Not a good ’06 for Tampa Bay’s troika of boxing lights — Jeff Lacy, Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright — who were giving this neck o’ the woods a burgeoning rep as a pugilistic hotbed. The trouble started in March with Lacy, a charismatic super-middleweight who was a solid favorite to beat long-time champ Joe Calzaghe on his home turf in Manchester, England. Lacy got whupped, looking outmatched and confused as he lost every round of the fight. On June 10 came light heavyweight Tarver, fresh from his second straight defeat of Roy Jones Jr. Tarver, 37, squared off with grizzled vet Bernard Hopkins, 41, and looked lethargic in losing a unanimous decision. Finally, there was middleweight Winky Wright, whose performance was a bit different. Fighting in Memphis, his opponent Jermain Taylor’s backyard, Winky turned in his typical solid effort: nothing flashy, great defense, steadily scoring points. It appeared as if he’d won. The judges called it a draw. Wink was pissed. Each loss (or draw) counts as a major setback for a seasoned fighter. The near future for these three is definitely in flux.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.