Winky Wright Bails on April PPV, Matthew Macklin Needs Opponent

by Scott Christ on Mar 4, 2011 6:43 PM EST in Boxing News Analysis

Matthew Macklin will need a new opponent if he's to keep his April 9 fight date. Winky Wright pulled out of the scheduled bout with a hand injury. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reports this evening on the mother of all non-surprises, at least as pertains to the current boxing schedule. Winky Wright has pulled out of his April 9 PPV fight with Matthew Macklin, leaving the Englishman without an opponent with barely a month to go before the fight.

Wright, 39, injured his hand sparring with Keith Thurman:

"My hand swelled up a little bit. I went to get it checked out [on Friday]. It ain't fractured, but it's pretty sore and swollen and the doctor said wait about a week and then we'll see. But I'm near the end of my career. I can't go into the fight not at 100 percent. I can't be going in there with a hurt hand and half-trained. I want to go in there and show people I can be a champion and look good. If I lose a week, that's a problem. So I figured let's call it now and at least give Golden Boy a chance to get another fight."

Wright (51-5-1, 25 KO) hasn't fought since April 2009, and before that hadn't fought since a July 2007 loss to Bernard Hopkins, then reigning as light heavyweight champion. Wright's 2009 bout was back at middleweight against Paul Williams, and was a lopsided loss to a younger, far more energetic man. The famed Winky Wright defense seemed loosened, and he couldn't get off any counter opportunities against the busy Williams. I have long been a Winky Wright fan, but given his lack of activity and the fact that he was shut out in his last fight, he might be closer to the end of his career than even he thinks at this point. You just can't consider Wright an active fighter anymore.

As for Macklin (28-2, 19 KO), it's a big blow. At 28, he's as ready as he's going to get for a step up to the world stage at 160 pounds. He's been successful domestically in the UK and at European level, and Wright presented a good opportunity to get a big win over someone with some name value, which is sorely lacking in the middleweight division. There's no word on a potential replacement opponent, and it also marks the second time in three fights that Macklin's opponent has pulled out late. Last September, Macklin was set to fight Darren Barker, who canceled and left Macklin facing Shalva Jormadashvili.

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Winky pulled out of two fights before his showdown with Williams, one in like august of 2008, and one in december of 2008 agst some Munoz guy. Guy has no hunger man, having fought 2 times in 4 years, his third canceled fight in the last two years, I was thinking the other day…man.. is this guy underrated… he beat Trinidad like it was easy and beat Mosley twice like it was easy, and gave Hopkins sort of a tough fight. Hopkins beat Trinidad and De La Hoya, but Mosley twice and Trinidad seem more impressive. I think it’s time we write it off as another “Staph” infection… I am and was a fan, he said after the Williams fight he was not done, but no fight in 2009, none in 2010, and a canceled fight in 2011, and he’s comparing himself to Martinez. Please….. and… shouldn’t have ever turned down 40/60 to fight Good Intentions … it coulda been him exposing King Arthur at the Super Six, and Pavlik twice… oh well… so long Winky, you had a glorious, if not underappreciated career. Your head was too big for your drawing power, your defense was tight (best modern day peek a boo artist i can think of, with penalosa, tarver, and glen johnson falling shortly behind) and you were strong when you were hungry. Adieu. You almost gave me some hope with your return bout, but you turning forty, and that ain’t purty. Pc!

"According to all the laws of aerodynamics the bumble-bee should not fly, but the bumble-bee does not know this and so flies anyway."

by cylee1180 on Mar 4, 2011 11:32 PM EST reply actions

This is really bad news for Macklin.

Unless Golden Boy can get him a fight with Dmitry Pirog – or, for the heck of it, puts him in there with Danny Jacobs – I’m not sure what good there is in Macklin being based full-time in the States. He won’t have a fan base – surely the Irish community isn’t going to come out for a bloke from Birmingham? – and I don’t know how Golden Boy plan on getting him a TV date.

"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."

by Oli Goldstein on Mar 5, 2011 1:38 PM EST reply actions