Winky Wright got a much tougher fight that almost anyone outside of Australia expected as the man from Down Under, Sam "King" Soliman, tried to smother the former light middle kingpin with a high volume attack that saw him average over one hundred punches a round. Soliman's output dwarfed that of Wright's but the Florida based Winky proved very difficult to hit, leaving the Aussie's efforts striking either air or glove rather than the intended flesh and bone. Soliman did have his moments however but the greater degree of accuracy from the American southpaw proved to be the deciding factor in the judges awarding Wright the decision on margins of anywhere from two to seven rounds. With the victory, Wright wins the IBF Middleweight eliminator by defeating the number one contender, Soliman.

The highly competitive nature of the bout may put cold water on Wright's plans to face Champion Jermain Taylor for the WBA, WBC and WBO Middleweight titles as Taylor's promoter Lou DiBella was reportedly less than thrilled with prospects of his man meeting the Floridian, possibly envisioning lukewarm ticket sales and moderate television interest from such a pairing at this time.

One thing that could bring interest back would be the likely meeting between just crowned IBF Champion Arthur Abraham and the now number once challenger Wright. With Abraham's fifth round shellacking of fast rising contender Kingsley Ikeke earlier this evening coming hot on the heels of the German based fighter's handling of European Champion and two time world title challenger Howard Eastman, Winky Wright may find the very strong Abraham a worthy but very dangerous opponent.

For now, Winky Wright has once again proven his courage and skill and remains the number one threat to the reign of Jermain Taylor. If all goes well for the experienced southpaw, we may yet see him share the ring with Taylor in 2006.

Click to read more boxing articles by Curtis McCormick

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