Chip Mitchell: Roger, for the past few years Naazim Richardson has been mentioned as a trainer of the year candidate. My question to you is…..

Roger Mayweather: (cutting in)… Man, look man. Don’t even ask me about nobody coming close to me. I do that sh– with my eyes closed. I do more with mother——s with my eyes closed. I’m not worried that sh–. Don’t even ask me about another dude..

Chip Mitchell: Okay, let me go another route with this. You are an unofficial boxing historian. Let me ask you a question about Charley Burley. How…

Roger Mayweather: (cutting in)… Charley Burley is one of the greatest fighters ever. I know about Charley Burley. Charley Burley beat Archie Moore. But he lost to Ezzard Charles. But he still would have whooped the #1 to the #10 heavyweight in the world.

Chip Mitchell: My question is how would Lil Floyd have fared against Burley?

Aww it would be a difficult fight. He’s a great fighter! You talking about a guy fighting at 154 pounds fighting mother——s 200 pounds. Aww sh– man, that’s one of the greatest fighters ever.

Chip Mitchell: Okay, now to the task at hand. Many experts believe Shane Mosley has the speed and power to dethrone Lil Floyd. What is your response to that?

Roger Mayweather: I ain’t never seen power win fights. Skills win fights. SKILLS win fights. My nephew is the most skilled mother—— out there in the sport of boxing. Shane got skills too. But he’s got different types of skills. Shane’s a great fighter. Shane’s a good puncher. But you still gotta find something to hit. He ain’t gonna hit on my nephew like he hit on them Mexicans.

Chip Mitchell: Who are your favorite fighters, past and present?

Roger Mayweather: Greatest fighters in my time?

Chip Mitchell: Sure, in your time is fine.

Roger Mayweather: The greatest fighters come from my hometown. Period. You know who that is right?

Chip Mitchell: Midwest. Joe Louis. Guys like that.

Roger Mayweather: Who else?

Chip Mitchell: Uhh, Ray…

Roger Mayweather: (cutting in)… Ray Robinson, Aaron Pryor, Ezzard Charles. The greatest fighters come from where I’m from.

Chip Mitchell: During some 24/7 episodes, we’ve seen your son lace them up and…

Roger Mayweather: (cutting in)… He LOVES boxing!

Chip Mitchell: (cutting back in)… Is your son next in line?

Roger Mayweather: He loves boxing. So I mean unless he decides to do something else he’s going to be a fighter too. I’m trying to teach him the right things. He already knows about boxing. But we got to keep adding things to it and adding things to it. As long as we keep adding to it, he’s gonna be okay.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

“This is a life-changing opportunity for Albert and I feel he has the potential to cause a big upset in Germany.”

Sosnowski, 31, propelled himself into the boxing big-time in December when he defeated Italian Paolo Vidoz to become European Champion.

Former Olympic Games gold medalist Audley Harrison was scheduled to face Sosnowski at London’s Alexandra Palace on April 9.

However, Hearn confirmed that Harrison will still be in action against a European fighter on that date and a new opponent will be named shortly.

“The show on April 9th will go ahead as planned and Audley Harrison will now be fighting a new European opponent,” added Hearn.

“This opportunity for Albert shows just how close Audley is to realising his dream of fighting for a world title.”

Sosnowski, who is licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control, has defeated current British Champion Danny Williams and won 45 of 48 professional contests.

Harrison, 38, a former Olympic Games gold medalist, kept his professional career alive by winning Matchroom Sport’s Prizefighter Heavyweights 3 tournament in October.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

