August Ratings

(as of 9/7)

I’ve been doing these monthly ratings since 1983. There are 3 criteria I use to rate fighters:

•Quality of Opposition

•Performance

•Activity

I am not ranking the best from 1 to 10; rather, this is to see who deserves a title shot. I rate all 18 divisions, a time-consuming activity to say the least. Therefore, commentary only appears every 3rd month.

Some mistakingly think the Champion in each division is the guy who I think is the best. This is not the case. There are 2 criteria by which I determine Champions: the 1st is lineage (The Man who beat The Man who beat The Man); and the 2nd is defeating another fighter also ranked in the top 3 in the division.

“Inactive List” is for fighters who have not fought in 6 or more months. It may mean that he is or will be dropping in the ratings due to his inactivity. It is unfair to other fighters for a guy to sit on his rating. If a fighter has a fight scheduled or is injured, I try to take this into consideration.

I do not recognize “Super Champions” or other such nonsense. If the WBA wants to take its world title recognition from a fighter, then it has stripped him as far as I’m concerned.

Heavyweights (over 195 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Vitali Klitschko (WBC)
2. Chris Byrd (IBF)
3. James Toney
4. John Ruiz (WBA)
5. Jameel McCline
6. Lamon Brewster (WBO)
7. Lance Whitaker
8. Andrew Golota
9. Monte Barrett
10. Dominick Guinn

Not in my lifetime has the Heavyweight division been in such a horrid state. A look at old ratings shows that the division hasn't been this dreadful since the late '50s when Pete Rademacher challenged for the title in his 1st pro fight. Now The Ring magazine tells us that Vitali Klitschko is the latest Champion. Right, beating fat Kirk Johnson and out of shape Corrie Sanders makes you The Man. Hello, there's a guy who beat Vitali, who has been ranked higher longer and demands at least equal consideration, and until Vitali beats him, he won't be The Man. Yes, I rank Byrd a step below Viatli (much has happened in the last year or 2), but Vitali has to defeat him (or Toney) to become the Champ...

And on that note, a few words on Champions. This sport would be far, far better off going back to the original 8 weight classes and of course with one World Champion per division. The former ain't likely, but the latter has in my opinion never not been the case. I don't pay any attention to paper titles and belts, and urge everyone to ignore them as well. I only list the titles a fighter has by way of illustration (you can ignore which bogus governing bodies you choose). My criteria for what makes a Champion is laid out above. I try to emphasize this by capitalizing the word Champion, but not so with titlist. I think ESPN and most media outlets confuse the issue (and all the casual fans) by buying into whatever title is at stake and calling all these boxers "champions". No, Fighter X who holds the Continental Americas title is not a "champion". In fact, all those minor belts are best completely ignored. But even fighters with established world titles aren't "champions". John Ruiz may have won a belt, but he isn't the World Heavyweight Champion. He's a titlist. Ditto Brewster, Byrd and Klitschko.

I admire what The Ring has done. It helps bring focus to the confusion in the sport. But they unfortunately jumped in a few years ago and tried to wipe away what had happened before. They, for example, didn't recognize Marco Antonio Barrera's linear Championship, nor Jean-Marc Mormeck's, nor Jorge Arce's, nor Dariusz Michalczewski's. You can't just erase what a fighter has done, especially when that involves winning a linear title.

And their criteria is flawed for awarding new world Championships. One of the ways to win one is to "win all 3 alphabet titles." This is part of the problem, and gives validity to these corrupt, cancerous organizations. I don't give a damn what the WBA, WBC or IBF thinks. They are beyond irrelevant...unless you're The Ring. And finally, what's with their continuing the sham that the WBO is somehow less credible than the other 3? The WBO is sometimes more rational than the others, but the fact is they all suck. I'm just wondering why The Ring seems so attached to the 'BC, 'BA and 'BF.

