Taylor-Wright: Might equals right or might Wright equal might?

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By Chris Ackerman, BRC, (June 14, 2006)
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Photo © HBO
Continuing with what has already been a pretty solid year in terms of quality match-ups in the sport of boxing, two more standouts will have their showdown this Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee. Undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor puts the gold on the line against former light-middleweight champ and pound-for-pound sensation Ronald “Winky” Wright in an eagerly awaited fight between two men out to cement their claim.

Challenger Winky Wright has quietly and subtlely handled his business throughout his career, and since dropping a close and contested decision to a pre- Felix Fernando Vargas in 1999, has gone undefeated. Posting two wins over Shane Mosley before humiliating Trinidad in a shocking and embarrassing rout, Wright has positioned himself as one of the premier tacticians in the entire sport. His record stands at 50 wins against just 3 defeats with 25 of those wins coming by way of knockout. A 50% kayo ratio is not to be disregarded, but what most be noted is that he has stopped only 4 opponents in the past 10 years. Clearly, power is not the main weapon in the Wright’s arsenal. Rather, it is his lockdown defense and superb counter-punching.

Jermain Taylor is a magnificent athlete and undefeated fighter who hoisted the championship belts from the legendary Bernard Hopkins nearly one year ago, and defended them in a rematch on December 3. Both 12 round decisions were close and both remain hotly debated among fans and journalists alike. Regardless of the judges cards, the fact remains that he at least stayed close with a bona fide first ballot hall of fame middleweight champion, and the man who so thoroughly dominated the top light heavyweight in the world this past weekend. That should be impressive enough to warrant offering some respect, and not dismissing his chances against Wright as quickly as some have. Taylor comes in to Saturday night with 25 up and 17 knockouts. Critics cite him for having feasted on smaller men throughout most of his boxing career, and for having amateurish skills which force him to get by on pure athleticism.

In spite of the relative technical deficiencies, at the time of writing, the odds-makers had this one nearly even. What then can we expect to see when all the talking is done and they square off for middleweight supremacy. It is virtually impossible to break this fight down without resorting to droll and trite puns, and no doubt Larry Merchant is already making a list…I have no choice but to steal his thunder.

Discussing Wright’s peek-a-boo defense is germane to the subject of whether Jermain can win. Winky rose to prominence almost exclusively off the brilliant performance he gave against Felix “Tito” Trinidad. That win prompted me to recap the fight in a piece I dubbed “Winky the Great” (http://www.braggingrightscorner.com/...nky091105.html) in which I offered a top ten list of why things unfolded as they did. On display, and the major key to victory was the defensive shell behind which he locks himself down. Incoming fire simply cannot penetrate the arms and gloves, yet Winky can see and time the counters. If Taylor is lured into range of that jab it’s big points trouble for him and a long night.


Against a great fighter in Wright, Tito was extremely one-dimensional and never made the slightest adjustment from a style that proved hopelessly ineffectual from the opening bell. Against a great fighter in Hopkins, Jermain Taylor looked very one-dimensional and rarely deviated from the predictable one-two combination that he fired from range. Aside from their historic significance, or shock value, all three were somewhat boring fights and we might be in for more of the same. The major difference between Tito’s approach and Taylor’s is the distance from which the two men engage. Trinidad was well within range of Wright’s jab when lofting his own, whereas Taylor shoots from farther away and may not eat a counter each time because of that. Styles make fights, and if these two adopt and stick to what they are known best for we could see 12 rounds of single digits connect percentage. Jermain will lose if he plays right into Wright’s right jab.

So is Taylor a write off? He might have bad intentions but he will need the right moves to beat Wright. Enter Emmanuel Steward. The bigger man now has a trainer of enormous ability to fine-tune the skills that have already gained him the middleweight crown. Some observers had noted that Taylor’s abilities in the ring had gone as far as his coach’s knowledge of the sport could take them, and as though having heard that they found someone to craft his game for the next level. Just how effective a new trainer can be in the few months he has to work remains to be seen. There is the possibility of it having the negative effect of confusing Taylor in terms of knowing exactly who he is and which knowledge to employ when the heat is on. However, I have to believe that Steward’s addition to the team is all positive, and that he can tailor the right strategy for Taylor to beat Wright.

I am somewhat on the fence about making a prediction in this one. It comes down to, not whether Wright can beat Taylor, but whether Taylor can beat Wright. Everyone knows what Winky is going to do, he is going to cover up, block and counter. The question is whether Jermain Taylor can come up with a way of penetrating that defense and do so often enough to be effective both in scoring and in punishment…without dropping round after round in the process.

Drum roll, please… I am going with Jermain to win a 12 round decision, but it's not without some hesitation. I have stated above that Jermain Taylor is the bigger man. Most figured Felix was bigger and stronger than Wright too, but as that fight commenced it was clearly not the case as Winky had put on solid size and was not bullied or pressed in the least. However, in this case Taylor clearly has the size advantage and he will have to take advantage of that fact if he hopes to circumvent the best defense in the business. This is where the catch-22 comes into play: to impose his physicality he is going to have to get within range of Winky’s counters. The fact as I see it is that Jermain Taylor cannot win this fight by trying to potshot from range. Therefore he is going to have to get close and that means Wright will have the opportunity to do what he does best.

One-dimensional fighters are tailor made for Wright and if all Taylor does is the ol’ one-two, he’s sunk. Manny Steward knows this and will have provided his charge with the tools and confidence to diversify his portfolio. In round seven of Taylor-Hopkins II, Jermain remembered he had a left hand that could be used for something other than the jab. That should be lesson number one coming from Steward, and there is a basement target that is worth exploring. Felix Trinidad didn’t throw a single lead right hand against Wright, Taylor had better consider it an option. It all looks great on paper, but Winky is no slouch. Jermain might be well-advised to try roughing things up a bit and although it’s not his style, impose that size, use the shoulders and power to move Winky around and throw his balance off.

I have a feeling Taylor will show more diversity than we’ve seen from him in the past. Uppercuts, hooks up and down…whatever it takes as long as he mixes up the attack his chances improve dramatically. If he slinks back to the amateurish style we’ve seen, he’ll lose and look foolish in the process. Physicality isn’t enough to beat a fighter as solid, patient and defensive minded as Wright, but it would provide opportunities and in concert with the other avenues of attack might just be the right blueprint to have Wright left right back..