You don’t have to be the strongest guy in the world and your face doesn’t have to look like your 40 when you’re actually only 26. The beauty of boxing is that if you’re really talented you and you take care of yourself then you can have a great career in the toughest of all sports and never incur any real or serious injury. Floyd Mayweather Jr and Pernell Whitaker are going to be as sharp at 60 as stock brokers because neither guy has ever truly taken a beating. (Mayweather still has a chance but I wouldn’t count on it!) Those two fighters in particular are famous for making it look easy and whose styles have influenced a whole generation of boxers. One in particular is the slick somewhat under appreciated Paulie Malignaggi, the latest in long line of old school boxers who is genuinely viewed as a serious pain in the neck in and out of the ring. Managers and handlers don’t like to put their prospect in with fighters like Malignaggi because of the potential for their guy to look bad or even worse, inept. Its bad business across the board but the biggest concern relates to a fighters psyche. Exposing a young fighter too early could set a bad precedent that he spends his entire career trying to overcome. Part of building a prospect is creating the illusion that he’s great not only to the general public but to himself. To be truly successful a fighter has to have a certain mentality that disallows for any kind of self doubt. The old timers have a saying, “if you don’t think you can beat anybody then you can’t beat NO BODY!” Well, that’s true.

Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi is a confident fighter who could vault to the next level if he can beat rising star, Amir Khan from Great Britain on May 15th. If he can’t then he’ll fall into the category of trial horse which is the point of no return for most professional fighters. Once you get that label it usually sticks! Paulie Malignaggi is determined not to let that happen and so is his promoter, Mr. Lou Dibella who has had his challenges in getting opponents willing to test their guy against the slick Malignaggi.

Malignaggi is viewed as a high risk, low pay out opponent and with his recent handling of the “Baby Bull” Juan Diaz he’s become radioactive. One thing that Paulie has done recently that has kept his name circulating in the press is coming out on the side of the Mayweather’s in regards to this whole PED controversy. People have come down hard on Paulie for his opinion but I think this a very clever promotional ploy which ties his name to the biggest stars in the sport. It’s also creating a rivalry between him self and Freddie Roach trained fighters. Some may find it distasteful but the truth is Malignaggi is very clever for doing it. Do I agree with it? No, but I’m an outsider looking in. You can’t dispute that anytime you link your name with established stars its good for your career. Malignaggi has even gone so far as to voice his “concerns” about Amir Khan and PED use. A little guilt by association if you will. Whatever his motivation is his words have kept his name in the mix of this very public controversy and for a fighter who usually doesn’t “WOW” people with his performances you’ve got find some way to make people react to you. It might just be a savvy self promotional tactic. Whatever it is, it’s working.

He got the Khan fight partially due to Roach’s desire to straighten him out!

There’s a high entertainment value to Malignaggi’s out of ring persona and we need guys like that because boxing is driven by personalities. Boxing needs glitz and showmanship to balance out our abundance of blue collar guys. We need a certain percentage of fighters who are perceived as “loud mouths” because it drives fan interest and creates a desire to see that fighter humbled. Ali mastered this approach and set the stage for all the guys using their vocal skills just as much as their fighting skill to get your attention. CONTROVERSY!! People have to realize that fighters like Paulie Malignaggi play with your emotions for the express purposes of putting himself on your radar. You may not remember his fights but you remember he was the guy who said he too believed that Manny Pacquiao was using “something”. He’s one of those fighters that is not only concerned with winning, he’s also concerned about how he “looks” when he’s doing it. If for no other reason I will forever remember Paulie Maliginaggi as the only guy I’ve ever seen get a haircut (hair extensions) in a fight. It happened against Lovemore N’Dou in May of 2008. CLASSIC!! This kid is from outer space but I like it and understand what he’s really doing.

Paulie Malignaggi first hit my radar back in June of 2006 when his name came up as an opponent for Miguel Cotto. It was like he appeared out of nowhere and I certainly didn’t think he had a chance in hell of competing with Miguel Cotto especially at a time when Cotto was having 140 pounders for lunch. I took a quick look at his record which had all of 5 knockouts on it. FIVE KNOCKOUT’S? What!?! Against Cotto!?! I thought Cotto was going to get this kid to the ropes and perform a little open heart surgery on him. I was NOT looking forward to that fight but as usual I watched. To my major surprise it wasn’t a complete blow out and although Malignaggi took a beating he took it like a man. It was his first world class opponent on the biggest stage of his career and he showed that he had the one ingredient that is required for all successful boxers and that’s a certain belief in him self. A certain type of toughness and the ability to hang in and navigate his way through difficult situations especially when completely out gunned. Malignaggi never stopped trying to win even though he sustained substantial injuries. It was the first loss of his career but it was also probably his most impressive showing to that point. That fight gave him a name and it was clear that he would be around for at least some time to come.

