Boxing News: Winky Wright Is Everywhere

NEW YORK (May 23, 2005) – East Coast, West Coast, Southeast, Midwest . . . you name it, Winky Wright has been there. National, regional and local TV and radio shows are changing their call letters to WINK: “All Winky all the time!”  Jim Rome, James Brown, JT the Brick, Brian Kenny, Dave Smith, Dave Cokin, Joe McDonnell & Doug Krikorian . . . Winky has been interviewed by them all, and the media requests are only growing.

Wright, the first and only man in the history of the 154-pound division to simultaneously hold all three major belts – WBC/WBA/IBF –is still taking his media victory lap after his 12-round shutout victory and middleweight debut over the heavily favored Felix Trinidad. The May 14 WBC middleweight title elimination bout victory, in front of a near capacity crowd exceeding 14,100 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, established Wright as the No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger to undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Wright’s victory was so complete, it sent Trinidad back into retirement. HBO Pay-Per-View, which distributed the fight, announced that 510,000 purchased the event, making it the year’s top boxing PPV to date, generating $25.5 million in revenue.

Winky goes live from New York this Wednesday, starting with an 8:35 AM/ET interview with Brian Kilmeade on “Fox & Friends” (Fox News Channel), cable TV’s top-rated morning show. Later that afternoon, Winky goes to BET where he will tape segments on “Rap City,” “BET Style” and “MAAD Sports,” followed by a live appearance on “106 & Park” at 6 PM/ET.