Crusierweights (200 lbs)
Champion: Jean-Marc Mormeck (WBA)
1. Wayne Braithwaite (WBC)
2. Johnny Nelson (WBO)
3. O’Neill Bell
4. Carl Thompson (IBO)
5. Kelvin Davis (IBF)
6. Guillermo Jones
7. Pietro Aurino
8. Virgil Hill
9. Dale Brown
10. Vincenzo Cantatore

Exhibit A: years and years ago I annoited Orlin Norris the World Crusierweight Champion when he defeated the guy was rated #2 or 3, Arthur Williams. Norris lost to Nate Miller, who lot to Fabrice Tiozzo, who lost to Virgil Hill, who lost to Mormeck. Simple...Regardless, the Champ will face Braithwaite this fall and that should be good. The biggest crusier fight since...well, maybe ever...This is one of those weight classes where it's absolutely loaded at the top. The top 4 contenders are all solid and have all recently won good bouts. Now they simply need to face each other...It gets weak towards to the bottom, but there are young up-and-coming guys like Steve Cunningham and Enzo Maccarinelli below #10.

Lt. Heavyweights (175 lbs)
Champion: Zsolt Erdei (WBO)
1. Antonio Tarver (WBC, IBO)
2. Julio Gonzalez
3. Roy Jones (IBA)
4. Thomas Ulrich
5. Glenn Johnson (IBF)
6. Paul Briggs
7. Fabrice Tiozzo (WBA)
8. Rico Hoye
9. Clinton Woods
10. Medhi Sahnoune

Few weight classes have as clear a lineage of the World Championship than this one. Yet still The Ring and many others insist on the lie that Antonio Tarver is the Champion because he KOed Roy Jones. Of course Tarver is the best lt. heavyweight in the world. Of course Jones was before him. But it makes no difference. Simply because you don't like a Champion, or haven't seen him fight, can not negate his winning the linear title. And just because Jones wouldn't challenge the real Champ says more about him than any foreign fighter.

It's simple. In 1996, Henry Maske held the IBF title, but more importantly was the dominant fighter at 175 lbs. Dariusz Michalczewski, Virgil Hill and Fabrice Tiozzo wore the WBO, WBA and WBC straps, and were considered the other top fighters in the division. Tiozzo vacated to move to crusierweight. The insufferable and corrupt WBC matched Super Middleweight Champion Jones with an old, over the hill and completely undeserving Mike McCallum, who Jones predictably beat. (The organizations do this all the time when they want a certain fighter be the titlist. So they match him against a no-hoper. My favorite thing is when this backfires on them, as when Rafael Piñeda knocked out Roger Mayweather in 1991 for the vacant IBF 140-lb title). Hill defeated Maske, unifying the 'BF and 'BA belts. In 1997, Michalczewski beat Hill, unifying 3 belts and undisputedly ascending to become World Champion. (Jones had been defeated by Montell Griffin a few months earlier). The awful WBA, in their brilliance, stripped Mich. immediately following his win, and the stupid IBF followed suit less than a month later. So Mich. was left with only the 'BO belt, but all that matters is that he was The Man.

We all know how the rest of this played out. Jones collected all the stripped titles plus a bunch of minor ones. He wouldn't go overseas, Mich. wasn't willing to leave Germany. Fans knew Jones was the more talented fighter and then The Ring came along (and ignored history, as previously discussed) and installed Jones as the Champ. I know Jones wolda beaten Mich., but that doesn't make him the Champion. He could have gathered a hundred meaningless minor and worthless stripped titles and it still wouldn't have made him the Champ. And I'm angry at him because instead of Tarver being the Champ, Mich. got old and lost to Julio Gonzalez for chrissakes, who promptly lost to Erdei. A ridiculous situation. But either you believe in the concept of The Man beating The Man or not.