Fast forward to 2010 and Maliginaggi is an ex-two-time world champion who is still looking for that opportunity to take center stage. His recent rematch with Juan Diaz was quite possibly his most impressive performance and he was totally dominant. This after a TERRIBLE first fight in Texas where we saw another scoring travesty! Maliginaggi in my opinion won that fight too albeit in far less dominant fashion but the judges amazingly gave it to the Baby Bull. What can you say? You know you’re watching professional boxing when 99 % of the people can see it one way but one of the guys that really matters see’s it completely different. Paulie Malignaggi voiced off before and after that fight that he was going to get robbed. And guess what? He got robbed! Yes, it still happens. Well, now that he’s avenged that loss Maliginaggi is ready for a new challenge which will come in the form of Golden Boy Promotions latest golden boy, Britain’s Amir Khan.

Khan won a silver medal for Great Britain in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens at the young age of 17! He is a projected star in this sport but for American fans he’s still relatively unknown. In terms of his current set up Khan couldn’t ask for more. He’s got a great team and looking to make a big splash in the U.S. in 2010. But, his handlers are being very careful of who they match him with. Frankly, they have concerns and for good reason. Amir Khan was on the express way to the big time until he ran into a little known fighter by the name of Breidis Prescott in September of 2008. At the time, Prescott was undefeated and sported a tremendous knockout percentage of 89.48%. In 19 fights he tallied 17 KO’s! “Against whom” you ask? People you never heard of but regardless his KO percentage should have at least dictated he be shown a little respect especially early in the fight. Well, it didn’t and apparently, Khan’s handlers at the time simply believed Amir’s skill would nullify Prescott’s power. Jorge Rubio, who was Khan’s trainer completely underestimated Prescott and completely over estimated Khan because his man was blasted out in 54 seconds and when I say he was “blasted out” I mean he was BLASTED OUT! Go home, close the blinds, don’t answer your phone “blasted out”! It started with a little counter left hook that caught Khan as he was throwing his own left hook to the body. Amir lowered his right hand while he leaned to his left to deliver that shot and Prescott landed what appeared to be a simple little counter punch but it really hurt Khan who wobbled and then instinctively tried to stay close to fire back. He was then nailed with a hard straight right hand followed by a solid well placed left hook that made it look like Khan was hit in the back of the head with a “Billy” club. To his credit his conditioning allowed him to get back on his feet but it was clear his legs weren’t steady. The referee looked like he wanted to stop it but when Khan followed his verbal command and placed his guard up it showed that he was at least somewhat aware of what was happening so he was allowed to continue. Prescott then moved in and finished the job. Khan was left in a heap in his own corner. It was a nightmare and one that will probably haunt Khan for a very long time.

Now, he’s got the “China Chin” tag and there’s a long line of guys waiting to have their cup of tea with him. Roach knows this and has been working very hard on Amir’s defensive skills but working even harder to make sure Khan doesn’t get matched against another hard hitting opponent. I don’t think anyone is going to fall through the cracks on Freddie’s watch so don’t expect Khan to sign to fight Marcos Maidana or Victor Ortiz fight or even Lamont Peterson anytime soon or least until he gets his sea legs back. In fact there is such concern over Khan’s weak chin that Golden Boy Promotions is rumored to be protecting him by using their HBO alliance to ensure certain fighters do not pursue a match with him AND if those fighters fall in line they’ll be rewarded with HBO coverage. I found that pretty interesting. That doesn’t sound like a promotional company fully confident in their new star. It sounds more like a promotional company protecting a hype job if I may be so blunt. This has been going around the bend so to speak amongst boxing insiders and it has been reported that Marcos Maidana is the one fighter Golden Boy Promotions DO NOT want Khan matched with. Khan’s last victim Dimitri Salita is another example of a fighter who looked good on paper but who didn’t have enough power to test Amir’s chin. Now, he’s got Malignaggi a decent boxer with the same 5 KO’s on his record that he had back when he fought Cotto. The matchmaking alone should tell you what his handlers think about Amir’s chin.

