"It seems like nobody wants to step up and separate themselves from the pack. With me, I wanted to separate myself from the pack. I wanted to be that man; that one man that everybody feared or wanted to come fight. To do that, I had to go through a lot of things to get that title. I guess a lot of them don't want to do that or they promoters don't want to put them in tough fights. That's what's wrong with boxing right now. The networks and promoters don't really want to put their fighters in tough fights and then they want to call their fighter a great fighter. Your fighter hasn't even fought a great fighter. He's beating people that he should beat...don't let these promoters and networks make you believe that fighters are superstars before they are superstars," stated former undisputed jr. middleweight champion Winky Wright as he shared his thoughts on the current state of boxing, his own frustration with his inability to get a fight and much, much more. Check it out!
PC: I wanted to get your thoughts on some of the recent action and news in boxing. What did you think of Andre Ward's performance against Allan Green?
WW: Andre Ward is just a much better fighter skill-wise. Alan Green is strong, but Andre Ward is a very good boxer. He's a technician and he did what he had to do to beat Green and he beat him easy. Green thought Ward was going to stick and move, but he went inside on him and made the fight a rough fight. He wasn't ever in the fight.
PC: I see a lot of people comparing Ward's performance to a younger Bernard Hopkins. You were in there with Bernard. Do you see the comparisons?
WW: Naw! He fought much cleaner than BHop. BHop fights dirty. He uses his head, hitting low and things like that. Ward just stayed in his chest and made him fight.
PC: I've never seen someone dominate Shane Mosley like Mayweather did except for when you and the late, great Vernon Forrest fought him. Both of you guys were bigger than Shane. Were you a little surprised at the way that fight went down?
WW: Ughhhh, a little. Everyone has wanted to see Floyd in a good fight and Shane came out in the first two rounds and tried to give that. It seemed like when he hurt Floyd, he got scared and Floyd just took it to him and dominated him after that. After that, it wasn't even a fight. It was like one dude wanted to fight and one dude wanted to hold.
PC: Mayweather-Pacquiao is the fight everyone wants to see. Who do you like if that fight gets made and what's your take on the extra blood testing?
WW: I gotta go with Mayweather, but I think Pacquiao has a good chance because he throws punches from everywhere and he's not going to be scared of Floyd. It would be a good fight, but I like Floyd because he's a great boxer and I think he would outsmart Pacquiao. Like I said, you never know though because Pacquiao throws a lot of punches and gives a lot of movement. Hopefully we can get that fight. As far as the drug testing, it is what it is. If he don't mind doing it, then that's cool, but if it was me, I wouldn't want to do it because the boxing people not making me do it. This isn't what everyone does, so why do I have to do something different? I wouldn't want to do it, but like I said, if he wants to do it and Floyd and dem feel that he needs to do this, then go ahead just so the fans can see the fight.
PC: Now that you have been inactive for a little while, who are some of the fighters you like to kick back and watch?
WW: I enjoy watching Andre Ward. I like the little Dirrell dude too. He's a good fighter and that's going to be a good fight. Of course I like to watch Floyd and Pacquiao and the lil dude Andre Berto. They got a couple of lil cats I like to watch.
PC: Any current fighters remind you of a young Winky Wright; whether it is because they always have to fight on the road, their fighting style, etc.?
WW: I like the way that Martinez fights. I used to fight like that, stick and move, but when I was fighting that way, I couldn't get no fights, so I had to switch it up. I like the way he fights though. He can do it all. He's a real good fighter and I like watching him fight.
PC: You came up underneath Roy Jones and I know you have to feel good about seeing him back behind the mic again. I think they were giving him a trial period and he nailed it out the park.
WW: Ah man, definitely. I'm so glad they got Roy back. He is a good commentator and he tells it like it is. And, you know what I'm saying, he knows what's going on. No disrespect to Lennox or any of those other guys. I just like the way Roy does his thing.
PC: No one has really held down the junior middleweight division like you did. Are you a little surprised to not see anyone run with the 154-pound division yet?
WW: Yeah! It seems like nobody wants to step up and separate themselves from the pack. With me, I wanted to separate myself from the pack. I wanted to be that man; that one man that everybody feared or wanted to come fight. To do that, I had to go through a lot of things to get that title. I guess a lot of them don't want to do that or they promoters don't want to put them in tough fights. That's what's wrong with boxing right now. The networks and promoters don't really want to put their fighters in tough fights and then they want to call their fighter a great fighter. Your fighter hasn't even fought a great fighter. He's beating people that he should beat. How many fights have you seen out there, or how many fighters that you see out there are fighting the fights where you actually thought they could lose?
PC: Not too many.
WW: It's very rare. Everybody that they fight, they should beat. They are not giving them a challenge. Yeah, you giving them a fighter with a big name, but they are past their time, so it's not like back in the day when Ray Leonard and Hagler was fighting everybody. They fought because they wanted to prove they were the best. They fought once and then said, "Hey, I will fight you again just to show you that I am the best." These days, you get a fighter that survives a fight and then there is no way he's fighting him again. There are very few fighters that will fight each other over and over, like Marquez and Vazquez. But other than that, you really don't see that no more in boxing.
PC: Imagine the mark you could have made at 154 if you didn't have to go north of that weight class to search for big fights.
WW: Yeah. Exactly! A lot of people don't really understand what I had to do in boxing to get to where I was. At one time, that 154-pound division was packed with talent and I had to do a lot to get there. I won all of the belts and I fought whoever wanted to fight. And whoever didn't want to fight, they moved down or up. I cleared the whole division out, a division that was stacked with talent. Everybody ran either north or south. I didn't really have anybody to fight, so they had a young kid coming up in Jermain Taylor, Olympic medalist, coming in and I went up and beat him. They didn't want to give me my just due, you know what I'm saying, and it's crazy. The game is what it is. The game gave me a lot of exposure and a way to provide for my family, so I can't be mad at the game. I'm just mad at the people that are in the game that's fucking up the game. Right now, they are putting a real black eye on boxing.
PC: Jermain Taylor's downfall came at a pretty fast rate. Did you ever see that coming for him?
WW: Nah, I didn't see that coming. He was a tough fighter and a good fighter. It's just that everything was going his way all of the time, so when he had a few tough fights, it broke him down. It only took that one time for it not to go his way and everything started crumbling. You start chipping away at a brick wall, eventually, it's going to crumble and that's what I think happened.
PC: You still know the game of boxing for sure. Thanks for the breakdowns and analysis. Is there anything you want to say to your fans in closing?
WW: Hey man, to all of the real fans out there, just stay true to the game and don't let these promoters and networks make you believe that fighters are superstars before they are superstars. You know how the fight game is and you know a talent when you see one, so if a fighter earns that right to be called a superstar, then give it to them, but if not, then make them earn it by fighting.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]