I’ll be the first to admit that I picked Trinidad to beat Winky Wright; hoping was more my frame of mind. I didn’t expect Trinidad to be beaten so easily, but it should not be a big surprise to students of the game. Congratulations to Ronald “Winky” Wright for working out a winning strategy and sticking to it. Commiserations to the boxing fan expecting to receive some entertainment value for his dollar. I would have been tempted to ask for my money back from my PPV provider if it were not for Zab Judah’s effort that saved Don King’s card (and butt) by providing an exciting stoppage over an over matched but legitimate number one contender in Cosme Rivera.

I never thought I would fall asleep during a Felix Trinidad bout, but I nodded off a couple of times during this bout because it was just so BORING! This fight was clinically perfect from Wright’s perspective but it lacked the key ingredient for any big PPV event: EXCITEMENT IN THE FIGHT ITSELF. From what I saw during this bout, there were no memorable power punches or knockdowns, no drama… just the same dull jab, jab, jab mixed with the occasional cross. At least there was no clinching, otherwise, I would have switched the fight off. This bout certainly won’t go down as Fight of the Year, maybe boxing lesson of the year. Sure the crowd went wild a few times but I put that down as being caught up in the atmosphere of being at the event and the fact that Trinidad’s fans bring with them a certain amount of passion to a big event when supporting their hero.

I think a Wright-Trinidad rematch is unlikely. I mean who in their right mind would want to watch another dull dance like this again, other than the purists? Do you think Don King or any other promoter would be willing to pay approx $14 million ($10 million for Trinidad & $4 million for Wright) up front to these guys to bore the viewers to death a second time round? Unlikely! I don’t know exactly how much each man was paid but I recall reading Wright would be paid approximately 4 million dollars. Did he put on a show worth that amount? Not in my opinion. I’m pretty sure Diego Corrales & Jose Luis Castillo were paid less than half this amount for what people are saying was one of the most entertaining boxing spectacles in history. Such is the inequity in the sport of boxing.
 
My biggest concern with fighters like Winky Wright is that they do not become the majority. Can you imagine boxing where the majority of fighters are safety-first fighters like Pernell Whitaker, Vernon Forrest, Winky Wright and more recently Bernard Hopkins? Or spoilers with limited abilities like Ruiz and Lennox Lewis, who clinched & tied their opponents up at every opportunity? Dull would be too kind a way to describe such a vision, PAINFUL would be more accurate. With Winky Wright dominating Trinidad so easily you would think that he might pick up the pace, look for a knockout, and earn his payday and God forbid, even increase future paydays, but no, Winky did the smart thing and continued to fight a safe fight. When was the last time Winky Wright scored a clean knockout? I can only remember seeing one stoppage for Winky, and that was an opponent not coming out of his corner after 6 or 7 rounds. Then again, I never went out of my way until last weekend to watch a Winky Wright fight. I probably won't bother again until he fights Hopkins and then I’ll probably regret that decision. One thing I’ll say about smart, safety-first fighters like Winky: "I DON’T LIKE WATCHING.”