Sunday, June 21, 2009

Can Wright Add Star Power to Mayweather vs. Marquez?

Now that Mayweather's July 18th return against Juan Manuel Marquez has been postponed, it appears that Golden Boy Promotions may be using the opportunity to stack the card with another big name to bolster interest in the event. According to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, former jr. middleweight champion Winky Wright is hoping to land a spot on the undercard.

Apparently, Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez is looking to pit Wright against middleweight contender Enrique Ornelas (28-5, 18KOs), who's coming off a split decision loss last October to former title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio. Wright himself is also coming off a unanimous decision loss to Paul Williams in a bout in which he lost virtually every round. Given that it had been nearly 21 months prior to that fight since Wright last fought, he's eager to get back into the ring to avoid another lengthy layoff.

"It's a definite possibility. I'll be glad to fight that guy and hope to do that fight, but we don't have nothing signed in ink. But I'll be glad to get right back and show everybody it's not over...We just gotta wait for Golden Boy to come back, and we can get it done. I'm ready to get back in the ring. I'll just be glad to get back and show the fans I'm still here," Wright revealed to Rafael.

It's extremely rare to get a pay-per-view card featuring more than one marquee name. One might think that the addition of Wright to an undercard that already features former welterweight champion Zab Judah is nearly impossible, but Wright is confident that money won't be an issue. "If this fight doesn't happen, trust me, it is not going to be because of the money," he reiterated. If that's the case and Wright is indeed added to the card, the now postponed clash between Mayweather and Marquez just became much more attractive as it harkens back to a time when promoters were more interested in putting together good cards as opposed to just big names headlining a main event.

Source: fighthype.com