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THE TOP TEN!
(1) BERNARD HOPKINS, 46-2-1 (32): Over the years Hopkins has essentially cleaned out the Middleweight division. KO'ed Trinidad, KO'ed De La Hoya, KO'ed Robert Allen, UD over Joppy, UD over Eastman and now he is taking on the young Jermain Taylor. Simply the most consistent man in boxing.
(2) WINKY WRIGHT, 49-3-0 (25): His domination of Tito is what cements this, but it has been a long time coming. His two wins over Mosley thrust him into the spotlight but Winky is another fighter who has been taking care of business for years.
(3) FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR, 33-0-0 (22): Has beaten two other fellow pound for pounder's in Castillo and Corrales and is going to meet Arturo Gatti in the match fight fans wanted to see. But until he steps the competition up again, this is as high as he will climb.
(4) KOSTYA TSZYU, 31-1-0 (25): He has only fought once in the past couple years but what a win it was. How does he respond to blowing Sharmba Mitchell out of the water? Takes on undefeated British phenom Ricky Hatton. Assuming he wins, is Tszyu-Mayweather in our future?
(5) ERIK MORALES, 48-2-0 (34): Ahead of Barrera you ask? Well, yes. Barrera did manage to eake out the close decision, but Morales has the better resume of late all the same. With wins over Pacquiao, Hernandez, and Chavez he has been beating some of the best at Jr. Lightweight. Question is would he beat Barrera in part IV?
(6) MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA, 60-4-0 (42): A warrior if ever there really was one in this sport. Few manage to blend utter heart and talent as well as Barrera, and his two wins over his rival Erik Morale attest to that. Hopefully we will see him in against a quality oppenent now that Fana is out of the way.
(7) DIEGO CORRALES, 40-2-0 (33): His last four opponents are Casamayor twice, Frietas, and Castillo. 'Chico' is facing the top competition and winning, and with the power in his fists we can only guess how high he will climb.
(8) RAFAEL MARQUEZ, 33-3-0 (30): It seems that part of fighting at the slight Bantamweight is that people will sleep on your body of work. With huge wins over Mark 'Too Sharp' Johnson, Tim Austin, and countless other bantams and below, Marquez has stepped out from his elder brother's shadow.
(9) Manny Pacquiao, 39-3-2 (31): Probably a good sign when a slump means that you have razor thin decision losses to some of the best in the sport such as Morales and Marquez. All the same, while the big money is at Jr. Lightweight, Manny seems to be most effective at Featherweight.
(10) ZAB JUDAH, 34-2-0 (25): The universally recognized man at 147 has a plethora of options in front of him. With names like De La Hoya, Mosley and Margarito bouncing around it will be hard for him to do anything but make a superfight in the near future.
THE BEST OF THE REST!
(11) JOSE LUIS CASTILLO: Gave Corrales all that he could handle and did likewise with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Has nothing to be ashamed of in any of these losses and probably raised his stock each time. Just wait until he gets into the mix at 140...
(12) JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ: With Pacquiao now chasing greener pastures, he is now the last man standing at Featherweight and lacks a superfight for his troubles. A deadly counter puncher and a consistent fighter, now he just needs an opponent.
(13) GLEN JOHNSON: 'The Road Warrior' has a huge rematch with Antonio Tarver coming up. But win or lose, he has made a much larger impression on boxing then many would have predicted at this time a couple years ago.
(14) ANTONIO TARVER: Perhaps he should have gotten the decision against Johnson, but he took too many rounds off either way. His chance at redemption draws near.
(15) JOEL CASAMAYOR: Fought both Corrales and Castillo to within an inch of a decision. Has a chance to get back on track against 'Kid Diamond' later this month.
(1) BERNARD HOPKINS, 46-2-1 (32): Over the years Hopkins has essentially cleaned out the Middleweight division. KO'ed Trinidad, KO'ed De La Hoya, KO'ed Robert Allen, UD over Joppy, UD over Eastman and now he is taking on the young Jermain Taylor. Simply the most consistent man in boxing.
(2) WINKY WRIGHT, 49-3-0 (25): His domination of Tito is what cements this, but it has been a long time coming. His two wins over Mosley thrust him into the spotlight but Winky is another fighter who has been taking care of business for years.
(3) FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR, 33-0-0 (22): Has beaten two other fellow pound for pounder's in Castillo and Corrales and is going to meet Arturo Gatti in the match fight fans wanted to see. But until he steps the competition up again, this is as high as he will climb.
(4) KOSTYA TSZYU, 31-1-0 (25): He has only fought once in the past couple years but what a win it was. How does he respond to blowing Sharmba Mitchell out of the water? Takes on undefeated British phenom Ricky Hatton. Assuming he wins, is Tszyu-Mayweather in our future?
(5) ERIK MORALES, 48-2-0 (34): Ahead of Barrera you ask? Well, yes. Barrera did manage to eake out the close decision, but Morales has the better resume of late all the same. With wins over Pacquiao, Hernandez, and Chavez he has been beating some of the best at Jr. Lightweight. Question is would he beat Barrera in part IV?
(6) MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA, 60-4-0 (42): A warrior if ever there really was one in this sport. Few manage to blend utter heart and talent as well as Barrera, and his two wins over his rival Erik Morale attest to that. Hopefully we will see him in against a quality oppenent now that Fana is out of the way.
(7) DIEGO CORRALES, 40-2-0 (33): His last four opponents are Casamayor twice, Frietas, and Castillo. 'Chico' is facing the top competition and winning, and with the power in his fists we can only guess how high he will climb.
(8) RAFAEL MARQUEZ, 33-3-0 (30): It seems that part of fighting at the slight Bantamweight is that people will sleep on your body of work. With huge wins over Mark 'Too Sharp' Johnson, Tim Austin, and countless other bantams and below, Marquez has stepped out from his elder brother's shadow.
(9) Manny Pacquiao, 39-3-2 (31): Probably a good sign when a slump means that you have razor thin decision losses to some of the best in the sport such as Morales and Marquez. All the same, while the big money is at Jr. Lightweight, Manny seems to be most effective at Featherweight.
(10) ZAB JUDAH, 34-2-0 (25): The universally recognized man at 147 has a plethora of options in front of him. With names like De La Hoya, Mosley and Margarito bouncing around it will be hard for him to do anything but make a superfight in the near future.
THE BEST OF THE REST!
(11) JOSE LUIS CASTILLO: Gave Corrales all that he could handle and did likewise with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Has nothing to be ashamed of in any of these losses and probably raised his stock each time. Just wait until he gets into the mix at 140...
(12) JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ: With Pacquiao now chasing greener pastures, he is now the last man standing at Featherweight and lacks a superfight for his troubles. A deadly counter puncher and a consistent fighter, now he just needs an opponent.
(13) GLEN JOHNSON: 'The Road Warrior' has a huge rematch with Antonio Tarver coming up. But win or lose, he has made a much larger impression on boxing then many would have predicted at this time a couple years ago.
(14) ANTONIO TARVER: Perhaps he should have gotten the decision against Johnson, but he took too many rounds off either way. His chance at redemption draws near.
(15) JOEL CASAMAYOR: Fought both Corrales and Castillo to within an inch of a decision. Has a chance to get back on track against 'Kid Diamond' later this month.
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