"WINKY HAD THE WRIGHT STUFF" By Jeff Mayweather

On Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Winky Wright emerged. Winky might not have become a star but he has arrived as a fighter to be reckoned with, proving he belongs in the upper echelon and is a serious threat to Jr. Middleweights in the world including Felix 'Tito' Trinidad.

Winky Wright unfortunately is in the same boat as Cory Spinks, both fighters are Undisputed Champions of their divisions and both just happen to be left-handed. The biggest parallel between the two is that they will never become superstars in boxing no matter who they beat, and they will always need someone else with a bigger name to get the big paydays they are looking for.  At this point in both of their careers they missed out on becoming a star or a household name.

In his post fight interview Wright made it clear that he understands the game of boxing as he called out four names of fighters who have more appeal to the fighting public than himself, to generate the kind of paydays he's wishing for so he can walk away from boxing and be financially set for life and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

I know Winky Wright personally and he is one of the nicest guys in the sport and if you ever met him you would root for him and hope that all he is looking to accomplish would happen for him. On Saturday night he took the first step, by completely dominating Shane Mosley from start to finish with Shane stealing a round or two in between. Wright left no doubt or chance for the judges to steal it away from him and give it to Mosley as it appeared to have been the case in Shane's previous fight with Oscar de la Hoya.

Mosley beating Oscar de la Hoya has become a curse for him; with each win over Oscar he has never really had a chance to bask in the glory of the win very long, nor did he do anything to enhance his appeal to the boxing world. The first time he beat De la Hoya Mosley turned around and suffered back to back defeats at the hands of Vernon Forrest and now after the second win he jumps right into the fire again and gets beat by Winky Wright.

Winky was poised, confident and solid with his attack as Shane appeared to be rattled and confused. Mosley used none of his once flashy boxing skills, he appeared to be constantly swinging in complete desperation with almost every punch he threw. It appeared early on that he was in over his head, you could see the frustration in his face, as Wright stayed cool, calm and focused on his attack, never once appearing to be phased by anything Mosley tried.

Wright established his jab early on to set the pace and came forward pressing the fight, backing Mosley up, making what appeared to be Mosley fighting just to keep Wright off him, more than it being part of a fight plan. Mosley's face told the story with each passing round, you could see it in his face, he had no answer to what he was up against other than swing big punches in hope of landing one and turn the tables in his favor.

Wright would not allow it to happen; he would not be denied on his night to shine and to show the boxing world or those who have slept on him that he can not only fight but dominate one of the best fighters in the world and make him look ordinary.

I applaud Winky Wright and his corner, as they gave him sound advice even down to the final round. I think Winky Wright has left his stamp in the consciousness of any avid boxing fan. Certainly on Saturday night Winky had the right stuff.