What a November. The clich? would be to say a November to remember, but that’s not happening on the Fierce 15. We expect excellent performances. Speaking of the return of Kostya Tszyu and Marco Antonio Barrera, each fighter regained recognition and were the shining wizards of the month. In December we have Jose Luis Castillo (No. 15) on the list vs. Joel Casamayor (No. 14) on the list. On the 18th No. 6 Antonio Tarver takes on Glen Johnson. Here’s the list for December:
Fierce departures: (15) Kassim Ouma. (12) Shane Mosley.
15. Jose Luis Castillo (14) – Castillo-Casamayor could be an absolute gem. My guess is Castillo keeps building his resume at 135.
14. Joel Casamayor (12) – Casamayor and Castillo should let us know where Casamayor’s career is headed. A win gets him a third tilt with Corrales, but a loss might get him a third fight as well.
13. Juan Manuel Marquez (11) – When Manny Pacquiao disposes of Fahsan 3-K Battery, we hope, it’s Pacquiao-Marquez II in February. Hopefully Pacquiao looks better in his tuneup then Marquez did.
12. Oscar De La Hoya (10) – De La Hoya moving down to Welterweight? I’ll believe it when I see it, but how great would De La Hoya-Tszyu, DLH-Spinks, DLH-Floyd Mayweather. The possibilities are endless at 147.
11. Cory Spinks (9) – Spinks-Judah II? Is it going to happen or not?
10. Erik Morales (3) – Morales is here for two reasons. 1) This is the second time he has lost to Barrera. 2) He has to be ranked below the man who destroyed Barrera see No. 8.
9. Marco Antonio Barrera (NR) – Congrats, to a fighter that everyone had once again written off. Barrera you are a fight fan’s dream and continue to be one of the most entertaining fighters of this generation. Enjoy that victory.
8. Manny Pacquiao (8) – Pac Man’s victory over Barrera looks even more impressive after the Baby Faced Assassin knocked off Morales.
7. Diego Corrales (7) – I had a chance to talk to Corrales at Wright-Mosley II and it seems Diego has his sites on the winner of Castillo-Casamayor. Let’s hope it happens.
6. Antonio Tarver (6) – Tarver has been a nice addition to the spotlight, much like Johnson. For fight fans there will be no loser on Dec. 18.
5. Winky Wright (5) – Wright reestablished his claim to the junior middleweight crown with majority victory over Shane Mosley. Wright talked about getting paid the question is who will bring Winky his riches? De La Hoya? Trinidad? Hopkins?
4. Felix Trinidad (4) – Trinidad is the hottest property in boxing. It seems he stole a little of Hopkins’ thunder. However Trinidad is scheduled for a March warm up before a real fight in summer or early fall. My hope is Winky Wright.
3. Kostya Tszyu (NR) – 2004 has become the year of the comeback. Trinidad, Tszyu and some would argue Barrera. Tszyu blows out Mitchell and makes his return with immediate impact, great to have a true banger back.
2. Floyd Mayweather (2) – Interim bout with Lovemore N’Dou or other second tier fighter, then if all goes as planned it’s a PPV extravaganza with Arturo Gatti.
1. Bernard Hopkins (1) – Hopkins signs with Golden Boy Promotions and will have his first fight under De La Hoya against mandatory Howard Eastman. In that fight Hopkins looks for his 20th straight defense of the middleweight crown
