Wikipedia

Félix Trinidad vs. Winky Wright

Félix Trinidad vs. Winky Wright was a professional boxing match contested on May 14, 2005.[1]

The Wright Choice, The Wright Challenge
DateMay 14, 2005
VenueMGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBC middleweight title eliminator
Tale of the tape
Boxer Félix Trinidad Ronald Wright
Nickname Tito Winky
Hometown Fajardo, San Juan, Puerto Rico Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, U.S.
Purse $8,000,000 $4,000,000
Pre-fight record 42–1 (35 KO) 48–3 (25 KO)
Age 32 years, 4 months 33 years, 5 months
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg) 160 lb (73 kg)
Style Orthodox Southpaw
Recognition WBC/WBA
No. 1 Ranked Middleweight
IBF
No. 5 Ranked Middleweight
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Middleweight
3-division world champion		 The Ring
Light Middleweight Champion
WBC
No. 2 Ranked Middleweight
WBA
No. 3 Ranked Middleweight
The Ring No. 4 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
Result
Wright defeats Trinidad by unanimous decision

Background

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After his return to the ring against Ricardo Mayorga in October 2004, Félix Trinidad was linked to rematches with both undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins and former 4-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya. Meanwhile in November, Winky Wright scored his second consecutive victory over Shane Mosley and was immediately linked to Trinidad.[2]

Trinidad's promoter Don King had offered Wright $5 million to be Trinidad's first comeback opponent, however he was already contracted to rematch Mosley. A $5 million offer for a 19 March 2005 bout with Trinidad fell though,[3] however on 27 January it was announced that Trinidad and Wright would face each other in a WBC middleweight title eliminator on 14 May. "It wasn't easy to get this done, but I knew it was simply a matter of time because in the end both Tito and Winky like to fight," said King.[4][5][6][7][8]

Trinidad was an 8-5 favourite to win.

The fights

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Judah vs. Rivera

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The co feature saw undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah face IBF mandatory challenger Cosme Rivera, in the first defence of the title he had won against Cory Spinks in February.[9]

The fight

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Judah would drop the challenger twice in the 1st round and once more in 3rd Round, after which referee Joe Cortez waved it off.

Aftermath

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Speaking after bout Judah would call out Oscar De La Hoya and Antonio Margarito saying "I would love to fight De La Hoya, Margarito, everybody that knows me, I always ask for these guys. I have been calling these guys out for years now, it would be an honor for me to fight any of those guys. I'm going to show you I'm the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."[10]

Preceded by Zab Judah's bouts
14 May 2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
vs. Javier Hector Valadez
 Cosme Rivera's bouts
14 May 2005 		Succeeded by
vs. Mario Ramos

Main Event

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Trinidad's fighting style appeared to be out of rhythm in the first round, while Wright presented a defensive stance and relied on jabs.[11] During the first three rounds Wright was in the offensive scoring with jabs.[11] On the fourth round Trinidad connected a solid combination.[11] In the sixth, Wright continued the strategy used in the previous rounds while Trinidad employed a strategy where he tried to neutralize his opponent's punches by standing in front of him.[11] In the later rounds Trinidad tried to take the contest's offensive but his adversary managed to block most of his punches while continuing his previous tactic.[11] In the twelfth round Trinidad pursued Wright while trying to score a knockout, but his opponent boxed away from him until the round ended.[11]

Wright won the fight by unanimous decision, receiving scores of 120–107 and 119–108 twice by the judges.[11][12][13][14]

Aftermath

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Speaking after the bout Wright said "I’ve had to keep proving myself over and over again, [Tonight] was a complete victory."[15] Trinidad praised Wright saying "The fighter who beats me has to be one of the best in the world, And Wright is one of the best."[16][17][18]

The day after the bout Trinidad announced his retirement from boxing at an emotional press conference at San Juan international airport.[19][20]

The bout generated 510,000 pay-per-view buys and generated $25.5 million in pay-per-view revenue.[21]

Following the bout, Oscar De La Hoya approached Wright with a $6 million offer, plus an additional $6 per pay-per-view buy above 600,000 homes. However, Wright declined the fight, "He offers everyone else $10, 15 million," Wright said, referring to the $10 million Trinidad received for fighting De La Hoya in 1999. "I ain't doing it." Wright also declined an offer to face Floyd Mayweather during that time, insisting on a 50-50 split, "Winky has everything to lose but nothing to gain," Wright's promoter Gary Shaw stated. "Mayweather has nothing to lose and everything to gain."[22]

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[23]

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
  United States HBO

References

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  1. ^ "Ronald Wright vs. Felix Trinidad". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Wright edges Mosley in Las Vegas". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 21 November 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Wright-Trinidad talks break down". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Wright-Trinidad set for Las Vegas". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  5. ^ George Willis (23 February 2005). "WINKY AWAITS TRINIDAD TEST". New York Post. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  6. ^ Carmen Renee Thomson (9 May 2005). "Winky Wright is boxing's next star-but it took him 15 years to get here". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Rhetoric gets more intense". Las Vegas Sun. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  8. ^ Tom Jones (14 May 2005). "FELIX "TITO" TRINIDAD VS. WINKY WRIGHT // IN THE CENTER RING". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Zab Judah vs. Cosme Rivera". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  10. ^ John Gregg (14 May 2005). "Judah Jumps Rivera". boxingtimes.com. Boxing Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g John Gregg (2005-05-14). "All Wright All Night Over Trinidad". The Boxing Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  12. ^ Tim Dahlberg (15 May 2005). "Wright gives Trinidad beating". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Cool Winky ruins Trinidad return". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 15 May 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ Dan Rafael (14 May 2005). "Wright's victory spoils 'Tito's' plans with Hopkins". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  15. ^ Steve Springer (15 May 2005). "This Saturday Night's All Wright for Fighting". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  16. ^ Wallace Matthews (15 May 2005). "Winky Delivers the Wright Stuff vs. Trinidad". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Trinidad reeling after lopsided loss to Wright". espn.com. ESPN. 15 May 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  18. ^ Tim Dahlberg (16 May 2005). "`Winky' May Have Been TOO Good". The Ledger. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Trinidad se retira por segunda ocasión" (in Spanish). El Porvenir S.A. 2005-05-17. Archived from the original on 2009-01-11. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  20. ^ "Former middleweight champion Felix "Tito" Trinidad, right, is consoled by his father and trainer Felix Trinidad Sr. during a news conference upon his arrival at the international airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, late Sunday, May 15, 2005". alamy.com. AP Photo. 15 May 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  21. ^ Dan Rafael (19 May 2005). "Bout generates most pay-per-view buys of year". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Wright vs. Mayweather not dead". Tampa Bay Times.
  23. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Félix Trinidad's bouts
14 May 2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winky Wright's bouts
14 May 2005 		Succeeded by
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