So, what do we got here? Paulie no matter how entertaining his antics are doesn’t have the physical talent of Khan not to mention Khan has a great size advantage at Jr Welter so what do you think is going to happen? But, more importantly at the end of the day what does a win over Malignaggi prove anyway? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

I guess we should expect things to go this way. Khan is just a baby by prospect terms and his disaster against Prescott a fighter who he himself has looked weaker and weaker since his upset win over Khan makes this probably the best course of action. If Prescott came back and was knocking people dead then Khan would be somewhat forgiven for his lapse but he hasn’t and Khan ISN’T!

Really all Amir has to do is keep winning against name opponents even if those names don’t strike the fear of God in anyone. Boxing is a strange business and sometimes the best remedy is time. Who knows what the landscape looks like in a year. The Maidana’s, the Ortiz’s, the Peterson’s of the world may not strike fear in anyone at that point either and Khan might just be able to pick up some of their damaged pieces.

In boxing things have a way of just coming around.

The truth is the best 140 pounder in the world today is Timothy Bradley and when Khan directs his career aspiration THROUGH the “Desert Storm” then we should start paying attention.

Until then don’t be fooled.

Right now it’s all hype!

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

Hatton is expected to make an announcement about his plans on retiring shortly. For fans of Hatton, this will come as a great disappointment, as they were counting on seeing Hatton fight again in 2010 against Juan Manuel Marquez or possibly Amir Khan. If Hatton does indeed hang up his gloves at this point in his career, it would be a sad way of going out with the loss to Pacquiao being his last fight of his career.

However, perhaps for most boxers they often end their career with a defeat. Hatton’s knockout loss to Pacquiao was a particularly bad one, because Hatton was knocked unconscious for a few minutes. Maybe it’s for the best that Hatton get out of boxing at this time before he gets seriously hurt.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

Speaking to Lem Satterfield at Fanhouse, Richard had the following to say:

“I talked, yesterday, with Juan Manuel Marquez.” said Schaefer.

“He called me from Mexico City. He’s going to be coming to my office next week, and we’ll be sitting down with Juan Manuel Marquez to try to put together his next fight,” said Schaefer.

“He really wants Ricky Hatton, and so I’ll be talking to Ricky’s people. And maybe both of those guys will do a fight, and then fight each other in the fall. That’s what Juan Manuel Marquez wants to do.

Ricky Hatton’s people indicated to me that they would love to have a Marquez fight, and Marquez confirmed to me, yesterday, that he would love to fight Ricky Hatton.”

Source; www.livefight.com

36-year-old German fighter Hans-Joerg Blasko entered the ring with a modest 9-3(6) pro record, and after two minutes and 14-seconds with 21-year-old Fury he had another defeat added to his stats; last night’s stoppage loss marking the fourth time the approx 245-pounder has been halted. Fury, who really could’ve done with a sterner test, improved to 10-0(8)..

For a minute or so, it actually looked as though the fight might turn out to be interesting. Looking in decent shape, Blasko managed to get home with a couple of right hands to the head, while he also let loose with a couple of left uppercuts. Fury, though, barely blinked and soon had the visitor in trouble courtesy of a right hand to the temple area. Hurt and wobbled, Blasko did well to stay upright. But not for long.

A left hand to the body caught the German and some cuffing shots to the head sent him down. Blasko got back up, but he was soon bundled over for a second time, at which point referee Steve Gray called a halt to the proceedings.

Afterwards, while being interviewed by Sky Sports, Fury admitted he had been caught with a couple of shots, saying he should not get hit at all by the type of opposition he was in with. In truth, it was almost impossible to see if or how much Fury has improved under the now five or so months he has had of new trainer Brian Hughes’ tutelage. Fury’s left jab looked stiff as usual, but other than that, the “fight” was over with so quickly it told us nothing.

