GL: When will there be an official announcement for your fight with Bernard Hopkins? "I guess there's going to be an announcement pretty soon. Golden Boy (Promotions) got the whole thing going on with Floyd (Mayweather Jr) and (Oscar) De La Hoya, so we're going to catch some of that press and announce the fight at the right time. It's on and popping boy, we're going to do this like the old days, like Ray Leonard-Hagler. Hagler-Hearns, we're bringing it back."

GL: It sounds like there's certainly going to be a press conference during the fight week of Mayweather and De La Hoya to take advantage of the whole world of press being there."

Winky Wright: "There should be and we're going to find out exactly. JT says he's bringing sexy back and we're bringing the fight game back."

GL: The last time I saw you we spoke briefly after the Barrera fight and it looked to me like you're going to have no problem coming DOWN to 170.

WW: "I'll have no problem at all coming down to 170. I definitely put on a little weight to get the body acclimated to the division, but it's not nothing too heavy. I haven't been doing nothing. I'm about 185 right now so that's nothing. It won't be no problem taking that off."

GL: When I saw Bernard he looked like he was ready to fight tomorrow if he had to.

WW: "That's Bernard and that's how he do. However Bernard does he thing, that's him. I've got to do what works for Winky. When the time comes and we step in that square we're going to see what happened."

GL: I did a nice extensive interview with Bernard the last time I was in Vegas. He refreshed our memories by saying he was going turtle hunting on July 21. The turtle is impossible to hit with his neck in the shell, his job is to convince the turtle it's safe enough for him to stick his head out so he can make turtle soup.

WW: "He definitely will have no problem thinking that it's okay for me to stick my head out. He ain't doing nothing, he just better ready to do what he has to do when I do stick my head out."

GL: What does becoming the best light heavyweight in the world mean to you?

WW: "It doesn't mean much and I ain't worried about that, that's going to come with this whooping I'm going to give him. My thing is, I want to fight all of the best fighters of my era. When they start talking about me, I want them to know that I've fought the Mosley's the Trinidad's the Hopkins, all of them. And they're going to be able to say Winky Wright beat all of them. I'm not a light heavyweight, this is a fight to show people I do what I gotta do to fight the best."

GL: After this fight will you return to 160?

WW: "Definitely, definitely. I'm not going to be fighting at 170."

GL: What if a fight with Calzaghe or Kessler could happen?

WW: "If the money was right we could make it happen at 168."

GL: Bernard Hopkins has been explaining what he plans on doing come July 21. Tell us what you're going to do to beat this man.

WW: "I'm going to do everything I usually do and more. Just watch it, I want the fans to be tuned and just wonder how I'm going to dominate somebody who hasn't been dominated since Roy Jones Jr, and I'm going to show them how to do it."

GL:  Do you really think Roy dominated him?

WW: "That's the last time he got beat and Roy did what he had to do to win. When I fight him ain't going to be no mistakes."

GL: "Bernard also said that you can expect to hit more in this fight than you have in your entire career. Do you hope he comes in with that mentality? Because if that's how he really that means he's going to be letting his hands go more than he usually does.

WW: "He's going to have to throw more punches than he's ever thrown in his life and he don't throw a lot of punches so that ain't going to work. I'm glad he's enthused and this whole fight is about giving the people the best against the best. EVeryone knows I always come to fight, he says he's coming to fight so let's do it."

GL: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

WW: "Don't blink on the Wink, I'm always there and on July 21 Hopkins is getting whooped."

M

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