Nothing real earth shattering during January, on the first card of the year we had Floyd Mayweather, JR. as an NFL analyst during his fight with Henry Bruseles, Samuel Peter winning again. Arturo Gatti collects another knockout while Kassim Ouma put on a clinic against Kofi Jantuah. Will any of them make an impact on the Fierce 15 this month? Read on to find out:
Fierce departures: Juan Manuel Marquez (15).
15. Oscar De La Hoya (14) – Come on Oscar get down to 147 so you can fight soon. Please. Here’s hoping it’s against a top five fighter.
14. Jose Luis Castillo (13) – No match with Diego Corrales again?ugh. Now he’ll probably scrap with Julio Diaz, but will anyone really watch?
13. Kassim Ouma (NR) – I went with Kofi Janutah and Ouma couldn’t have proved me more wrong, I’m am now convinced this guy beats any junior middleweight in the world, that’s including Winky Wright. Mr. Ouma I apologize I will never bet against you again.
12. Cory Spinks (12) – Spinks is one tough kid that can just make other fighters look silly, can he do it to Zab Judah again? We shall see next Saturday. Can you say Spinks-De La Hoya? I’m sure that’s what Cory’s thinking.
11. Erik Morales (11) – Oooh. Morales-Pacquiao, man you have got to love Morales he’s in one of the most brutal fights of his career at the end of November, does he take a break? No. He takes on the most exciting little man on the planet. Bless El Terrible.
10. Marco Antonio Barrera (10) – Barrera, after his convincing victory over Morales, has found himself without a lucrative opponent after Pac Man jumped up to fight Morales. Barrera should try to coax Marquez into a fight at 130, but I seriously doubt JMM will give up his precious trinkets at 126.
9. Manny Pacquiao (9) – Pac Man gets a megafight against Morales, should be an absolute war. If Barrera taught us anything, don’t count out Morales in this matchup. Styles make fights; he might have just the chin for Pacquiao’s bombs.
8. Diego Corrales (8) – It’s a shame how this game works sometimes. Corrales won’t get a Showtime fight for a long time, now because of a greedy promoter; he’s on the sidelines until September.
7. Antonio Tarver (7) – Rumor has it that Tarver and Johnson will meet again in April, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Look for Tarver to win his rematch against Johnson.
6. Glen Johnson (6) – Johnson was a great in-studio host on Friday Night Fights and he’s a Class Act. You have to love his work ethic and boxing ability, hopefully he’s around for a long time.
5. Winky Wright (5) – Wright did the right thing taking this fight with Felix Trinidad. He finally gets to fight the marquee fighter he’s deserved for years. Trinidad will probably win this fight, but Wright has proven us wrong before don’t be surprised if he does it again.
4. Felix Trinidad (4) – Trinidad has got a marquee name to fight on May 14. Will he have enough speed and power to take down Wright? If he looks like he did against Mayorga, Wright’s in for a long night.
3. Kostya Tszyu (3) – Tsyzu’s giving up home-field advantage, as they are calling in England, to fight Ricky Hatton at 4 a.m. Wow, only Tsyzu, this should be an interesting fight, we will know how good Hatton is within the first four rounds, if he lasts that long.
2. Floyd Mayweather, JR. (2) – Floyd busted up Henry Bruseles as promised, but did you think he wouldn’t? Although the Patriots comment was funny, if it’s that easy Floyd why not get paid twice that money to fight someone HBO could sell?
1. Bernard Hopkins (1) – Hopkins is one fight away from 20 and I’m getting the strangest feeling about this fight. Howard Eastman has 34 knockouts in 40 wins, in my mind — he’s undefeated. Hopkins is only risking his WBC title it seems strange, but that’s Bernard’s nature.