Inactive List: Woods

Super Middleweights (168 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Joe Calzaghe (WBO)
2. Danny Green
3. Robin Reid (IBO)
4. Mads Larsen
5. Manny Siaca (WBA)
6. Anthony Mundine
7. Mikkel Kessler
8. Antwun Echols
9. Rudy Markussen
10. Cristian Sanavia (WBC)

OK, enough long winded diatribes. Here at 168, we have the aftermath of the Joe Calzaghe/Sven Ottke era. Only Calzaghe, who was supposed to move to 175, is still around. But anyway, there are some quality fighters, and this is the only weight class that features 3 Danes in the Top 10. Larsen challenges Siaca next month, and Kessler and Markussen are 2 of the best young fighters in the division...Don't look for Sanavia to hold onto his belt for long. He scored an unexpected win over Markus Beyer, but this is a career 160-pounder who lost to the dreadful Morade Hakkar.

OK, so I lied about the long winded diatribes. I need to rant about the biggest scourge on the sport: sanctioning fees. This is the means by which these corrupt, inept and evil alphabet bodies stay afloat. They extract a sanctioning fee on every title fight (including minor titles) and if the titlist doesn't like it, they'll strip him. Some people defend this as a normal way of doing business, but the amount of the fees is sometimes so over the top, you have to wonder just how much these leeches need to stay open for business. Oh, but then I forget that each of these entities holds an annual convention in an extravagant location, and god knows that's expensive. But consider this the next time you read that the WBC or WBA is holding their yearly get together in Fiji or Hong Kong or Bangkok: this is money that came from the blood of hard working fighters. The fact that Jose Suleyman, Gilberto Mendoza and the other heads of these terrible organizations live so well should sicken those with a conscience.

Sanctioning fees mean more "champions", more weight classes (the latest is the laughable super crusierweight division that has been pushed by some minor governing bodies), more meaningless nothing titles (such as continental this and pan-americas that), insufferable interim titles, and much, much more corruption. I mean, come on, you know Don King, Bob Arum, Frank Warren and the rest of the promoters have their grubby, dirty hands in those pies, don't you? Hell, for all we know, King, Arum and the others may get a piece of that sanctioning fee when they come through for their corrupt partners in the parasitical 'BC, 'BA, 'BF and 'BO. Don't believe me? Arum and Main Events, just to name 2, were forced to come clean on their corruption in the Bob Lee trial a few years ago. And that's only the stuff we know.

Middleweights (160 lbs)
Champion: Bernard Hopkins (IBF, WBC)
1. Howard Eastman
2. Oscar de la Hoya (WBO)
3. Felix Sturm
4. Sam Soliman
5. Kingsley Ikeke
6. Maselino Masoe (WBA)
7. Raymond Joval
8. Bert Schenk
9. Sergei Tatevosyan
10. David Lopez (IBA)

By the time you read this, I'm betting Hopkins has sealed his entry to the Hall of Fame and de la Hoya is on the Farewell Tour...This is another great weight class that is simply awful right now. I am definitely waiting for the return of Felix Trinidad...One guy who I'm not sold on as the Next Savior is Jermain Taylor. Why's he not here? Wins over blown up Jr Middles don't count for much. (Haven't we seen this movie many times?) But the sad reality is he's lurking just below #10, as there's little to choose from at 160.

Inactive List: Schenk

Jr. Middleweights (154 lbs)
Champion: Winky Wright (WBC)
1. Shane Mosley
2. Kassim Ouma
3. Verno Phillips
4. Keith Holmes
5. Javier Castillejo
6. Sergei Dzindziruk
7. Sergio Martinez (IBO)
8. Aslanbek Kodzoev
9. Rhoshii Wells
10. Travis Simms (WBA)

The fight I'm most looking to (now that Morales-Hernandez has passed) is in this division. The Ouma-Phillips rematch should be superb...Can't say the same about the rematch between Wright and Mosley. Mosley seemingly has lost it and Wright's never in a good fight...The pickings become slim after the 1st 4. Holmes only has a couple good wins at this weight, but it's enough to move him up the ratings. Ex-Champion Castillejo remains in here purely due to his activity. The rest have good wins, but nothing spectacular. Fernando Vargas is out till 2005, Vernon Forrest never got around to fighting at 154, de la Hoya went to 160. Man, most of the great fighters left or never arrived...Simms on the verge of being dropped as he hasn't fought since last year. He'll likely be replaced by Daniel Santos, who got a gift against Antonio Margarito after these ratings were compiled, but looked solid anyway.

