he was not awarded the decision. When interviewed later, he refused a rematch with Taylor, stating that he was going to get the same result.

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.

Hopkins-Wright

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. A head butt (ruled unintentional) by Hopkins left a deep gash over Wright's eyebrow from the 3rd round. Hopkins seemed content to out-box Wright with well-timed jabs and combinations on the outside, although Wright did cause Hopkins trouble in the middle rounds. Hopkins won on the judges' score cards 116–112, 117–111, 117–111. ^[3] It was Winky's first loss in more than 8 years.

Wright-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 to Paul Williams on April 11, 2009. Two judges scored the bout 119-109 for Williams while the 3rd judge scored the bout 120-108 for Williams, Wright only won the 5th round on two judge's card while the 3rd judge scored all the rounds for Paul Williams.

Future after Paul Williams

Winky Wright, the Former Undisputed Jr. Middleweight champion of the world, is facing a serious dilemma these days: He is unable to pin down a worthy dance partner for his next fight. Wright, a highly skilled veteran who has fought worldwide, has lately found himself calling out any and everyone noteworthy in the middleweight division without any takers. It has been rumored for winky wright to have a fight with Felix Sturm. There was never any confurmation for this fight to happen. While chances of Wright fighting Pavlik in october went down hill and Sturms promoter can't give him real fights, both are stuck without an opponent, and both have very close to the same style, the fight has been brought to attention. There have been no other rumors since.

Life outside the ring

Boxing has opened many doors for Wright of which the DC native had never dreamed. A favorite in the hip hop community, 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).

Wright has previously entered into ventures and endorsements with high-powered brands such as Reebok, Vitamin Water, Rocca Wear and 2(x)ist men’s underwear among many others. Through these partnerships, Wright has appeared in television commercials, 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. On his constant mission to expand his business empire, he's got an up and coming TV show called "Winky's spot"(http://winkysspot.com/). Wright also owns New Poker, a black-jack style poker game in Las Vegas casinos. The game is on course appear in casinos all over Las Vegas and other major cities soon.

Most recently, Wright entered one of his most meaningful partnerships as a board member for the Urban Youth Racing School (UYRS). The Urban Youth Racing School is a program which gives African-American teenagers the opportunity to pursue their dreams as NASCAR drivers. He’s says, “…the Urban Youth Racing School is a remarkable program. This institution gives young people the opportunity to achieve dreams beyond their wildest imaginations. I am proud to be involved with them.”

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References

1. 04/14/05 Wright/Trinidad fight results
2. 06/17/06 Wright/Taylor fight results
3. 07/21/07 Wright/Hopkins fight results