Why Trinidad-Wright? I’d Rather see Trinidad-Sturm and Wright-Ouma
by
Jason Peck
4/5 - When Oscar de la Hoya stepped into the ring against Felix Sturm last June, the only thing on his mind was the mega-fight with Bernard Hopkins that would follow his speedy crushing of this greenhorn from Germany. Instead he was smacked around the ring for 12-rounds by Sturm and his iron jab before winning one of the most questionable decisions in recent memory.
Sturm’s dominating performance earned him quite a few American fans that night, but it didn’t earn him quite enough respect. A lot of names have surfaced as heirs to the middleweight throne after Hopkins retires, and Sturm’s is rarely mentioned. The moment nearly arrived a few months ago when a tentative date was set for a bout between Sturm and former middleweight champ Felix Trinidad as part of the Puerto Rican’s comeback tour.
That fight has fallen through; instead we have to look forward to a fight between Trinidad and junior middleweight champion Winky Wright while Sturm contents himself with demolishing opposition abroad. I am, to say the least, disappointed.
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Meanwhile, Kassim Ouma decisioned Verno Philips and snatched the IBF junior middleweight title that Wright vacated when he opted for another fight with Shane Mosley. Along with Wright and WBO champion Daniel Santos, Ouma now stands as one of three champions in an increasingly competitive division. Since winning his title from Verno Philips, Ouma has subsequently proved he’s no joke. In his last outing he defended his title against the veteran Kofi Jantuah and schooled him thoroughly, scoring a unanimous decision.
Ouma’s next fight is against Shannon Taylor, another road warrior with a record of 42 and 3 with 28 knockouts. No doubt Ouma will win; already he stands poised to be a serious middleweight contender. A match with Wright ought to be in the works, but that’s not happening anytime soon. Wright’s fighting Trinidad. But come to think of it, why?
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This fight between Winky Wright and Felix Trinidad stinks to high heaven. Wright doesn’t have the tools to beat Trinidad, and however respectable of a fighter he is, Wright’s record as junior middleweight champ ought to be extended a bit further before we welcome into our hearts (and pound for pound rankings). In the meantime, this fight is just preventing better fights from happening.
I’ll give Wright this; he’s a strong, capable fighter with determination and a respectable fight record. He ought to be commended for how far he’s come. But before his back-to-back victories over Shane Mosley he was only regarded as another fish in an ocean filled with 154 guppies, with a world title and a boxing nickname so lacking in animal ferocity it undoubtedly lessened his image as a fighter.
The boxing press will tell you that Wright beat Mosley with his jab and superior boxing skills, but the simple truth of it is that Wright beat Mosley for no other reason than the fact that Wright was naturally built for his weight class. Mosley was not. He was nearly 20 pounds outside of his best division, and had bloated himself from extraordinary to capable. His only win at 154 pounds was a victory over Oscar de la Hoya, who had a similar problem with fighting outside of his weight class. Unless Mosley makes some significant weight loss, his career is in jeopardy.
But those wins made Wright the first undisputed junior-middleweight champion in history. Now let’s watch him keep it. He should take his IBF title back from Kassim Ouma.
Trinidad lost to Bernard Hopkins, and his reputation is still somewhat sullied. He ought to prove his status in the middleweight division by fighting Felix Sturm.
Allow me to explain. The case for Wright-Ouma is obvious. In fighting Mosley again Wright proved very little; the first outing was dominant enough to remove all doubt that Wright’s victory was a fluke. A better way for proving himself would have been repeated dominance over his division by maintaining his undisputed status. And of he still wanted to move to middleweight, it would have made more sense as well to add to his stock before asserting himself 6 pounds heavier. And for all his talent, Kassim Ouma would be a winnable fight.
And Trinidad would have found a challenging adversary in Felix Sturm. When Trinidad fought Mayorga he fought someone with more popularity but less ability at middleweight. Mayorga swung his arms with high power and low punch output that left him open to major shots; by contrast Sturm relies on a high punch output. Mayorga relied on his chin to take hits rather than avoid them; Sturm is a more defensive fighter who stays behind one of boxing’s better jabs. Mayorga was a natural welterweight who made the jump to middleweight in two fights; Sturm’s body is suited for no other division than middleweight.
When you break it down, Sturm sounds a lot like Bernard Hopkins, doesn’t he? And Sturm has discovered some power as well, recently knocking of Bert Schenk in a mere two rounds. I would give him a fighting chance against Trinidad any day of the week.
For now Trinidad-Wright sounds like it was made haphazardly by a glance at the pound-for-pound rankings, which have come to be a popularity contest rather than a exacting measure. So how about this? If these guys really want to fight, then they take on their natural competition. Then we can talk business?
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Agree or disagree? Comments can be emailed to jpeck@talkingboxing.com
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