Wright Win Sets Up Mosley Match

There was mostly silence at the Fantasy Springs Casino on Friday night in the closing rounds of Winky Wright’s easy victory over Robert Frazier, broken only by a few scattered boos.

Ugly victories will do that to a crowd.

But one man seated ringside was all smiles--Shane Mosley.

He gets Wright next.

By winning a unanimous decision and the vacant International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight title in front of a crowd of approximately 2,000, Wright all but assured himself of a Jan. 26 match in Las Vegas against Mosley.

But unless Wright shows more than he did Friday night, their match could move beyond ugly to embarrassing.

It wasn’t as if Wright (42-3, 24 knockouts) was ever in any danger of losing to Frazier (22-5-1, 13). Wright got a shutout on the scorecard of judge Lou Moret, winning, 120-107, and won, 119-108, on the scorecards of judges Pat Russell and Jose Cobian. The Times scored it 118-109 for Wright.

After putting Frazier down in the first round with a left hand on the chin, Wright was unable to put Frazier away, or even do much further damage.

“It’s been 10 months since I fought and I was not as sharp as I could have been,” Wright said.

Said promoter Bob Arum: “Winky is probably the most workmanlike fighter in the division. Other fighters, like Mosley, are faster and some are better punchers.”

Frazier threw a lot of punches, but most glanced harmlessly off Wright’s gloves. Wright was content to pile up the points with his jab and effective body shots, but showed no inclination to press his advantage.

Nevertheless, Frazier was impressed.

“Winky is an extraordinary fighter,” Frazier said. “I knew he was going to be the toughest guy I ever fought. It took me 17 years to get here and I have nothing to be ashamed of. There are millions of fighters under me who would have loved to have been here. And I went the distance.”

Wright hopes to not only fight Mosley, but to then go on and face Oscar De La Hoya. Arum has promised Wright a Bentley automobile if he beats De La Hoya.

And if he beats Mosley?

“That’s still under negotiation,” Arum said.

In the semi-main event, welterweight Antonio Diaz (37-3, 26) won a TKO in the ninth over Orlando Hollis (20-9, 10).