Next up for the 6′7″ prospect is a return match with the only man to have severely tested him at pro level thus far; John McDermott. Finally, after what will have been eight months, the two will meet for a second time on May 22nd – in the BBBof C-ordered rematch of what was seen as one of the worst decisions of last year (in a British ring, anyway). Can Fury, who was given a wide points win last September, which many felt was undeserved, get the job done in style against “Big Bad John” this time around?

What is certain is the fact that no way will the former British heavyweight title challenger be bowled over as easily as Blasko was last night. May 22nd will see Fury’s second real test!

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

The event is being promoted by Gary Shaw Productions and Sauerland Event.

ARTHUR ABRAHAM

“This is a really big chance for me to be a big star in America. It’s what I’ve been looking for. I really feel that there is so much interest from America and from SHOWTIME and from the journalists in the Super Six. I’m just really happy to be here and this is a great chance for me.”

“I guess it will be a little bit of an advantage for him to fight in front of his home fans, but inside the ring we are all just by ourselves and you have to fight on your own, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

“I never really expect the KO. If you have that kind of attitude you don’t get it and you won’t win. All I’m expecting is a win for myself and that is the most important thing.

“My sparring partners copy Andre Dirrell’s style every day and they run away a lot. So, I’m prepared for that. If you compare Dirrell and (Jermain) Taylor they have different styles. Taylor is more a fighter and more aggressive while Dirrell is more of a technical guy who is very fast.”

On having to move his training camp from California back to Berlin:

“It’s not been a problem at all. It’s all about attitude. We had a very good time training in California. It was sunny. We had a good, hard training camp there. Now, we’re back in Germany and next headed to Detroit, so it shouldn’t be any problem at all. I’ve never really been bothered by the jet lag.

“It would have been nice to fight in Palm Springs because there would have been more Armenian fans than in Detroit, but, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is what happens inside the ring.

“The super middleweight division is so much better for me. I can eat more and I can punch harder and I can train harder.

“I’ve watched Andre’s fight against Froch several times now. He’s more of a technical fighter. That is what he does, so you have to be prepared for that. You have to pick your sparring partners to copy his style and that’s what we’ve done. We have a game plan and that’s what you will see once we step into the ring.”

Is there any added pressure fighting with an unbeaten record?

“There’s always pressure when I’m fighting because I always want to win.

“I expect him to be running a lot because that is his tactic. He will be running around. That’s what he likes to do. At times he will come to fight but it’s tough to say right now. We will see.”

ANDRE DIRRELL

“It’s unfortunate I hurt my back, but I’m 90 percent back and still pushing forward and getting everything ready with preparations for my victory over Arthur Abraham.

“Fighting at home is going to be a real confidence booster for me. I call it a do-or-die situation for me. I’m training harder than I ever did and even smarter than I ever did because I always train hard. I’m highly prepared for battle on the 27th.”

How did the back injury occur?

“I was sparring with one of my sparring partners and I turned and when I stepped to the side of him before I turned all the way to face him I took a punch across my body and that’s how I threw my back out.

“I’ve trained with many guys that fight like Arthur Abraham. He has awesome defense, he’s very explosive and has dangerous weapons he brings into the ring.”

On his last fight with Carl Froch:

“It was a championship fight. It was in his hometown. I had a game plan but it unfolded when he started using dirty tactics. But I’ve learned from that. Going into the late rounds my mind was kind of wondering if I could go 12 rounds. By the ninth round I figured 12 would be a cinch. And I finished strong. But as far as the holding went it wasn’t part of the game plan. I wasn’t meant to hold that much, but because of the dirty tactics, he threw me off my game plan. When I got on the inside I clenched a little too much, and so I’m working on that right now. I’m prepared for anything now. When Arthur Abraham steps into the opposite corner as me I’ll be ready to get busy and get this win.

“Winning is everything right now. I already have one loss and I can’t lose again or I’m out of the tournament. So, I’m coming off a loss and looking for that victory. I’m just working hard to get that victory and if the knockout comes it comes.

Is Abraham looking past you?

“I’ve heard a few comments in the media where he’s said Dirrell will be easy but hey, who’s to say. He’s says he’s going to go into the ring with a game plan and I believe that. And I’m going to do the same thing.

