Winky Wright currently calls St. Petersburg, Florida home. He is an avid fight fan and
regularly attends major boxing events. A favorite in the hip hop community, Winky
Wright has appeared in music videos for Busta
Rhymes' "Touch It Remix", 50 Cent's "Outta
Control Remix" (feat. Mobb Deep) and Jamie Foxx's
"DJ Play a Love Song" (feat. Twista).
Winky Wright was an underlooked fighter for many years, for a time fighting 20
fights in seven countries across three continents. Winky Wright would later joke that he
couldn't pronounce some of the names of the places he was fighting in. After his 2nd round
knockout of Carlos Santana on July 30, 1992 in St. Petersburg, Florida, the ring announcer
called him "Winky", the name given to him by his grandmother when he was 18 months old.
The nickname stuck for the rest of his career. His birth name is Ronald Lamont Wright.
To the surprise of many including Winky Wright, Shane Mosley
challenged him to a Junior Middlweight Unification fight on March 13, 2004. Mosley was a
celebrated fighter coming off his second win against Oscar de la
Hoya, but many felt he was making a mistake in fighting Winky Wright. Winky
Wright beat Mosley soundly with his effective jabbing and defense, winning a lopsided
unanimous decision, winning the Ring Magazine Jr. middleweight championship of the world
and became the division's first undisputed champion in 29 years, and the first man to hold all
the IBF, WBA, and WBC Jr. Middlweight titles simultaneously. The rematch took place on
November 20, 2004. This fight was much closer, with one judge scoring the bout a draw.
However, the other two judges scored 115-113 and gave the majority decision to Winky
Wright.
On May 14, 2005, Winky Wright defeated Felix Trinidad by
unanimous decision. Trinidad was a fan favorite and a feared power puncher, and many
figured he would be able to knock Winky Wright out. Instead, Winky Wright's
jab and defense once again prevailed, and he won virtually "shutting out" Trinidad, winning
120-107 and 119-108 on two scorecards, to establish himself as a top contender to challenge
for the WBC middleweight championship. Winky Wright's dominance over such a
highly regarded opponent has lead to many placing him among the top two pound-for-pound
boxers in the world, just behind Floyd
Mayweather Jr. Winky Wright's victory sent Trinidad into permanent retirement.
Shortly after the Trinidad fight, Winky Wright formed his own promotional boxing firm
Winky Wright Promotions.