Welterweights (147 lbs)
Champion: Cory Spinks (WBC, IBF)
1. Antonio Margarito (WBO)
2. Zab Judah
3. Michele Piccirillo
4. Thomas Damgaard
5. Kermit Cintron
6. Jawaid Khaliq (IBO)
7. Cosme Rivera
8. Manuel Gomez
9. Rafael Piñeda
10. Frederic Klose

Ah, another weight class with title lineage as clear as crystal. Here it is: Simon Brown defeated the other top fighter, Maurice Blocker. Then, in order, Buddy McGirt, Pernell Whitaker, Oscar de la Hoya, Trinidad, de la Hoya again, Mosley, Forrest, Mayorga, Spinks. Easy - all you have to do is ignore the worthless paper titles. So if the insignificant WBO and odorous WBA want to say someone else is their titlist, we can treat them like the pariahs they are...#1 Margarito challenged for a title at 154 after these ratings were compiled, and in my opinion got screwed. But he lost on the cards, and said he'll stay here. He remains the top contender...Rivera a fighter on the rise. But where's the other Rivera ('BA titlist Jose), you ask? Having been out of the ring since Sep '03, he's no longer ranked. Is it too much to ask world class fighters to compete at least twice a year? I don't think so.

Inactive List: Damgaard

Jr. Welterweights (140 lbs)
Champion: Kostya Tszyu (IBF)
1. Arturo Gatti (WBC)
2. Floyd Mayweather
3. Vivian Harris (WBA)
4. Sharmba Mitchell
5. Miguel Cotto
6. James Leija
7. Ricky Hatton (WBU)
8. Oktay Urkal
9. Demarcus Corley
10. Juan Valenzuela

I don't believe in stripping Champions, but a I think after a year and half of inactivity, it's the proper thing to do. It's simply unfair to allow any man to hold a division hostage, thereby preventing other contenders who work so hard from reaching their potential and to have their turn. Having said that, in all instances when a guy is injured I try to take that into account. And certainly when a guy has fights scheduled, as Tszyu has at least twice, I give him the benefit of the doubt. Now that the Champ has a certain defense against Mitchell coming up, I think my decision was the right one...Now that I'm done congratulating myself, let's look at this always exciting weight class. Gatti is at the top after his impressive win over Leonard Dorin, Mayweather is probally the best fighter here and makes for many intriguing match-ups, Harris si a solid fighter, Cotto and Hatton are the new blood, and throw in veterans Leija, Urkal, Corley and Valenzuela, and that's a solid division top to bottom...Cotto, who again performed brilliantly after these were done, will be moving up. He's something special.

Lightweights (135 lbs)
Champion: Jose Luis Castillo (WBC)
1. Diego Corrales (WBO, IBA 130)
2. Julio Diaz (IBF)
3. Juan Lazcano
4. Juan Diaz (WBA)
5. Acelino Freitas
6. Matt Zegan (WBF)
7. Jason Cook (IBO)
8. Stefano Zoff
9. Michael Clark
10. Javier Jauregui

Like I said, ignore the titles. They simply confuse the issue. And this is a division littered with them. 6 of the fighters here have at least one. But the only one that matters is the one held by Jose Luis Castillo , and I'm not talking that cheap green plastic one he wears into the ring. In a sad example of what ails the sport, Castillo is lost among all the title pretenders who litter the myriad weight classes. But he is a legitimate 2-time World Champion. A shame...Please don't ask where are long time contenders Steve Johnston and Julien Lorcy. The Frenchman and "Deadbeat Dad" Johnston haven't fought since last September...The newest entrant here is Corrales, formerly the World Jr. Lightweight Champion. I'd pay a lot to see him against Castillo...Watch for Isaac Hlatchwayo, lurking just below #10. This young South African fighter is undefeated and recently beat Phillip Ndou over 12 rds.

