BoxRec.com says Junior Wright is the number-two ranked cruiserweight in the United States, and the Chicagoan is keen to show he should have the top slot.
On Friday, the 15-1-1 Wright got a 1st round stoppage over Jim Franklin on a show in Iowa, and the boxer feels he’s building superb momentum, which will soon result in another title shot.
“The fight was over so fast I couldn’t really tell you much about it,” said Wright, laughing. “But I threw a really good body shot to put him down and then afterwards I just threw a lot of combinations when he got up and they stopped it. I feel great about my win. While training for my world title fight with Rakhim Chakhiev in 2015, I had an injury but still went ahead with the fight. After the match I had surgery and now I am 100 hundred percent. I feel ready for all the top cruiserweights in the world, from what I see there is not much out there to worry about in the division. I would love the opportunity to fight Beibut Shumenov for a world title. He is one of the dominant champions and his fights happen in the U.S. so I feel there is no home-turf advantage, no jet leg to worry about. I feel very confident in this fight and my abilities!”
Wright is now No. 13 in the WBA and wants to fight best in the division, including WBA world champion Shumenov, or BoxRec No. 1 in the USA, BJ Flores.
His promoter Dmitry Salita backs the fighter nicknamed “Hurricane” all the way.
“I’ve always felt that Junior Wright is one of the best cruiserweights in the world and most definitely in the U.S.,” Salita said. “I believe he has the tools to compete with and beat the best fighters in the cruiserweight division.”