Normally soft-spoken Jermain Taylor delivered the first salvo Saturday in what might become a war of words with top middleweight contender Winky Wright.

Taylor, holder of three of the division's four title belts, said he is not impressed with Wright and believes Wright is not a good draw among fans.

Taylor's promoter, Lou DiBella, has been battling over a purse and site with Wright promoter Gary Shaw.

Taylor said Wright doesn't deserve a 50-50 purse split or for the fight to be held in Tampa, Fla., next to his home of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Though Wright is widely regarded as one of the two finest fighters in the world -- alongside Las Vegan Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- Taylor claims he wouldn't have a problem defeating Wright.

"I feel I'm bigger than Winky, I'm stronger than Winky and it's a style thing," said Taylor, 25-0 with 17 knockouts after back-to-back decision victories over longtime champ Bernard Hopkins.

"I don't see (Wright) giving me any problems. I'm really not that impressed with him."

When Taylor was reminded of Wright's May shutout of former champion Felix Trinidad, he erupted.

"I'm not impressed by that," he said. "Who was Trinidad at that point? He hadn't looked like anything in a long time. Beating him? Big deal."

Though Wright-Trinidad was 2005's top-selling pay-per-view (510,000 buys), Taylor said most of the credit for that belongs to Trinidad, not Wright.

"You put Winky out there on a pay-per-view, he wouldn't sell one," Taylor said. "Not one."

The WBC will hold a purse bid Jan. 30 if DiBella and Shaw don't reach a deal by then.

If Taylor doesn't agree to fight Wright after the purse bid, he would be stripped of the WBC belt. He has previously given up the IBF title.

Taylor said he would listen to his team's advice, but said he would urge DiBella to find a way to allow him to remain WBC champion.

"I'm going to tell Lou to find a way to keep those belts," Taylor said. "Some people say the belts don't matter, but I love my belts. I am not afraid to fight Winky Wright, period. I love to fight and I love to find out who's the best, so if it's Winky, great, bring it on.

"As long as it isn't 50-50, we'll fight. He doesn't deserve 50-50. Meet at a good point to make us both happy and we have a fight."

Shaw proposed bringing the fight to Tampa because of the success he had promoting a fight there in August, when super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy attracted a sellout crowd with a paid gate in excess of $2 million.

But Shaw, who said he asked DiBella for a 50-50 split but never negotiated the matter, said he thought a Taylor-Wright fight would do well in Las Vegas.

HBO is prepared to pay $5 million to put the fight on, Shaw said. He said he believes he could get a $3 million site fee in Las Vegas and at least $500,000 in other revenues, meaning the fighters' purses would be coming out of a net of $8.5 million.

"Jermain told you that Trinidad drove the pay-per-view with Winky and I'm not denying that, but he can't deny that Hopkins sold the pay-per-views in both of their fights," Shaw said. "My statement is, if they want the fight, they know my phone number."

• REYES UP -- Shaw said Saturday he has reached a deal with Rolando Reyes to replace Diego Corrales in a Feb. 4 fight against Jose Luis Castillo.

Corrales injured a rib in training and was forced to pull out Friday.

Shaw, co-promoting the bout with Top Rank, said the card would be moved from El Paso, Texas, to the Dodge Theater in Hidalgo, Texas. Shaw said Corrales-Castillo III would be rescheduled for no later than June and that the site is likely to be El Paso.

• DIAZ HAS A DIAMOND -- Veteran trainer Miguel Diaz has taken over as chief trainer for Almazbek Raiymkulov, who goes by the nickname "Kid Diamond."

Raiymkulov, a highly touted prospect, was thrashed by Nate Campbell and stopped in the 10th round of an Oct. 1 fight in Tampa.

"He needs to learn how to fight, basically," Diaz said. "He's got a hard, hard punch and all the ability, but he never really learned how to fight.

"Right now, we have to teach him defense. He has to learn shoulder movement, bending his knees, working his head, keeping his hands up. And we need to get his confidence back. After what happened, right now it's pretty low."

Diaz said Raiymkulov would fight an undetermined opponent in an eight-round bout on a Feb. 18 pay-per-view card.

• TONEY READY -- WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, who defends his title against James Toney on March 18 at Atlantic City, won't have to go far to find his opponent.

Toney, six inches shorter and likely 10 to 20 pounds lighter than Rahman, said he will fight the bout directly in front of the hard-punching champion from Las Vegas.

"He has no idea what he's gotten himself into," Toney said. "He's a big dude and he can punch, but I'm a schooled fighter. I know how to defuse the bomb. I'll be right there in front of him, but let's see if he can hit me.

"I think what will happen is that I'll hit him on the chin and the lights will go dim."

Toney vowed he will weigh 217 pounds or less, though he has weighed at least 227 for his past three fights over the last two years. But he said size won't be an issue.

"I am the best fighter in the world and I will continue to prove that," Toney said. "I don't think these fools (who are rating boxers) understand who can fight and who can't. But I am the best and Rahman is next. He's going to learn the truth."

• NO ZAB -- After Zab Judah was upset by Carlos Baldomir for the undisputed welterweight title Jan. 7 at New York, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said there is no chance of Mayweather fighting Judah on April 8 as planned.

"Forget that. The casinos have no interest in that now," Arum said. "None."

Arum said he has contacted Shaw to again pitch a Mayweather-Wright bout. Arum said Baldomir is a possible opportunity, though he called the new champion "marginal."

• TIDBITS -- Ozell Nelson, Taylor's assistant trainer, received an award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission for his work helping children. Nelson was honored Friday in Hot Springs, Ark. ... Boxing Drs. Flip Homansky and Margaret Goodman recently got engaged. ... WBO super lightweight champion Miguel Cotto, recovered from a ruptured eardrum, will fight Gianluca Branco on March 4 in Puerto Rico. ... Middleweight Kelly Pavlik injured a hand and had to withdraw from his fight with Jose Luis Zertuche on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Pavlik will be replaced by Anthony Thompson.