Sunday, March 14, 2004
IOL: 'Winky' Wright celebrates unanimous win
Ronald 'Winky' Wright will gain the recognition he has craved after unifying the light middleweight titles with a unanimous points verdict over Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.
WBC and WBA champion 'Sugar' Shane, coming off a controversial victory over Oscar de la Hoya, could have few complaints about the decision after Wright took control from the opening bell.
Winky, the IBF title holder coming into the fight, has been systematically avoided by all the top names since losing a narrow decision to Fernando Vargas four years ago.
And he looked much the hungrier fighter at the Mandalay Bay as he was often first to the jab early on, claiming at least three of the first four rounds, but Mosley won the fifth after getting through with a number of right hooks.
However, awkward southpaw Wright, looking more like the favourite than the underdog, re-established his superiority in the next as Mosley once again struggled to find a way past Winky's sharp left jab.
By round eight Wright, the more natural 154-pounder after 13 years at the weight, was well ahead on the cards and was consistently finding the target with Mosley short of ideas.
The 'Sugarman', at one time considered the world's best pound-for-pound boxer before successive defeats to Vernon Forrest, looked a shadow of the man that once ruled the welterweight division.
By the 10th Mosley must have been so far behind on the cards that only a knockout would suffice, but Wright, trained to the minute, continued to pour on the pressure.
Backed by cries of 'Winky, Winky' around the auditorium, Wright closed out the fight like a true champion taking everything a desperate Mosley could throw at him in the final round.
But Mosley, who turned down a reputed $12m to fight De La Hoya for a third time, could not argue with the 117-111, 117-111, 116-112 scores on the cards.
Ronald 'Winky' Wright will gain the recognition he has craved after unifying the light middleweight titles with a unanimous points verdict over Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.
WBC and WBA champion 'Sugar' Shane, coming off a controversial victory over Oscar de la Hoya, could have few complaints about the decision after Wright took control from the opening bell.
Winky, the IBF title holder coming into the fight, has been systematically avoided by all the top names since losing a narrow decision to Fernando Vargas four years ago.
And he looked much the hungrier fighter at the Mandalay Bay as he was often first to the jab early on, claiming at least three of the first four rounds, but Mosley won the fifth after getting through with a number of right hooks.
However, awkward southpaw Wright, looking more like the favourite than the underdog, re-established his superiority in the next as Mosley once again struggled to find a way past Winky's sharp left jab.
By round eight Wright, the more natural 154-pounder after 13 years at the weight, was well ahead on the cards and was consistently finding the target with Mosley short of ideas.
The 'Sugarman', at one time considered the world's best pound-for-pound boxer before successive defeats to Vernon Forrest, looked a shadow of the man that once ruled the welterweight division.
By the 10th Mosley must have been so far behind on the cards that only a knockout would suffice, but Wright, trained to the minute, continued to pour on the pressure.
Backed by cries of 'Winky, Winky' around the auditorium, Wright closed out the fight like a true champion taking everything a desperate Mosley could throw at him in the final round.
But Mosley, who turned down a reputed $12m to fight De La Hoya for a third time, could not argue with the 117-111, 117-111, 116-112 scores on the cards.
