Hey G. Just watched the Winky Wright/Jermaine Taylor fight, live on hbo and then watched it again on tape. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. Dont get me wrong, it was a GREAT fight. But Winky should have pressed the action in the final round, as the belt was HIS for the taking. Wright complained that because they were in Taylor's hometown, that he was the victim of a faulty decision. Please ... my point is Winky KNEW ever since signing the contract exactly where the  fight was taking place. Am I wrong? PLUS he already had that negative experience with Vargas, right?  So why NOT press the action in the last round to make shit crystal clear to everyone? This leads to my final point, G, regarding scoring. Taylor, in my estimation had great difficulty penetrating Winky's defenses, and most of his punches landed on Winky's ARMS. So the question is, when punches hit the defensively positioned arms of the opponent, do those blows count as points? Yes or No. Because if they do NOT count, then clearly Winky won that fight. And yes, despite his disappointment in the decision, Wink should fight a rematch! Peace/Blessings Bionic Soy 

Leon's Response: I gave JT the last round and still had Winky winning seven of the first eleven rounds on my scorecard, but the bottom line is it was a great fight that warrants a rematch as quickly as possible. Taylor's next fight will be a homecoming showcase, but after that HBO needs to step up to the plate for the rematch the same way they stepped up to make sure the first fight took place on HBO WCB. Maybe I'm tripping, but in my opinion Taylor-Wright is definitely the most exciting middleweight championship fight I've seen in the last ten years. In a fight like Taylor-Wright where both guys were throwing a lot of shots the ones that land on the arms shouldn't count as points. But if you look at a fight like say Taylor-Hopkins (either one of them) where there isn't much action, the fight winds up getting scored on energy level intensity and punch output, not necessary clean punches landed.
 

What's up G? I had money on Taylor and going into the 12th round I felt he needed to win the 12th just for me to keep my money and his titles. I would like to thank Winky for taking round 12 off and biased aside I thought the fight was a draw. I do not think Winky was robbed like the Vargas fight and he should fight Jermain again....I believe after he cools off he will rethink what he said and fight Jermain a second time. This is the 3rd fight in a row my man Bad Intentions looked shaky. Hey G do Jermain know how to block he was carrying his left way to low and allowed Winky to back him in the corner consistently. Maybe a few months with Emmanuel will do him some good because a few weeks with him Jermain stilled looked like an amateur out there.Earl from Pittsburgh

Leon's Response: I feel that Winky won seven of the first eleven but the nonchalance in which he fought the twelfth round was a mistake. He should have looked to put more of a stamp on his win rather than leave in the hands of the judges. Winky fought the first eleven rounds of that fight the way EVERY challenger looking to take the champions straps should and I believe he should have gotten the nod. Taylor has established himself as a world class fighter whether you feel he went 3-0 or 0-3 in his last three fights. The fact of the matter is, each of the fights were close and could have gone either way. You don't compete with fighters like Wright and Hopkins the way JT has unless you're on their level.


Dude, I know it's not Taylor's fault for the decisions, but I am starting to hate this guy like I used to hate Oscar. This dude has gotten three bullsh*t decisions. HBO is grooming this guy for a star, and I just can't stand it. Yes he's a nice kid. Yes he has tremendous athletic ability. But his career is being hand picked for him. Sooner or later, Karma is bastard and he'll get his. You can't help but think, what his career he would have been without the HBO cheerleaders. Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley, cheer this guy worse than they do Oscar! I hope Taylor realizes, if another honey pot comes by for HBO, they'll forget about Taylor and he won't get the benefit of the doubt. I had it 116 112 for Wright. This is just ridiculous! Sorry for venting Greg, - Boxingtalk still number 1!

Leon's Response: It's not Taylor's fault for the decisions and it's not his fault that Jim Lampley has the biggest set of JT pom-poms on the market. HBO's grooming of Taylor ended when they matched him with Bernard Hopkins from that point on he had to prove himself and his last 36 rounds speak for themselves. Didn't see much of a difference with Manny in the corner, but I've said it's going to take longer than one camp for them to fully gel. Ben Thompson scored it 116-112 Wright. In Memphis, Brad Cooney and I scored it 115-113 for Wright, Jeff Young scored it for Taylor and Michael Doss, who predicted a draw coming in, scored it a draw.


What up G-man! Another excellent night of boxing! I gave the fight to Taylor 115-113! I could see it either way 115-113, I definitely accept the draw (don't really have a choice do I).....I can't agree w/ Wright feeling he totally won & wouldn't be open to a rematch (which I think Taylor would win), it was a great close fight that I know everyone would be willing to watch & wanting to watch...shoot I'd shell out $49.95 for it! How'd u feel about the fight & the decision? Let me know homie....GOD BLESS!.....your boy...Praise Him!

Leon's Response: There were so many rounds that could have gone either way depending on your preference that it became one of those 115-113 either way or draw fights. Think of the four scoring criteria and I can feel Wright's pain. Clean punching: Edge Wright. Effective Aggressiveness: Edge Wright Ring Generalship: Even...only because Taylor was able to score while retreating and in the middle of the ring and last but not least defense, which obviously the edge again goes to Wright. WHEN the rematch happens you're definitely going to have to shell out the $50 if you want to watch it live.


Whats up man, I just have to say, this whole sanctioning fee nonsense is getting ridiculous.  First Baldomir is not rightfully given his IBF belt because he didnt pay the fees and now Wright and Taylor are being forced to pay these ridulously high fees. In my opinion no fighter should have to pay those stupid sanctioning fees.  Forget that. Its like the winner of the world cup not being recognized by the FIFA Organization because they didnt pay the sanctioning fees for the cup, it's ridiculous.  Stupid, annoying and horrible for boxing.  How can you not make the Taylor/Wright fight not a title fight?  The two BEST fighters in the division fighting should be for something. Here is what I propose.  No champion should ever pay the sanctioning fees for any of these alphabet organizations.  Let the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO strip you and all your left with is one belt, one REAL belt.  These fake businesses which just send boxers into worst misfortune due to money issues would hopefully fade into non existance once and for all. Peace. -Nick.

Leon's Response: Baldomir didn't pay the fees because he couldn't afford to. Comparing boxing to any sport with organized supervision is ridiculous if you ask me. Boxingtalkers should know that I'm no fan of any of the major alpabet boys but that doesn't mean their titles haven't helped thousands of fighters enter new tax brackets. Once a fighter reaches a certain level like Taylor and Wright have the sanctioning bodies should be more flexible with their fees since it's better to have a fraction of what they'd normally ask for than 100% of nothing. On top of that all that winds up happening is less deserving contenders become 'champions'. Of course real boxing fans are smart enough that we don't need the alphabet boys, a magazine or website to tell us who the champions are.

M

Send questions and comments to: gleon@boxingtalk.com