“This isn’t just big for Detroit or for Flint but for all of Michigan. Detroit is one of the legendary spots in boxing so that’s why I wanted to bring the fight there — to show the Detroit boxing fans that boxing is not dying. It’s coming here and it’s here to stay.

“Like I’ve said before you just can’t stand in front of Arthur Abraham. His power is right there in front of him and he’s got strong hooks. He’s very explosive. I’ve seen the Taylor fight and I saw Jermain stand in front of Arthur. That’s something that you just can’t do.

“The Froch fight put me in great position for where I currently stand mentally and physically. Froch was a tough fight. It was his hometown and for a world title and my first 12-rounder. So all that experience came into one and let’s me know where I stand in this boxing game. Not just in the Super Six but in the boxing game in general. Hopefully I’ll become world champion very soon.”

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

Ricky Hatton

Hatton, intending to fight again in the summer, beat the former IBF 140-pound ruler on an 11th-round retirement win back in November of 2008, and the skilled New Yorker told The Daily Star how that loss has bothered him ever since.. Claiming his then trainer, Buddy McGirt, was the real reason for the loss, due to how McGirt had drastically changed his style of fighting, the 29-year-old who is 27-3(5) admits he’s been unable to “swallow” the loss; the only stoppage loss of his pro career.

“My ultimate goal is to get Ricky [Hatton],” Malignaggi told The Daily Star. “The competitor in me will not allow me to swallow that loss. I feel after 30 fights that I have only lost to one fighter who is better than me, Miguel Cotto. Even though Ricky beat me I knew it wasn’t me.

“After I lost to Ricky they should have been looking at my corner and saying, ‘What a destruction trainer Buddy McGirt has done to Paulie Malignaggi in the two years he has had with him.’ Ricky should send a Christmas card to Buddy every year blessing him for the fact that he got to fight Manny Pacquiao and make that last payday.”

If it wasn’t for the fact that Malignaggi bounced back so impressively in those two fights with the tough Juan Diaz (winning both fights, yet, thanks to an acknowledged bad decision, only the return fight in December of last year officially) his complaints about the Hatton fight could be well and truly dismissed. But there WAS a major alteration in the slickster’s ring approach under the guide of McGirt. Maybe, just maybe, Malignaggi, having re-found his old style and approach, is on the verge of beating Khan and then landing and winning a return with Hatton. Sure, that would be some success story, but it could happen!

Although Malignaggi admits he very much has “The Hitman” on his mind, he is also not overlooking 23-year-old Khan in any way.

“I don’t want to overlook Amir, though,” he continued. “He has a lot of weapons at his disposal. Amir has a lot more talent and quality than Ricky, but I don’t see him beating me. Amir is fighting a much better Paulie Malignaggi than Ricky did in November 2008.”

Though Khan, the more powerful fighter of the two by a long way, will likely start favourite in May, Malignaggi, with his own speed along with his greater experience at top level, cannot be written off in any way. If “The Magic Man” can find a way to avoid and/or nullify Khan’s punching power and get into a groove that allows him to win the boxing match we almost certainly have in store for us on May 15th, the importance of the win could maybe make the returning Hatton want to risk a second fight with him.

Of course, all bets are off if he loses to Khan, but something tells me today’s version of Paul Malignaggi beats today’s version of Ricky Hatton.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

WBO

Tickets, starting at € 20, can be purchased online at www.eventim.de or by phone +49-1805- 57 00 70. The 12-round heavyweight world championship will be accessible exclusively live on pay per view right here on Primetime.

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO:

About Eddie Chambers
“Eddie Chambers is the best American heavyweight boxer right now. He is much stronger than David Haye. He is definitely the fastest heavyweight in the Top 10 of the ratings, therefore I will not underestimate him..”

About his preparation
“My preparation is going very well so far. I already have more than 80 rounds of sparring and am in very good shape. I will keep on training very hard in the next 2 weeks and will especially work on my speed.”