Jr. Lightweights (130 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Erik Morales (WBC, IBF)
2. Joel Casamayor
3. Carlos Hernandez
4. Jesus Chavez
5. Yodsanan Nanthachai (WBA)
6. Orlando Salido
7. Robbie Peden
8. David Santos
9. Cassius Baloyi (IBO)
10. Janos Nagy

Witht the departure of Diego Corrales, this division is wide open, but I'd have to give the edge to Morales, who has scored 2 wins over guys in the top 5. Of course, a win over Casamayor would be the ideal way to ascend to the Championship...An overlooked but very solid fighter is Nanthachai. His latest victim was ex-titlist Steve Forbes...Unfortunately this is another division that proves what a sham the current weight classes are. Only 5 lbs less than lightweight, a mere 4 lbs above featherweight, career jr light and #8 Santos is set to challenge Julio Diaz for his 135-lb belt. That fighters can jump around weight classes with such ease is a joke.

Inactive List: Chavez

Featherweights (126 lbs)
Champion: Manny Pacquiao
1. Juan Manuel Marquez (IBF, WBA)
2. Marco Antonio Barrera
3. Scott Harrison (WBO)
4. Injin Chi (WBC)
5. Rocky Juarez
6. Zahir Raheem
7. Chris John (WBA)
8. Frank Archuleta
9. Johnny Tapia
10. Jorge Martinez

A strong division, with a pound-for-pound Champion, a very solid ex-Champ, top level fighters in the top 4, solid young contenders, old veteans and lesser known non-Americans. Hopefully more will fight each other...There's a great example here of why the corrupt, bogus sanctioning bodies have to be ignored. Back in the late '90s, Naseem Hamed won every title and/or defeated every other titlist in the division. (The one title he didn't win was when he was set to unify w/WBA titlist Wilfredo Vazquez, but just before the fight -surprise!- the corpuet 'BA stripped Vazquez). So Hamed was far and away obviosly the real, true, undisputed Champion. When Barrera beat him, the title passed (but not the WBO title, which Barrera didn't want. I say good for him). When Pacquiao defeated Barrera, he became the World Featherweight Champion (his 3rd World Championship, having held the real title at 112 and 122 lbs previously!). There's no other argument to be made here. Pacquiao won his title IN THE RING, not because some insignificant organization said so...There's a load of rematches to be made here. Let's hope to see some of them. Even though it's rare to see contenders fight each other, it's still a good thing.

Jr. Featherweights (122 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Oscar Larios (WBC)
2. Joan Guzman (WBO)
3. Israel Vazquez (IBF)
4. Manabu Fukushima
5. Mahyar Monshipour (WBA)
6. Shigeru Nakazato
7. Jose Luis Valbuena
8. Yoddamrong Sithyodthong
9. Jorge Lacierva
10. Shiji Kimura

Another solid division, with good fighters who fight often...The vacancy at the top will hopefully be filled with Larios facing Guzman. Or if Guzman remains inactive, a rematch between Larios and Vazquez would work...Most of the contenders here are world class and could well win a title. In a way I hope I'm wrong, because what would happen is that they would't face each other.

Inactive List: Guzman

Bantamweights (118 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Rafael Marquez (IBF)
2. Johnny Bredahl (WBA)
3. Veeraphol Sahaprom (WBC)
4. Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (WBO)
5. Silence Mabuza (IBO)
6. Cruz Carbajal
7. Genaro Garcia
8. Diego Morales
9. Frederic Patrac
10. Jhonny Gonzalez

Another example of a division with too many titles. I mean, what are the chances of any of the guys in the top 5 facing each other? When they can just engage in title defenses and preserve their belts, it ain't likely. And that means finding a new Champion is unlikely...Some actually had the gall to wish that the WBC would settle their judgment with Graciano Rocchigiani. Unfortunately, Rocchigiani dd just that. If he'd held out, the WBC would have gone bankrupt, been liquified, gone away. It would have been as if a plague or some horrible disease had been eradicated from the planet. I'm so disappointed it didn't happen. Just imagine if, in this division for example, Sahaprom had to challenge one of the other fighters if he wanted to continue his legend (as it were). If only.

