Wright still chasing respect, love in fight against Hopkins

LAS VEGAS - Winky Wright says he has never really been hurt or even stunned in a boxing ring - unless you count that triangle-shaped bruise beneath his left eye from sparring last week.

Yet when Wright hears that his fight with Bernard Hopkins on Saturday represents much of what fans have grown to dislike about boxing, it's enough to send this dominant puncher scrambling into a defensive crouch.

"Somebody has got to explain to me how this can be a boring fight," says Wright, who will move up to 170 pounds for the first time in his career to take on the unretired Executioner.

"Whenever I fight, whoever I fight, it's an exciting fight. You can't take your eyes off me, man, not for a second. I punch. I hurt people. I go all-out."

In a windowless room deep inside the Mandalay Bay casino, Wright's eyes bulge and his words tumble out in bursts. He takes the pre-emptive criticisms of his latest fight personally, unable to understand why so many people perceive him as a defensive, safety-first boxer who's unwilling and unable to please them.

"They say I'm a defensive fighter, but I'm throwing 80, 90 punches a round," he says. "Why am I not offensive then? All people talk about is my defense, but it's just because my defense is that good."

His words carry a slight tinge of desperation, and a bigger element of frustration. After a stellar 51-3-1 career, several titles and millions in earnings, Wright has everything - except the respect and love that only goes to his sport's greatest brawlers or its most courageous veterans, such as the 42-year-old Hopkins.

"I believe Winky Wright doesn't lack talent, but nobody cares about his style," says Hopkins, who also has been criticized for being a passive tactician. "He wasn't exciting. It's not fair to Winky, but that's how it is. Winky had to go overseas because nobody cared here. Some of it is also his personality, because I think most people would rather talk to me."

Yet Wright's resumé is sparkling, his talent unquestioned. The 35-year-old boxer has taken the long road to respect in two weight classes, fighting contenders from Luxembourg to South Africa before finally getting elite paydays after beating Sugar Shane Mosley twice in 2004.

But two lengthy streaks underline everything that's good and bad about Wright to the paying public. He hasn't lost since 1999, enduring only one sketchy draw with Jermain Taylor last year - but Wright hasn't knocked out an opponent in nine straight fights since February 2002, either.

Wright still doesn't consider himself as boring, and he even shares fight fans' concerns about dull decisions in the sport. He understands why many were dissatisfied with Oscar De La Hoya's split-decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May, saying, "I didn't see no excitement in that."

Wright also isn't shy about labeling Hopkins' dramatic upset victory over Antonio Tarver last year: "He acted like he won a war. That was the boringest fight I've ever seen."

To gain 10 pounds before facing Hopkins, Wright hired a strength coach and a former NFL player to supervise his weight training. Dan Birmingham, Wright's trainer throughout his career, says the added bulk has ruined Winky's golf game, but kept him focused on the new task.

Wright put in three months of hard training, even getting a bit beaten up during his last sparring session of camp. He also says he kept his focus during a weekend trip back home to St. Petersburg, Fla., 10 days ago for the birth of his third child, a son named Ryan.

But Wright is fed up with the criticism of his latest fight before he has even touched gloves with Hopkins. He took the stage for less than a minute at the pre-fight news conference Thursday.

"I'm not going to try to sell the fight," Wright said. "All the people that believe it's going to be a running match, all about defense - you can't win a fight just with defense. I'm coming to fight."

Later, with most reporters huddling around the ebullient Hopkins, Wright touched the bruise above his eye.

"Everybody was saying I should put makeup on it," Wright said. "I wouldn't do that. Let the fans see it. It just shows that if you're coming to fight, you're coming to fight."