Winky Wright: Better Late Than Never?

Published

13 years ago

May 25, 2012

Winky Wright “There are no second acts in American lives,” author F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, which, of course, is so much bullspit. In boxing, there always seems to be some aging fighter raising the curtain on the second act of his ring career, and sometimes even on the third and fourth acts.

Sugar Ray Leonard’s devoted fan base dared to believe he could reinvent himself when he challenged WBC middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler in the spring of 1987, Leonard’s first fight in nearly three years and only his second in five years. The faithful were rewarded when their hero, whom so many others did not think stood a chance against the fearsome Hagler, was awarded a split decision and thus pulled off the biggest upset, or at least the most memorable one, since Muhammad Ali went to Zaire and shocked the world by taking down George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” on Oct. 30, 1974.

Those same diehards probably convinced himself that Leonard, only 2½ months shy of his 41^st birthday and inactive for six years, could again dip into his trick bag and pull out another semi-miracle in his March 1, 1997, comeback against Hector Camacho in Atlantic City. But that old Sugary magic had all been used up, and Camacho – never known as one of boxing’s bigger blasters – sent Leonard into what proved to be his final retirement via fifth-round technical knockout.

“There comes a point in everyone’s life where you just have to accept the fact that you don’t have it anymore,” Leonard said at the postfight press conference, a grudging admission that age and ring rust can be more unbeatable opponents than even the guy standing in the opposite corner.

It will be interesting to see which Winky Wright takes the podium after his Showtime-televised June 2 middleweight bout with the much younger, and undefeated, Peter Quillin at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Will it be a ebullient and victorious Winky, replicating Leonard’s improbable feat against Hagler? Or will it be a disappointed and battered Winky, calling to mind Sugar Ray’s sad farewell against Camacho?

“I want to fight the best. I don’t want to come back just to get a win,” Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs) said of his scheduled 10-round return against the 28-year-old Quillin (26-0, 20 KOs), who is ranked No. 5 by the WBA and No. 14 by the WBO. I want to be champion. If I can’t be champion, ain’t no need for me to be doing this.”

It seems a strange time, or at least a long-delayed one, for the crafty southpaw from St. Petersburg, Fla., to rediscover his inner fire for boxing. Not only is he coming off a 38-month layoff, but he was soundly beaten in his most recent fight, a unanimous, 12-round loss on points to Paul Williams on April 11, 2009. And he lost the fight before that, another unanimous decision, to Bernard Hopkins on July 21, 2007. Those defeats mark Wright’s only ring appearances in the last 6½ years.

But there was a time, not so very long ago when you stop and think about it, that the name of Ronald “Winky” Wright came up in nearly every discussion about fighters who merited consideration as the sport’s pound-for-pound best. He was WBC/WBA junior middleweight champion who in 2004 twice dominated Shane Mosley and followed those watershed victories with an even more breathtaking performance, pitching a 12-round shutout at Felix Trinidad in 2005. And Wright was the tide that raised all boats; his longtime trainer, Dan Birmingham, was voted the Futch-Condon Award as Trainer of the Year in both of those years by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

So why would someone that accomplished choose to step away from boxing just a few years later, even if he had been, to some degree, in those setbacks to Hopkins and Williams?

“There was no one significant that wanted to fight me,” Wright said. “I want big fights, fights that mean something. I’m not going to fight just to fight. I’m fighting because I want to be the best.”

Feeling he was being ducked more than a limbo bar, Wright thus took his leave, although he never officially announced his retirement. It was more like entering a state of professional hibernation.

“My legacy is already etched in stone,” he said. “I was, like, `So you don’t want to fight me? Forget it.’ So I took time off and raised my son. I did family things, and just enjoyed life.”

But that old boxing itch, which can be salved for months and even years at a time, always threatens to turn into a rash that requires scratching. Wright had done the doting daddy thing and enjoyed it, but the joys of fatherhood can last a lifetime. Fighters don’t have nearly so much time to take advantage of the physical gifts which have been conferred upon them. So the Winkster returned to the gym with a purpose, to ascertain whether he still what it had to make a run at the championship he believes still is within his grasp.

“It takes some getting used to,” Wright, who again will have Birmingham as his chief second, said of his reintroduction to high-intensity training. “But anything worth having is worth working hard for, and I’ve worked hard for this.”

So, what kind of condition was Wright in when he decided to again tug on the gloves?

