Wright ready for big move up to face Hopkins

Winky Wright has always wanted big fights. When he meets Bernard Hopkins on July 21, he'll get one.

Wright will move up almost two weight classes to face Hopkins at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The bout will be for Hopkins' Ring magazine light heavyweight championship but will be fought at a 170-pound catch weight.

The jump doesn't concern Wright, fighting at his highest weight ever. Las Vegas sports books apparently aren't concerned, either: The 35-year-old is around a minus-135 favorite.

"I've never been a man to say I'm gonna knock him out, but I'm gonna win," Wright, whose last three fights were at middleweight, said Tuesday during a conference call to promote the HBO pay-per-view fight.

Wright (51-3-1, 25 knockouts) hasn't lost since dropping a decision to Fernando Vargas on Dec. 4, 1999. He sees this fight as an opportunity to cement his status in the game.

"I wanted to prove to the world that no matter what weight, I'm one of the best fighters in the world," Wright said. "This is a one-shot deal for me at light heavyweight, just to prove that I can beat Bernard Hopkins."

Wright called Hopkins "a tough fighter, awkward," but also accused the 42-year-old of throwing low blows intentionally. Hopkins "does a lot of dirty things," Wright said.

Because of the fighters' defensive styles, many boxing observers think the bout could be boring. But Wright scoffed at that notion.

"He's talking a lot of trash, and I want to shut his mouth," Wright said. "Come the 21st, there won't be a lot of playing around. We're coming to fight. I always come to fight."

And when this fight is over, Wright said he will return to middleweight, where he hopes Oscar De La Hoya will be waiting for him. But De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions is handling the Wright-Hopkins fight, couldn't be baited into talking about a bout against Wright.

"That would have to be a separate conference call," said De La Hoya, laughing. "It's about now, an exciting fight."

Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since June 10, 2006, when he won the light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Antonio Tarver.