About the fight in the soccer stadium in Düsseldorf, Germany, in front of 51,000
people
“I am looking forward to fighting in a big arena again. I had this experience last year in Schalke in front of 61,000 spectators. The Esprit arena is fantastic, I attended a soccer game there recently and I can tell you the fans are also great. I cannot wait to step in the ring again.”

About future fights
“I do not think about future fights right now. I have a very hard and difficult fight before me and my full concentration is on beating Eddie Chambers.”

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

Winky Wright

Q: Winky, you were recently rumored to sign a deal with Top Rank. What happened with that?

A: We were just talking with Top Rank, seeing what kind of fights could they offer and what kind of things could they offer in the future. We were trying to work out a deal with Bob (Arum). We never really got that finished. We just sat down one quick second. He wanted to try to get me to the fight that I want, and I was given the opportunity and we can come to an understanding on I guess what we both wanted. We can work out the deal, but we never even got to that part of business yet because Bob’s been running around. He’s got (Manny) Pacquiao coming up on all of that so he’s got stuff he had to do and I told him that’s cool, finish your business and we’ll talk. So we haven’t even talked business yet..

Q: Other rumors that went along with that possibility of you signing with Top Rank revolved around a three fight plan that ultimately ended with you having a fight with Kelly Pavlik. That you haven’t worked out a deal or anything, I’m just curious, do you still have a similar plan like that and if so, what exactly is your plan?

A: Well that’s the plan. We definitely want this—Pavlik has the title. So we definitely want to try to fight whoever’s got the title. Pavlik’s got to fight (Sergio) Martinez, and if he wins then maybe that can happen, and if not, then we have to look other places but right now, because he does have the title, we are looking to try and do a deal where we fight—we get a deal where we get to fight Pavlik in a three fight deal. I don’t mind doing the deal with Bob if it’s right for everybody. If everything’s right for me and everything’s right for him, we both can prosper off this deal.

Q: When can fans expect to see you back inside the ring, Winky?

A: Man, I’m trying to get back in the ring as soon as possible. The problem is, trying to find the right person to get back in the ring with, trying to get in the ring and just get on TV and maybe if I can’t get on TV then I got to just fight off TV. So all of that kind of stuff is what’s holding a lot of things up. Hopefully, me and Bob can come up with something and if not, like I said, we’re still good friends with Golden Boy. There’s not bad blood there. It’s just that right now they couldn’t the fight that I want, and Bob got the fighters that I want so we’re just trying to make the best fight for me.

Q: When you fought Paul Williams, you were coming off a period of inactivity and a lot of observers noted you looked a little rusty.

A: Of course.

Q: Do you think if you had remained active going into your fight with Williams that you would have performed better and had more success?

A: Oh, most definitely! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not taking anything away from him. He fought a great fight, but like you said, I was off almost two years and he was fighting every other month, you know what I mean. So of course he was going to be sharper and plus, he’s just an awkward person to fight, but you know the time off and everything—definitely my timing was off. That was it, but like I said, I don’t take anything away from him. He came in and did what he had to do, but if I definitely was fighting more, it definitely would have been a different fight.

Q: Going back to ultimately wanting a fight with Pavlik for the middleweight title, how many fights do you think you’ll need to be ready for that?

A: I just want to get to two fights. I want to get a nice little fight to get back in. It’s still been almost a year coming up now—again. So, get a fight, get back and get the rust off and then get another fight with a tougher opponent, and then go in there and get Pavlik.

Q: Now Kelly Pavlik is slated to face Sergio Martinez. I’m curious, what are your thoughts on that fight?

A: I think that’s going to be a good fight. That was my first time seeing Martinez against Williams, and he looked great. You know, I thought he beat Williams. He’s real slick, elusive, a good counter puncher—it’s going to be a tough fight for Kelly Pavlik so Kelly’s got to go in there and see if he can win that fight before we can try to talk about a fight with me and him.

Q: Now Paul Williams is slated to have a fight on May 8. He doesn’t have an opponent scheduled yet, but rumors that I’ve heard have suggested he might face off against Kermit Cintron. I’m curious what your thoughts would be on that one?

