Poor Winky Wright.

He finally got his chance at proving to the world that he was the pound-for-pound king in the middleweight divisions, and they called his fight with champion Jermain Taylor a draw. Well, not exactly. Wright, in my eyes, won the fight, but not definitvely, and threw away the final round. Considering the fight was in Taylor's backyard at the Fedex in Memphis, he should be so lucky. The official scores were 115-113 twice for each fighter, and 114-114. I had it 115-113 for Wright.

Wright, 50-3-1 (25), fought at medium range, attempting to neutralize Taylor's power by sticking his southpaw jab in his face and throwing more combinations. Taylor held his own, throwing his own hard, two-fisted combinations and landing effectively to Wright's body, especially when both fighters were in the middle of the ring. In the corners however, Wright dominated the champion, throwing quick combinations to Taylor's head. Neither fighter seemed to tire in the later rounds, and the action and advantage fluctuated as first Wright, then Taylor, dictated the pace. Wright had almost closed Taylor's left eye, though that may have been the result of an accidental clash of heads. Wright's face showed the work of Taylor's punching power, but for much of the fight he was able to pick off Taylor's powershots. When the draw was announced, a dejected Wright headed for the dressing room.

"Another Vargas," Wright told HBO's Larry Merchant when finally granting an interview. The draw looks worse when seen in the context that in his last three fights, Taylor has failed to win a decisive decision. Instead, it appears as though the undisputed champion from Arkansas is being carried to victory by the benefit of the doubt. For his part, Taylor, 25-0-1 (18), did not seem unhappy about the draw, though he makes a good point in saying that Wright should not have assumed he had the fight in the bag and given up the last round. Wright was so upset that he said he didn't even want a rematch.

"There's other fights out there," said the Florida native, "you know what I mean, and I'ma go get 'em, so whoever saw this fight and wanna fight, step up to the plate. Anybody."