“Sometimes I would work out, and sometimes I didn’t,” he said of his lengthy hiatus. “I’m not going to say I stayed in boxing shape, but I wasn’t fat. I might have gotten up to 185, but I didn’t have a big belly or anything like that.”

Washboard abs alone, however, do not a fighter make. Wright knows this, and so does Quillin. Neither truly knows what to expect of the other, which makes this matchup intriguing.

“I got a great opponent to bring out the best in me,” Wright said of Quillin, 28. “I didn’t pick a bum to fight. This kid is undefeated. He’s hungry. He wants to prove to the world he’s a good fighter. But the guys he’s fought, they ain’t me.”

What remains to be seen is whether the Wright who’ll be on display June 2 is still the master boxer who carved up Mosley and Trinidad as if he were Zorro, or the rusty blade who lost convincingly to Williams and then faded from sight.

Quillin said he won’t make the mistake of presuming Wright has retained only a shadow of his former brilliance, even though logic dictates that that probably is the case.

“I’m preparing for the best Winky Wright,” insisted Quillin, who said he has a special incentive for coming in at his best, too.

“I saw Trinidad vs. Winky Wright,” he told media members on a joint teleconference call with his renowned opponent, who is a good bet to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame someday, regardless of the June 2 outcome. “I was kind of upset because I was a big fan of Trinidad’s. Maybe this fight can be my revenge and I’ll get the win that Felix Trinidad couldn’t get.”

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Bernard Fernandez

L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

If asked to name a prominent boxing trainer who operates out of a gym in Los Angeles, the name Freddie Roach would jump immediately to mind. Best known for his work with Manny Pacquaio, Roach has been named the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America a record seven times.

A mere seven miles from Roach’s iconic Wild Card Gym is the gym that Rudy Hernandez now calls home. Situated in the Little Tokyo neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, the L.A. Boxing Gym – a relatively new addition to the SoCal boxing landscape — is as nondescript as its name. From the outside, one would not guess that two reigning world champions, Junto Nakatani and Anthony Olascuaga, were forged there.

As Freddie Roach will be forever linked with Manny Pacquiao, so will Rudy Hernandez be linked with Nakatani. The Japanese boxer was only 15 years old when his parents packed him off to the United States to be tutored by Hernandez. With Hernandez in his corner, the lanky southpaw won titles at 112 and 115 and currently holds the WBO bantamweight (118) belt. In his last start, he knocked out his Thai opponent, a 77-fight veteran who had never been stopped, advancing his record to 29-0 (22 KOs).

Nakatani’s name now appears on several pound-for-pound lists. A match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is brewing. When that match comes to fruition, it will be the grandest domestic showdown in Japanese boxing history.

“Junto Nakatani is the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained. It’s easy to work with him because even when he came to me at age 15, his focus was only on boxing. It was to be a champion one day and nothing interfered with that dream,” Hernandez told sports journalist Manouk Akopyan writing for Boxing Scene.

Akin to Nakatani, Rudy Hernandez built Anthony Olascuaga from scratch. The LA native was rucked out of obscurity in April of 2023 when Jonathan Gonzalez contracted pneumonia and was forced to withdraw from his date in Tokyo with lineal light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. Olascuaga, with only five pro fights under his belt, filled the breach on 10 days’ notice and although he lost (TKO by 9), he earned kudos for his gritty performance against the man recognized as the best fighter in his weight class.

Two fights later, back in Tokyo, Olascuaga copped the WBO world flyweight title with a third-round stoppage of Riku Kano. His first defense came in October, again in Japan, and Olascuaga retained his belt with a first-round stoppage of the aforementioned Gonzalez. (This bout was originally ruled a no-contest as it ended after Gonzalez suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. But the referee ruled that Gonzalez was fit to continue before the Puerto Rican said “no mas,” alleging his vision was impaired, and the WBO upheld a protest from the Olascuaga camp and changed the result to a TKO. Regardless, Rudy Hernandez’s fighter would have kept his title.)

Hernandez, 62, is the brother of the late Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez. A two-time world title-holder at 130 pounds who fought the likes of Azumah Nelson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chicanito passed away in 2011, a cancer victim at age 45.

Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez was one of the most popular fighters in the Hispanic communities of Southern California. Rudy Hernandez, a late bloomer of sorts – at least in terms of public recognition — has kept his brother’s flame alive with own achievements. He is a worthy honoree for the 2024 Trainer of the Year.

