Assuming that Winky Wright is serious about making a run for the middleweight division its becoming painfully clear that he isn't going to make an immediate fight with one of the top belt holders. So he'll need to fight someone else at 160 to get himself in the mix and put himself in position to take on one of the belt holders. ------------------------------------ Pavlik : Prefers more offensive oriented fighters and if hype is to be believed his current plans involve unifying the middleweight belts. Fighting Winky does nothing to further that goal. ------------------------------------ Authur Abraham: The risk-reward ratio for Winky isn't nearly as good as it is for a fight with Pavlik. If AA's going to put himself on the line for a serious fight he'll go for a Pavlik fight instead. ------------------------------------ Felix Sturm: Very unlikely as Sturm is developing quite the rep as a guy who prefers "safe" opponents. ------------------------------------- Wright hasn't fought since July of last year and he hasn't fought as a middleweight since June of 2006. He can't stay out of the limelight that much longer. He's going to need to build a little cred before making a middleweight title fight. Here's my list for possible opponents.... ---------------------------- Brian Vera: There's a good chance that Vera may try to take his Lee victory to springboard to the big leagues. If Vera can steal some of Andy Lee's hype and make it his own then he might just have enough noise to make a decent "warm-up" fight for Wright. Of course Wright would have to compete with Andy Lee's people who are so desperate for a rematch I think they offer to fight Vera for free. ------------------------------------ Randy Griffin: Felix Sturm promised a rematch after their draw. It's been a couple of months and those crickets are still chirping. He might just be ready to take on a high profile opponent like Wright. And if nothing else it puts Wright in line to be Felix Sturm's mandatory. ------------------------------------ Lorenzo, Giovanni: Number one contender for one of Pavlik's belts. If Wright can get this fight he's in line for Pavlik has his mandatory. ------------------------------------ Winner of JAviar CAstiellgo/ Sebastian Slyverster: Supposedly the winner of this fight will become FElix Sturm's mandatory. If Felix stalls then the opening may be made for Wright to make his bid. ------------------------------------ Macro Antonio Rubio: He was on the list as a possible Pavlik opponent so he might a decent "warm-up" opponent. Though it runs the risk of not being good enough to get Wright a shot at a championship fight. ------------------------------------ John Duddy: After winning his last fight "ugly", I doubt that John Duddy is interested in another fight that may make him look bad. ( Unless of course it involves the offer of a championship belt ) But he's a highly popular fighter and would make for some decent noise. ------------------------------------ Gary Lockett: Bound to fight Pavlik which leaves Wright looking elsewhere unless he's willing to wait 6 more months before fighting again. But should it be a close fight then maybe Wright can make it work for him. (of course if Lockett somehow beats Pavlik the discussion is moot) ------------------------------------ Sergia Mora: Assuming the "Latin Snake" can pull an upset and beat Vernon Forrest (highly unlikely) , he might be an idea. But I just don't see it as a fight Sergia would take. On the flip side though if Wright could manage to get the fight made, Wright would be able to garner considerable "gratitude" from many a boxing fan for deflating the "latin snake"'s ego. ---------------------------- Andy Lee: Does Andy Lee have enough hype remaining to make this a noise worthy fight? Probably not. But Manny Steward got a lot of people thinking Andy was the next big star and this fight would generate some notice.
It depends on the weight class he's fighting at ... if he's going back down to 160 I say fight Vernon Forrest in a non title fight ... if its 168 I say rematch Jermain Taylor.
None of those guys who are in the poll aren't big enough names and hadn't headlined a major event on Sho or HBO ... They're either journeymen, gatekeepers, or up and comers ... I see Winky beating all those guys and getting no credit for doing it.
I'm kind of basing this thread off the rumors that Wright wants to make an attempt for the middleweight division and hasn't been able to get any of the belt holders to give him a shot. There isn't that much to work with in that weight class right now.
oh well then he can fight Forrest ... a champion who has a name and is a champion at a lighter weight class -- or he could fight John Duddy (in a title eliminator), Catillejo (title eliminator), Sturm (WBA title) or Abraham (IBF title) ... traveling would not be a problem and he could easily outbox all of those guys and a title would give him leverage in a proposed fight between him and Pavlik. Assuming that he campaigns at 168 ... he should rematch Jermain Taylor.
I fear for Winky's safety if he decides to step in the ring against the Latin Snake. That is asking for disaster.
Oops. I meant to include winner of Javiar Castiellego/Sebastian Slyvester in the poll. ( Their in my original post )
Perhaps he would get a big fight if he stopped pricing himself out of them. He doesn't realise that he isn't a draw for PPV.
Has there been any talk from Winky's camp about him fighting and does anyone know if he's in good shape? All I'm thinking is the longer he leaves it the more 'retired' he begins to look.
Winky was at the JMM/Pac fight. Did anyone else notice this? He looked good. He doesn't look like an old dude.
Didnt see that!! If he's still in shape then I'd fancy him against anyone at LM. At middle tho I think he'd struggle against Pavlik! Get down to 154 and take on Forrest or Spinks. If the fights could be made then getting the 0 off of Alcine's or Dzindziruk's record could be the way to go - I'd rather see Wright v Forrest tho.
true, he's been there with the elite long enough to get a big payday. It even struck me when he called out ODLH, not that it really struck me but he was fighting at 175 with hopkins back then. I guess he should get a tune up until the oppurtunity arise, I say he should go for AA, or do what he always does early in his carreer, travel out of the US get a fight with Sturm