Ronald Lamont Wright, also known as ‘Winky’ Wright, was one of the top boxers during his career. Wright accomplished a lot throughout his career and made a name for himself.

During his career, Wright made appearances in movies and music videos. Now that his career is over, Wright does not have to prove himself to anyone, and he’ll always be remembered as one of the greats.

Winky Wright had success boxing overseas early in his career

Wright began his professional boxing career in 1990. He started his career boxing overseas. The southpaw was fighting in different countries like Luxemburg, France, Germany, and Argentina, to name a few. There was a stretch during his career where he fought 20 of 24 fights away from the United States. Wright got his first title shot in 1994 against WBA light-middleweight champion Julio Cesar Vasquez. Going into the fight, Wright was 25-0 and had not fought in a match that went past eight rounds. Wright displayed inexperience during that fight as he lost in a unanimous decision.

After losing his first fight, Wright quickly bounced back and won the vacant NABF light0middleweight title in 1995. Wright continued to fight overseas, where the success continued for the young boxer. In 1996 he returned to the U.S. and defeated Bronco McKart to win the WBO light-middleweight title. Wright continued to retain his title as he returned overseas for the next few years. In August of 1998, he lost his world title in South Africa and Harry Simon.

In 1999, he moved back to the U.S. full-time because he was tired of all the traveling that he was doing overseas. He fought Fernando Vargas in 1999 for the IBF light middleweight title and lost in a controversial decision. Throughout his career, Wright’s opponents had a lot of respect for him. He was very skilled and could beat you in many ways. Wright also was an expert defensively and it was tough for opponents to land punches on him. In 2003 he made his debut on national television against Juan Carlos Candelo. Wright defended his IBF light middleweight title defeating Candelo in an unanimous decision.

Winky Wright continued to remain one of the best boxers throughout his career

The winning continued for Wright during the early to mid-2000s. In an interview with ESPN a few years ago, Wright talked about how he kept winning and became one of the best. “I said just keep putting in the work,” Wright said in the interview. “You know, you keep beating everybody they’re going to have to give you your chance and your opportunity, and, you know, it just played out perfectly. A long struggle to a great career.”

One boxer that Wright gave a lot of credit to was Shane Mosley. The two fought twice in 2004, and Wright defeated Mosley both times. Mosley gave Wright a battle both times, and those two fights were fights that people did not want to miss watching. Though Wright lost his final three fights, he still went down as one of the greatest of all time. He finished his career with an overall record of 51-6-1. During his career, The Ring magazine ranked him as the second-best active boxer, pound for pound in 2005. Wright was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.

Winky Wright enjoying life after boxing

When Wright retired from boxing in 2012, he looked forward to retirement. One thing the Wright enjoyed doing was playing golf. Wright was 40 when he retired from boxing, and he knew that he did not have anything left in the tank. Toward the end of his career, boxing wasn’t fun for him anymore, which was a big reason he retired.

After his career was over, Wright started helping adults with disabilities. He did his part in helping the adults live independently because some of them could not adapt well to living in group homes. He enjoyed being a help to the adults, and he understood that it would get rough at times, but he stayed with it. Wright also started a real estate business. So Wright is enjoying the retired life, but at the same time, he’s making moves and staying busy.