Note: This is the first in our series of annual awards. The others will arrive sporadically over the next two weeks.

Photo credit: Steve Kim

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A Shocker in Tijuana: Bruno Surace KOs Jaime Munguia !!

Published

3 days ago

December 15, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A-Shocker-in-Tijuana-Bruno-Sarace-KOs-Jaime-Munguia

It was a chilly night in Tijuana when Jaime Munguia entered the ring for his homecoming fight with Bruno Surace. The main event of a Zanfer/Top Rank co-promotion, Munguia vs. Surace was staged in the city’s 30,000-seat soccer stadium a stone’s throw from the U.S. border in the San Diego metroplex.

Surace, a Frenchman, brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but a quick glance at his record showed that he had scant chance of holding his own with the house fighter. Only four of Surace’s 25 wins had come by stoppage and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records. Munguia was making the first start in the city of his birth since February 2022. Surace had never fought outside Europe.

But hold the phone!

After losing every round heading into the sixth, Surace scored the Upset of the Year, ending the contest with a one-punch knockout.

It looked like a short and easy night for Munguia when he knocked Surace down with a left hook in the second stanza. From that point on, the Frenchman fought off his back foot, often with back to the ropes, throwing punches only in spurts. Munguia worked the body well and was seemingly on the way to wearing him down when he was struck by lightning in the form of an overhand right.

Down went Munguia, landing on his back. He struggled to get to his feet, but the referee waived it off a nano-second before reaching “10.” The official time was 2:36 of round six.

Munguia, who was 44-1 heading in with 35 KOs, was as high as a 35/1 favorite. In his only defeat, he had gone the distance with Canelo Alvarez. This was the biggest upset by a French fighter since Rene Jacquot outpointed Donald Curry in 1989 and Jacquot had the advantage of fighting in his homeland.

Co-Main

Mexico City’s Alan Picasso, ranked #1 by the WBC at 122 pounds, scored a third-round stoppage of last-minute sub Yehison Cuello in a scheduled 10-rounder contested at featherweight. Picaso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) is a solid technician. He ended the bout with a left to the rib cage, a punch that weaved around Cuello’s elbow and didn’t appear to be especially hard. The referee stopped his count at “nine” and waived the fight off.

A 29-year-old Colombian who reportedly had been training in Tijuana, the overmatched Cuello slumped to 13-3-1.

Other Bouts of Note

In a ho-hum affair, junior middleweight Jorge Garcia advanced to 32-4 (26) with a 10-round unanimous decision over Uzbekistan’s Kudratillo Abudukakhorov (20-4). The judges had it 97-92 and 99-90 twice. There were no knockdowns, but Garcia had a point deducted in round eight for low blows.

Garcia displayed none of the power that he showed in his most recent fight three months ago in Arizona and when he knocked out his German opponent in 46 seconds. Abudukakhorov, who has competed mostly as a welterweight, came in at 158 1/4 pounds and didn’t look in the best of shape. The Uzbek was purportedly 170-10 as an amateur (4-5 per boxrec).

Super bantamweight Sebastian Hernandez improved to 18-0 (17 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Argentine import Sergio Martin (14-5). The end came at the 2:39 mark of round seven when Martin’s corner threw in the towel. Earlier in the round, Martin lost his mouthpiece and had a point deducted for holding.

Hernandez wasn’t all that impressive considering the high expectations born of his high knockout ratio, but appeared to have injured his right hand during the sixth round.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw

Published

3 days ago

December 14, 2024

David A. Avila

Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw

ONTARIO, CA -Two SoCal welterweights battled to a majority draw and Ohio’s Charles Conwell wowed the crowd with precision and power in his victory.

In the main event Alexis Rocha sought to prove his loss a year ago was a fluke and Raul Curiel sought to prove he belongs with the contenders.

Both got their wish.

After 12 rounds of back-and-forth exchanges, Rocha (25-2-1, 16 KOs) and Curiel (15-0-1, 13 KOs) battled to a stalemate in front of more than 5,000 fans at Toyota Arena. No oner seemed surprised by the majority decision draw.

“We got one for the people It was a Rocha landed impressive blows while Curiel just could not seem to get the motor running.

Things turned around in seventh round.

During the first half of the fight, it looked like Rocha’s experience in big events would be too much for Curiel to handle. Rocha landed impressive blows while Curiel just could not seem to get the motor running.

