On April 11th in Las Vegas one of the best fighters of the last decade will get one last chance to put him self in line for a title shot. Ronald “Winky” Wright will meet the streaking Paul Williams. A title shot against world champion Kelly Pavlik may be awarded to the winner. On paper Wright has the more impressive credentials. This man has two wins over Sugar Shane Mosley along with victories over Fernando Vargas, Tito Trinidad and Ike Quartey. He drew with Jermain Taylor and dropped a verdict to Bernard Hopkins. Not too shabby…
Both Winky Wright and Paul Williams hosted an international media conference call today to talk about there upcoming showdown.
“I tip my hat for Williams for taking the fight, no one else would. I am going to take advantage; I am just tired of being ducked,” stated Winky.
Every one knows Winky Wright has a great defense.
“I am not worry about Winky’s defense I am just going to get mine in. You will see,” declare Williams.
Paul Williams is around ten years younger then Winky. He also has ten inches in reach. On an interesting note, both box out of the southpaw stance. Williams uses his height (6’1″) and reach advantages well. He has very fast hands and at times he is willing to stand still and mix it up. He showed this in his victory over Antonio Margarito a few years back. In Wright, Paul Williams will be meeting a crafty and skilled defensive fight and a very good counter puncher. If this fight would have been made a year ago I would have not hesitated in picking Wright to win. Now?
Wright has been out of the ring for nearly two years. Since Williams 2007 win over Margarito he lost to Carlos Quintana. In a return match Paul reclaimed the title by stopping Quintana in one brutal round. Paul then added two more knockout victories bringing his record to an impressive 36-1 with 27 KO’s. The much more seasoned Wright has a 51-4-1 ledger. He has 25 stoppage wins.
Unless Winky grows old overnight, I look for him to pull out a close decision. In 56 fights he has never been stopped. I look for Williams to get off to a fast start but Wright will start walking Paul down. Little by little Winky will force Paul to stand his ground and fight. Williams will be willing to oblige. There may be some good exchanges throughout the bout. Still I really don’t see this as an exciting fight for the fans watching. Wright’s ability to “shut down” his opponent usually makes for dull bouts. This could be a very hard fight to judge. In the end I look for Winky to punch his ticket for a well-deserved title shot…
Tickets are still available and priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or
Photo by John Locher.