Bernard Hopkins was less than brilliant in defeating Oscar De La Hoya, but he remains the most dominant force in any boxing division.
He also remains No. 1 in the Times top 10 pound-for-pound list.
Since the list last ran in May, some boxing legends have fallen on hard times … or their butts. De La Hoya still can generate pay-per-view sales by the millions, but it’s hard to ignore two losses in his past three fights.
Even harder to ignore is Roy Jones Jr., who has been knocked out twice this year by single punches.
Do they stay in the top 10? Will the unretired Felix Trinidad bump one of them out?
Let’s see:
1. Hopkins, 160 pounds, 44-2-1 record: He methodically wore down De La Hoya, delivered the most famous body punch of the year. The undisputed middleweight champ hasn’t lost in 11 years, and the road to any super fights next year goes through Philadelphia. Trinidad, are you listening?
2. Floyd Mayweather, 140, 32-0: “Pretty Boy” hasn’t fought since beating DeMarcus Corley in April, but he was poised to take over the No. 1 spot had Hopkins looked bad against De La Hoya.
3. Trinidad, 160, 42-1: He just came off a two-year retirement, but so what? He was one of the very best when he left, and his win over Ricardo Mayorga was impressive enough to convince fans he will be again. His only loss is to Hopkins.
4. Manny Pacquiao, 125, 38-2-2: Maybe not the most skilled fighter, but one of the most exciting. His draw with Juan Manuel Marquez is still the top Fight-of-the-Year candidate.
5. Winky Wright, 154, 47-3: The more fights I see, the more impressive Wright’s dismantling of Shane Mosley was, even if it’s hard to get jazzed up for their rematch.
6. Antonio Tarver, 175, 22-2: Will he ever fight again? Kissed away at least $7-million when Jones was knocked out, ruining a possible rematch. Sure, Glen Johnson is a nice fighter, but his knockout win took some of the shine off Tarver’s.
7. Diego Corrales, 135, 39-2: He wasn’t in the last ranking, but man did he look good against Acelino Freitas. Really, really, really good. Also has a revenge win over Joel Casamayor this year, making him a candidate for Fighter of the Year.
8. Erik Morales, 130, 47-1: Almost shut out Carlos Hernandez in July to win IBF super featherweight title. Don’t miss his third fight with Marco Antonio Barrera in November.
9. Marquez, 125, 42-2-1: The IBF and WBA featherweight champ will get another shot at Pacquiao next year. If three knockdowns didn’t stop him last time . . .
10. Cory Spinks, 147, 34-2: Beat Miguel Angel Gonzalez last month to remain unified welterweight champ. As usual, the performance wasn’t spectacular.
TITLETOWN?: Though the idea of Tampa or St. Petersburg hosting a championship card featuring either Wright or Jeff Lacy (or both) has been floated by numerous people, the latest to bring it up is … Lacy himself.
In fact, Lacy not only broached the subject Monday, he came pretty darned close to guaranteeing it.
Lacy is supposed to fight mandatory challenger Vitali Tsypko next. The two fought in June to earn a fight with Syd Vanderpool, but a headbutt stopped the developing slugfest in the second round. Tsypko agreed to let Lacy have Vanderpool for the IBF super middleweight title, as long as he got next.
If that fight happens, it could happen here. The only roadblock would be a potential match with one of the other super middleweight titlists, providing Tsypko would step aside again.
“I told (promoter) Gary Shaw if one of the champions stepped up and wanted to unify, and we could get Tsypko to step aside, to do it,” Lacy said. “If that doesn’t happen, I want the fight to be here in Tampa Bay. I’d say there’s a strong chance of that happening.”
