By Dr. Peter Edwards

Who's Hot

Winky Wright - He shook up the entire boxing industry this past Saturday night. Most of the boxing world was already talking about Felix Trinidad facing the winner of Hopkins-Taylor before Trinidad even stepped in the ring with Wright. Wright said prior to the bout that he would easily defeat Trinidad and that was a huge understatement. Wright picked up the biggest win of his career by dominating the stronger Trinidad with the biggest weapon in boxing, a stiff and accurate jab. We hear announcers, writers, fighters and trainers preach about the jab every time there is a big fight, it's almost mind boggling that very few fighters utilize the jab. After Wright's weekend performance I picture a lot more fighters adding a hard jab to their arsenal of weapons.

John Ruiz - One of the good guys in the sport of boxing is back in the fold. You may not like the way the guy fights, but he is one of the few people in the business willing to fight anyone at anytime. When was the last time you heard John Ruiz duck anyone? A few months ago the WBC's number one contender Hasim Rahman refused to fight Vitali Klitschko unless he was guaranteed more money. What has the sport come to when the champion has to chase the number one contender to fight him? Ruiz lost a lot of money by taking a fight with Roy Jones without any purse guarantee, but did it anyway in order to make the fight. Evander Holyfield refused to fight Jones a few months earlier. Ruiz fought Andrew Golota after champion Chris Byrd uncooperative with staging a Golota rematch. Ruiz fought James Toney when every other heavyweight champion was talking about fighting Toney, but refusing to sign a contract to seal the deal. 

I recall watching HBO's Night of The Young Heavyweights a few years back and recall all the sprouting young heavyweights showcased. Shannon Briggs, David Tua, and Andrew Golota were the men heavily hyped on the show, ironic that the fighter who got stopped in less then 20 seconds achieved more success then any other fighter on that card. Tua, Golota and Briggs all failed to capture the heavyweight title, Ruiz is a two-time champion. He may not possess the prettiest style in the sport, but made himself a success with the abilities that he had. If we had more fighters like Ruiz who were willing to fight anyone at anytime, the entire sport as a whole would be in a much better position.

Felix Trinidad - The great future hall of famer from Puerto Rico had no excuses for his loss, he gave Winky his props and bowed out from the sport. Trinidad did what most boxers like Evander Holyfield, Muhammad Ali and many others did not have the guts to do, retire before seriously getting hurt or suffering further damage to their legacy. Some fighter do not know when to hang up the gloves. Ray Leonard knew it was time to go after he was dominated by Terry Norris, Lennox Lewis knew it was time to go after he knew his skills were slipping and Felix Trinidad knew it was time to retire after he was dominated by a fighter that he probably felt in his heart would of never beat him a few years ago. 

Hasim Rahman - Rather then sit on his behind and wait for Vitali Klitschko to rehab from his leg injury, he decided to face a dangerous opponent in Monte "Two Guns" Barrett in a title elimination bout scheduled in July. This is a bout that Rahman did not have to take, but he is showing the world what a real fighter does. A real fighter fights at least 2-4 times per year, not once a year like some others fighters and not against no-hopers like many top fighters love to face. Rahman will now face a fighter in July who stands a very good chance of spoiling his dream of landing another title shot.

Who's Not

World Boxing Council - Trying to put a black mark on the fight of the decade between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo by launching an investigation into the officiating of Tony Weeks. The WBC claims that Weeks gave Corrales too much time to recover when he spit out his mouthpiece the second time, maybe it was because he was busy taking a point away from Corrales for spitting the mouthpiece out. A Mexico based organization launching a probe into a Mexican fighter being defeated, same old story with the WBC.

Chris Byrd - Samuel Peter, Calvin Brock and many other young undefeated heavyweights want a shot at the title. You say your the best fighter in the division, put your money where your mouth is and give one of the young guns a shot.

James Toney - There is no way that a long time veteran like James Toney was not aware of what was being prescribed to him and/or what he was ingesting into his system prior to a championship bout with John Ruiz. If his doctor prescribed him steroids to speed up the healing process of his injuries then it was his duty to make the New York State Athletic Commission aware of that fact prior to his test and maybe he would not be in his current situation.

To submit your comments and questions for the all new "The Doctor is in" mailbag, email me at the following address, boxingscene@hotmail.com