Jr. Bantamweights (115 lbs)
Champion: Katsushige Kawashima (WBC)
1. Mark Johnson (WBO)
2. Masamori Tokuyama
3. Luis Perez (IBF)
4. Fernando Montiel
5. Alex Muñoz (WBA)
6. Martin Castillo
7. Jose Navarro (IBA)
8. Jason Booth (IBO)
9. Eric Morel
10. Gerson Guerrero

Muñoz is inactive, and probally better than his rating. But you gotta fight, or other contenders are gonna pass you by...I make no secret that I know Mark Johnson, that his father is my trainer and friend. But I can say without fear of accusations of unobjectiveness, that Mark is the best fighter in this division. It's a shame that we live in a time with a really great fighter who has been avoided by every other star of his era (Carbajal, Tapia, Romero, et al). Mark is nearing the end of his career. Hopefully he'll achieve the money and prestige someone of his talent deserves. He makes a step in that direction in November when he unifies with Perez (his 4th fight this year).

Inactive List: Muñoz

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC)
1. Omar Narvaez (WBO)
2. Vic Darchinyan
3. Brahim Asloum
4. Irene Pacheco (IBF)
5. Mzukisi Sikali (IBO)
6. Lorenzo Parra (WBA)
7. Hussein Hussein
8. Luis Maldonado
9. Jose Lopez
10. Takefumi Sakata

Another division with clear lineage. Here's the list in reverse order: Wonjongkam, Malcolm Tuñacao, Medgoen Singsurat, Manny Pacquiao, Chatchai Sasakul, and Yuri Arbachakov, who held the position for 5 1/2 years. The current Champion is active and fights quality opponents. Now if only he'd fight some of the real contenders (eg, the guys rated here)...Pacheco may be the best fighter in the division, but he ranked so low because he only fights once a year...Ditto Sikali, who holds wins over ex-contenders Hawk Makepula and Mhikiza Myekeni...Darchinyan and Asloum seem on the verge of winning titles. Hopefully they'll challenge the Champ.

Inactive List: Pacheco, Maldonado

Jr. Flyweights (108 lbs)
Champion: Jorge Arce (WBC)
1. Jose Victor Burgos (IBF)
2. Hugo Cazares
3. Rosendo Alvarez (WBA)
4. Nelson Dieppa (WBO)
5. Juanito Rubillar
6. Bebis Mendoza
7. Shingo Yamaguchi
8. Phichit Siriwat
9. Erik Ortiz
10. Masato Hatakeyama

World Champion Arce's lineage is clear. It goes all the way back to Humberto Gonzalez and Michael Carbajal. Once again, The Ring can ignore this (they have Alvarez as their "champion"), but they're wrong and it calls into question their credibility...Speaing of El Bufalo, the habitually MIA Alvarez and Mendoza will finally get back in the ring in Oct...Some said Rubillar deserved the nod recently against the Champ. Hopefully there'll be a rematch. In the meantime, Rubillar remains highly ranked...Yamaguchi fighting regularly, while Ortiz moves into the Top 10 with a win over Wendyl Janiola, a former contender.

Strawweights (105 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Eagle Akakura (WBC)
2. Daniel Reyes (IBF)
3. Ivan Calderon (WBO)
4. Yutaka Niida (WBA)
5. Jose Aguirre
6. Noel Arambulet
7. Muhammad Rachman
8. Juan Landaeta
9. Chana Porpaoin
10. Rodel Mayol

And finally we arrive at the best argument for going back to the sport's original 8 weight classes. There's been nothing but a turnstile at the top since Ricardo Lopez left years ago. Every time a guy looks solid, he loses, whether it's Aguirre, Arambulet or Porpaoin. Right now the top guys look like good fighters, but perhaps they'll prove as inconsistant as Joma Gamboa, Niida, or Miguel Barrera. And, for godssakes, it's 3 freakin' pounds below the next weight class. Ridiculous. But as we all know, it's all about sanctioning fees.

World Champions: 11 (of 17)