SPORTS	Vindy Basic

Winky Wright is moving up in weight class to fight Felix Trinidad.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For years, Winky Wright roamed the world fighting in other boxer's back yards.

He slept in beds that were too small, fought in places he couldn't pronounce and took what he could from a boxing world that wanted little to do with a slick southpaw with a habit of making his opponents look bad.

Once, Wright even had his title taken away in the dressing room after a fight in South Africa, when officials decided there had been a mistake in adding up the ringside scorecards.

"I was fighting in France and other places for years," Wright said. "Now look at me."

Indeed, now is a good time to look at Wright. He meets Felix Trinidad in a middleweight fight Saturday night that will not only pay him more money than he ever dreamed, but give him the opportunity to finally prove himself to the world.

They can't hide anymore

It's been a long time coming for someone who fought 13 years before he even made his debut amid the big lights of Las Vegas.

"I knew it would eventually happen because they could keep running but they couldn't hide," Wright said. "I'm here now and they have to fight me."

For that, Wright can thank Shane Mosley, who made the inexplicable decision to fight him last year rather than take millions for a third fight with Oscar De La Hoya.

It was a mistake for Mosley but a bonanza for Wright, who became the undisputed 154-pound champion with a decision over Mosley in March 2004 and then repeated the win with a majority decision when they met for a second time last November.

Now Wright is changing weight classes for the first time in his career, moving up to 160 pounds for a lucrative fight against the big punching Trinidad.

Big paydays for both

He'll make his biggest payday ever by far — $4 million — and was happy to get it despite the fact Trinidad will make $10 million. Wright also got something else in his contract — a rematch clause that will pay him even more should he beat Trinidad.

"I'm taking less money but it's cool. I'm still making money that most people never make in their lives," Wright said. "We didn't make the $10 million like Tito [Trinidad], but the next fight we're going to make everything."

No title will be at stake when the two meet Saturday night at the MGM Grand hotel-casino (HBO pay-per-view), but two of the best fighters in the world will meet in an intriguing matchup of slugger versus boxer.

Trinidad, who came out of retirement to stop Ricardo Mayorga in the eighth round in October, is a fearsome and deadly accurate puncher who can stop a fighter with either hand. Wright, on the other hand, doesn't pack a big punch but is a good inside puncher with good defensive skills.

Wright is underdog

Oddsmakers make Trinidad an 8-5 favorite largely because of his punching power, but Wright isn't concerned. He's been an underdog before, in a lot worse places.

"I'm not worried about Tito's punches. He's got to worry about my jab, and my outthinking him," Wright said.

Wright's trainer, Dan Birmingham, offered a sneak preview into his boxer's strategy by saying he studied Trinidad's win over De La Hoya and his loss to Bernard Hopkins in figuring out how to fight him.

De La Hoya boxed Trinidad beautifully in the early rounds before fading and losing a disputed decision, while Hopkins picked Trinidad apart in the later rounds to give the Puerto Rican his only loss.

"The first six rounds of De La Hoya and the last six rounds of Hopkins is kind of like a blueprint on how to beat this guy," Birmingham said.

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