By Mark Vester

Talk of a potential fight between WBO interim-junior middleweight champ Paul Williams (36-1, 27KOs) and Winky Wright (51-4, 25KOs) is building steam. There are conflicting reports on the date and weight, but the more credible reports point to the month of April at 160-pounds.

There has been a mixed reaction among the boxing public. Some are interested in how Williams will do again a tricky fighter like Wright, while others predict the clash of styles will make for a boring contest.

In 2008, Williams fought four times, splitting two fights with Carlos Quintana at 147-pounds, knocking out Andy Kolle at 160 and stopping Verno Phillips at 154. Wright has been inactive since a July 07 decision loss to Bernard Hopkins.

Wright is always a tough challenge, but does Williams gain much by beating a Wright who is 37-years-old and inactive for nearly two years [by the time they fight]? Wright has only had three fights since 2006 and is 1-1-1. If Williams beats Wright, either with a close decision or by a dominating performance, a lot of critics will point to Wright's age and activity level over the years.

The move for Williams to fight someone like Wright is almost, to me, a mirror image of Kelly Pavlik moving up by two weight divisions to fight Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins, like Wright, appeared to be on the downside of his career, but turned back the clock and outboxed Pavlik in a one-sided twelve round contest. Wright has a strong chance of doing the same at 160-pounds.

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