Pep, who made his fiftieth straight victory, used brilliant blocking and adroit shifting of his body along the ropes to defend the strong punching of his opponent. Pep used well timed left jabs effectively at many points in the bout, which was not entirely one-sided. The Associated Press gave Wright four rounds, including the fifth through seventh, but strongly favored Pep, who won decisively, with eleven. Still fighting in 1946, he won only two of eleven remaining fights, bucking the odds and continuing to box as he turned an "ancient" thirty-four years of age. He finally retired March 9, 1948, after losing to Ernie Hunick when he did not answer the bell for the fourth round. Post boxing career After his retirement, Wright worked as a trainer for lightweight contender Tommy Campbell. In January 1954, Jet magazine reported that Wright claimed he had written his autobiography, Me and You, under the pen name "Jay Caldwell". The book remains unreleased. In October 1954, Wright opened a bar in Los Angeles called the "Knockout Lounge". He claimed that all of the bartenders were ex-boxers. By the mid-1950s, Wright had gambled away the fortune he had earned as a boxer. At the time of his death, he was working in a Los Angeles bakery. Personal life Wright was married twice and had one child. His first marriage, which ended in divorce, was to Gertrude "Gert" Arnold. His subsequent marriage to Jennie Batch in 1937 produced a son, Albert James. They were separated at the time of his death. Confidential magazine scandal In the 1930s, Wright became friendly with actress Mae West. West was a boxing fan and helped to finance Wright's boxing career. He eventually became her live-in bodyguard and chauffeur for a time. The two reportedly began a romantic relationship though both publicly denied this. In November 1955, the popular tabloid Confidential wrote an exposé, titled "Mae West's Open Door Policy". The story, intended to raise scandal and arouse interest, described West's live-in love affair with the "bronze boxer" and how she frequently gave Wright hundreds of dollars to gamble. West denied the story and sued for libel and defamation. She won the suit and Confidential published a retraction. In August 1957, a highly publicized criminal libel case was brought against Confidential to expose the tactics used by the magazine's writers. Celebrity testimony was to include that of both West and Wright.