Boxing

Wright makes weight; Soliman jeered

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published December 10, 2005

The final hurdle to tonight's middleweight fight was cleared Friday as Winky Wright weighed in at 159.5 pounds, under the 160-pound limit, at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Sam Soliman weighed in at 159 pounds.

The weigh-in was attended by a sparse crowd, but decidedly pro-Winky. A few fans heckled Soliman as he stepped on the scale, telling him he was for in a long night.

St. Pete Boxing Club fighters Carlos Deleon and Akinyemi Laleye (2-0) easily made weight.

DeLeon (12-1-1, 9 knockouts) came in at 1661/4 pounds for his super middleweight fight against Illinois' Ted Muller (16-5-1, 6 KOs), then immediately wolfed down a quart of chicken soup from a microwave container.

Laleye, who usually fights at the light heavyweight limit of 175, was contracted to make 173 pounds for his fight with Philadelphia's Louis Robinson (2-0). Laleye thought he needed to make 175 pounds until receiving a call at 11 p.m. Thursday, so he hopped out of bed and started jumping rope.

He weighed 173.

There are nine fights on the undercard, but only Wright-Soliman will make the HBO broadcast as the network is replaying last week's Jermain Taylor-Bernard Hopkins fight beforehand.

UNCAWHO?: In case you were wondering, Uncasville is named for the Indian chief Uncas. James Fenimore Cooper named the chief character in his The Last of the Mohicans after him.

Uncas was born into the Pequot tribe but after rebelling against his chief, Sassacus, was expelled. He became the leader of a band of malcontents, calling his followers Mohegans.

Uncas warred with rival tribes for many years, siding with the English and helping to expedite white rule in the New England area. He is regarded as a misunderstood hero by some, and a cruel tyrant by others.

BIG FAVORITE: Wright is a 9-to-1 favorite. But after making a few six-figure paydays by betting on himself in his last three fights, he won't be able to tonight as sports betting is illegal in Massachusetts.

NO. 1: Tampa Bay played a big role in two of the three top pay-per-views this year, with the Wright- Felix Trinidad fight taking the top spot with 510,000 sales and the third Antonio Tarver-Roy Jones fight from the St. Pete Times Forum finishing third with 405,000 buys.

The Taylor-Hopkins fight last week was No. 2 with 410,000 PPVs.

[Last modified December 10, 2005, 00:51:18]