A: Oh, that would be a good little fight. Both fighters are tall you know what I’m saying. Paul throws a lot shots, Kermit throws a little harder shots, but you just got to see the heart factor—who can hurt who. Paul throws a lot of punches. His best thing, he throws a lot of punches, is he’s tall and awkward but he’s fighting another guy that’s tall with him and this guy’s been fighting. You know, I’m taking nothing away from Paulie. He fought me at the right time and he got a win and I’m happy for him. I take nothing away from him.

Q: I know that you recently had a promotional event in New York City with Winky Wright Promotions. I’m wondering if you could tell us a little bit about how you first got involved in doing that?

A: We’ve had the promotional company, but every time we tried to do an event something always came up. Whenever I tried to do a Winky promotional event, something’s come up where we had to cancel it. Something happened with the fighters or we can’t get the fight going or something, but this time in New York everything went through and I want to thank the commission in New York for helping everything run so smoothly. They stayed on top of it and made sure we had everything in place and I definitely want to give them a big ups. Like I said, we just wanted to come out here and give everybody a good show and I think that everybody enjoyed the show. It was a great show, great fights, and I’m looking forward to coming back.

Q: That was dubbed as the “Knockout Fight Club” and the unique thing about that is that it mixes professional boxing bouts with live musical performances as I understand.

A: Yeah.

Q: That’s an interesting idea. How did that come about?

A: Well we wanted to do something different. I know a lot of music people and a lot of them love boxing. We just thought that we would try something different and do some boxing and some music and just give people a different type of entertainment instead of just a boxing match. We didn’t really get to do the entertainment this time because of things that happened, but it was a great show anyway.

Q: I just want to get your opinion on a couple of upcoming fights. Sugar Shane Mosley is fighting Floyd Mayweather Junior. I’m curious what you think on Shane’s chances in that one?

A: Oh, I think he’s got a very good chance. I think it’s going to be a great fight. You can’t bet against Mayweather. He’s undefeated, a great fighter, but I think Shane’s got tools that can deal with a lot of thing that Floyd does. I’m not saying that he’s going to win, I’m just saying that it should be a great fight. I’m not going to say that Floyd’s going to go in there and beat him. I think it’s a pick’em fight. Whoever comes out there and dictates their will on the other person and makes what they want to do work early is going to win the fight.

Q: Now another former opponent of yours, Bernard Hopkins, is slated to have his long awaited rematch with Roy Jones Junior and a lot of people are actually surprised that this one came to fruition because…

A: Roy got beat.

Q: Yeah. I’m curious, what are your thoughts on this one?

A: (laughs) Well, you know, Bernard’s a tough, tough crafty old vet and Roy’s an old vet, too, but still with a lot of talent and a lot of speed. It’s kind of hard to really just say who’s going to win. I think it’s going to be a good fight. I think Roy’s really going to have to come out and fight because Bernard’s going to try to test his chin because he ended up getting knocked out a few times. But if Roy fights like the old Roy and sticks and moves like we saw against Jeff Lacy, it could be a tough fight so it’s really hard to just say who’s going to win.

Q: How much longer do you envision yourself boxing for?

A: Not much longer. Not much longer, to tell you the truth. I just want to go out with a belt, so once I get the title and give whoever I beat the title from a chance to get it back then I’m going to be done.

Q: Do you have any major regrets in your career, and if so what are they?

A: No, I don’t have any. What’s about me I love that my career was done how I wanted to do it. I didn’t let anybody dictate what I do. Some people attribute this and stuff to other what other people did for me. The hard work I put in, and yes my team was there, but I’m saying as far as promoting and all those things like that—I did it my way. It was the hard way, but I did it my way and everything I got I earned, so I’m happy with my career.

Q: Winky, for my final question for you—is there anything else you’d like to say to all your fans out at East Side Boxing?

A: I just want to say thank you for always supporting me, man. Real boxing fans know real fighters so they support what they believe in and they always know Winky Wright always fights for what he believes in and he always came to fight and I appreciate your support.

Q: Great. Winky, thank you very much for the nice conversation and I wish you the best of luck.

A: Alright, yo!

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com