Things turned around in seventh round.

Maybe trainer Freddie Roach’s words got to Curiel. The Mexican Olympian who now lives in the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, suddenly planted his feet and ripped off five- and six-punch combinations. It was do or die.

The change of tactics forced Rocha to make changes too especially after absorbing several ripping uppercuts from Curiel.

Back and forth the welterweights exchanged and neither fighter could take charge. And neither fighter was knocked down though each both connected with sweat-tossing blows.

The two fighters battled until the final seconds of the fight. After 12 blistering rounds, one judge saw Rocha the winner 116-112, while the two other judges scored it 114-114 for a majority draw.

“I respect this guy. It was 12 rounds of war,” said Santa Ana’s Rocha.

Curiel felt the same.

“I respect Rocha. He is a good southpaw,” Curiel repeated. “Let’s do it again.”

Battle of Undefeated Super Welterweights

Few knew what to expect with undefeated Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) facing undefeated Argentine Gerardo Vergara (20-1, 13 KOs). You never what to expect with Argentine fighters.

Conwell, a U.S. Olympian, showed why many consider him the best kept secret in boxing with a steady attack behind impressive defense. He needed it against Vergara, a very strong southpaw.

Vergara seemed a little puzzled by Conwell’s constant pressure. He might have expected a hit-and-run kind of fighter instead of a steamroller like the Ohio warrior.

Once the two fighters got heated up in the cold arena, the blows began to come more often and more powerfully. Conwell in particular stood right in front of the Argentine and bobbed and weaved through the South American fighter’s attack. And suddenly unleashed rocket rights and left hooks off Vergara’s chin.

Nothing happened expect blood from his nose for several rounds.

For six rounds Conwell blasted away at Vergara’s chin and jaw and nothing seemed to faze the Argentine. Then, Conwell targeted the body and suddenly things opened up. Vergara was caught trying to decide what to protect when a left hook jolted the Argentine. Suddenly Conwell erupted with a stream of left hooks and rights with almost everything connecting with power.

Referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to stop the fight at 2:51 of the seventh round. Conwell finally chopped down the Argentine tree for the knockout win. The fans gasped at the suddenness of the victory.

“We broke him down,” Conwell said.

It was impressive.

Other Bouts

Popular John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs) started slowly against Texas left-hander Ephraim Bui (10-1, 8 KOs) but gained momentum behind accurate right uppercuts to swing the momentum and win a regional super flyweight title by unanimous decision after 10 rounds

Bui opened the fight behind some accurate lead lefts, but once Ramirez found the solution he took the fight inside and repeatedly jolted the taller Texas fighter with that blow.

Ramirez, who is based in Los Angeles, gained momentum and confidence and kept control with movements left and right that kept Bui unable to regain the advantage. No knockdowns were scored as all three judges scored the fight 97-93 for Ramirez.

A battle between former flyweight world champions saw Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KO) pull away after several early contentious rounds against Mexico’s Arely Mucino (32-5-2, 11 KOs). Left hooks staggered Esparza early in the fight.

Esparza always could take a punch and after figuring out what not to do, she began rolling up points behind pinpoint punching and pot shots. Soon, it was evident she could hit and move and took over the last three rounds of the fight.

Mucino never stopped attacking and was successful with long left hooks and shots to the body, but once Esparza began launching impressive pot shots, the Mexican fighter never could figure out a solution.

After 10 rounds two judges scored it 98-92 and a third judge saw it 97-93 all for Esparza.

Victor Morales (20-0-1, 10 KOs) won by technical knockout over Mexico’s Juan Guardado (16-3-1, 6 KOs) due to a bad cut above the right eye. It was a learning experience for Morales who hails from Washington.

Left hooks were the problem for Morales who could not avoid a left hook throughout the super featherweight fight. Guardado staggered Morales at least three times with counter left hooks. But Morales turned things around by controlling the last three rounds behind a jolting left jab that controlled the distance.

At one second of the eighth round, referee Ray Corona stopped the fight to allow the ringside physician to examine the swelling and cut. It was decided that the fight should stop. Morales was awarded the win by technical knockout.

A super bantamweight fight saw Jorge Chavez (13-0, 8 KOs) score two knockdowns on way to a unanimous decision over Uruguay’s Ruben Casero (12-4, 4 KOs) after eight rounds. Chavez fights out of Tijuana, Mexico.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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