1. Manny Pacquiao {Junior Welterweight} Pacquiao shocked us all by thoroughly dominating Oscar De La Hoya on December 6th. We all expected a mismatch and we got one as the former flyweight champion embarrassed the one time middleweight kingpin. This win has made some mention him with the likes of all time great Henry Armstrong who defeated plenty of bigger fighters in his day. Pacquaio, (who is listed as a junior welterweight as promoter Bob Arum says that?s where he?ll be fighting from now on) will probably return in May, hopefully against Ricky Hatton or Zab Judah.
2. Joe Calzaghe {Light Heavyweight} Make it 2 for 2 for 2 for Calzaghe. Two fights in the United States, two first round trips to the canvas and two decision victories. Calzaghe badly outclassed former undisputed champion Roy Jones Jr on November 8th after being put down hard in the opening round. Calzaghe badly cut Jones? eye open and toyed with him throughout the second half of the fight as he basically did what Jones did to his opponents during his heyday. Calzaghe will most likely be retiring as he recently claimed boxing is a dying sport. If Joe wants to further secure his already great legacy, he?d step into the ring with undefeated IBF champion Chad Dawson before hanging the gloves up for good.
3. Bernard Hopkins {Light Heavyweight} Score one for the old guys! Hopkins, 43, a 4-1 underdog and loser in 3 of his last 5 fights dominated previously unbeaten Kelly Pavlik October 18th in a virtual shutout. This was perhaps the best performance of Hopkins? illustrious career and adds a ton to his already cemented legacy. Jones-Hopkins II was mentioned for a short time but now is out of the question with Jones? bad loss to Calzaghe. There won?t be a rematch with Calzaghe and Bernard won?t be moving up to fight Steve Cunningham, who just lost his IBF cruiserweight title to Tomasz Adamek. Hopkins, who has no interest in Chad Dawson, future as a fighter is still up in the air.
4. Antonio Margarito {Welterweight} Idle since his epic July win over superstar Miguel Cotto, Margarito will return January 24th to defend his WBA title against future hall of famer Shane Mosley. Props must be given to HBO for picking up this intriguing bout. If Margarito wins and Miguel Cotto defeats Michael Jennings, expect a summer rematch.
5. Juan Manuel Marquez {Lightweight} What a performance! On September 13th, Marquez successfully moved up to lightweight and stopped Ring Magazine champion/potential hall of famer Joel Casamayor. Marquez controlled most of the bout and dropped Casamayor twice in the 11th, stopping the Cuban for the first time in his career. With Manny Pacquaio showing zero interest in a third bout, Marquez and former IBF/WBO/WBA champion Juan Diaz have an agreement to fight. Some details must be worked out before the bout is officially announced. I hope they get everything in place because this is a fight I?d love to see!
6. Miguel Cotto {Welterweight} Following his shocking loss to Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto will be fighting Brit Michael Jennings February 21st on PPV for the WBO welterweight crown, which Paul Williams vacated. I can?t blame Cotto and promoter Bob Arum for chasing another title as well as taking on an opponent who is not only highly rated (and minimally dangerous), but will definitely bring foreign TV revenue and possibly fans from across the pond.
7. Israel Vazquez {Super Bantamweight} Even after some whisperings, Vazquez? status is still unknown at this time as he is recovering from eye surgery. We do however know he won?t be facing Rafael Marquez a fourth time since Showtime grew impatient and gave the date reserved for that potential fight away. WBO champion Juan Manuel Lopez says that he must face Vazquez in order to be the man in the division. If Israel is healthy and doesn?t move up to 126, I think we would all love to see him fight Lopez.
8. Ivan Calderon {Junior Flyweight} On August 30th, Calderon was schooling the much bigger Hugo Cazares, whom he previously beat. ?The Mini Machine?, as I like to call him appeared headed toward an easy unanimous decision victory but had to settle for a technical decision following a nasty cut he received from a headbutt. Calderon will be out the rest of 08 due to the cut and could move back down to 105 or move up to flyweight upon return. Regardless of what weight class he decides to fight in, Calderon will be extremely difficult to defeat.
9. Kelly Pavlik {Middleweight} Following his shockingly one sided loss to Bernard Hopkins at 170 lbs, Pavlik will now return to the division where he belongs. The WBC/WBO middleweight champion will hope to make his terrible performance vs Hopkins disappear with a strong showing vs mandatory challenger Marco Antonio Rubio on the same February PPV that will air Miguel Cotto vs Michael Jennings.
10. Paul Williams (Junior Middleweight) Williams is definitely a man on a mission and a force to be reckoned with. On November 29th, Williams earned his third consecutive KO in three different weight classes as he stopped three time world champion Verno Phillips to win the WBO ?interim? Junior Middleweight title. While the belt itself is a major joke, there are some serious fights available for Williams. Undefeated WBO ?regular? champion Sergiy Dzinziruk is willing to travel to the US to fight Williams and is definitely a worthy candidate for the Punisher?s next fight.
Honorable Mention: Rafael Marquez, Chris John, Shane Mosley, Wladimir Klitchko, Nate Campbell, Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Joan Guzman, Vic Darchinyan, Chad Dawson.
