as of November 14, 1999

There are 3 criteria I use to rate fighters: Quality of Opposition, Performance and Activity. I am ranking the best from 1 to 10; 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 (Felix Trinidad beat Oscar de la Hoya who beat Pernell Whitaker); and the 2nd is defeating another fighter also ranked in the top 3 in the division. There is the exception: Bernard Hopkins is one of those rare titlists who has reigned a long time and defeated many contenders. He is the dominant fighter in his weight class and has won, mostly via KO, against a number of different contenders. You could say Iım rewarding him for long and meritorious service.

Heavyweights (over 195 lbs)
Champion: Lennox Lewis (WBC, WBA & IBO)
1. Evander Holyfield
2. David Tua
3. Michael Grant (IBC)
4. Vitali Klitschko (WBO)
5. Andrew Golota
6. Oleg Maskaev
7. Derrick Jefferson
8. Larry Donald
9. Wladimir Klitschko
10. Hasim Rahman

Well we can breathe a sigh of relief that the Champion is a concrete pick. Lewis won the rematch, got the decision and is the man who beat The Man. As of the compilation of these ratings, the reprehensible IBF was withholding recognition of what the whole damn world saw on 13 Nov, that Lewis is the Champion. They, tardily, gave their belt to Lewis and that will reflected next time...Lots going on here, most as a result of recent results (and this does not include the upcoming Grant-Golota bout). Maskaev, who has hovered just below the Top 10 for a while now, crashed the ratings with his impressive KO of Rahman, who falls to #10. Also, Jefferson scored 1 of the most impressive KOs of the decade when he dispatched Maurice Harris in a great fight...Ibeabuchi gone due to his legal troubles and inactivity, Harris gone and Kirk Johnson exits after more deserving fighters entered and he was displaced...Maskaev and Jefferson enter ahead of an inactive Donald...Tua and WKlitschko active...And Vitali Klitschko moves up after his very impressive win over Ed Mahone.

Crusierweights (195 lbs)
Champion: Fabrice Tiozzo (WBA)
1. Juan Carlos Gomez (WBC)
2. Vassili Jirov (IBF)
3. Johnny Nelson (WBO)
4. Marcelo Dominguez
5. James Toney
6. Carl Thompson
7. Arthur Williams
8. Robert Daniels
9. Imamu Mayfield
10. Robert Norton (WBU)

Lots of activity, but little movement: Tiozzo, Nelson, Dominguez and Williams all saw recent activity...Kenny Keene also fought, but retired. Good luck to him...Mayfield continues to fall since heıs inactive...Norton enters as a questionable placement, but who else is there? Thomas Hearns? Dale Brown? Neither are worthy. Saul Montana, Virgil Hill, and Stephane Allouane are all inactive. Still, thereıs some good match-ups at the top of the division.

Lt. Heavyweights (175 lbs)
Champion: Dariusz Michalczewski (WBO)
1. Roy Jones (WBC, WBA & IBF)
2. Michael Nunn
3. David Telesco
4. Reggie Johnson
5. Clinton Woods
6. Derrick Harmon
7. Antonio Tarver
8. Eric Harding
9. Mohammed Siluvangui
10. Fred Moore

As usual, not much happening in this division. Telesco moved ahead of an inactive Johnson with his impressive win over Will Taylor...Nunn was rumored to be challenging Jones this January, but now itıs back to being Graciano Rocchigiani (who hasnıt fought in nearly 2 years). So Nunn continues not fighting...Moore enters in place of Montell Griffin, who lost to the Champion and then retired...Siluvangui to challenge Michalczewski in December...The good news here is #5-10 are active - though not against each other.

Super Middleweights (168 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Sven Ottke (IBF)
2. Thomas Tate
3. Joe Calzaghe (WBO)
4. Mads Larsen (IBO & WBF)
5. Markus Beyer (WBC)
6. Byron Mitchell (WBA)
7. Charles Brewer
8. Richie Woodhall
9. Frank Liles
10. David Starie

Biggest move here since last time is Ottke taking the #1 spot. He and Tate engaged in a battle that featured lots of give and take, and both established themselves as the top fighters here...Ottke takes over the #1 spot from Calzaghe who is inactive due to injuries...Beyer rockets in after his dominating win of Woodhall. His entry displaces idle ex-titlist Robin Reid...Liles also inactive since losing his title...Starie, Brewer and Larsen all won recently...A name to perhaps look for is James Butler. His KO of Bryant Brannon was not impressive enough to crack the Top 10, but the man definitely has the power that can make things happen.

Middleweights (160 lbs)
Champion: Bernard Hopkins (IBF)
1. William Joppy (WBA)
2. Keith Holmes (WBC)
3. Hassine Cherifi
4. Raymond Joval (WBU)
5. Rito Ruvalcaba
6. Jason Matthews (WBO)
7. Antwun Echols
8. Agostino Cardamone
9. Andrew Council
10. Silvio Branco

Glad to see the Champion and Echols meeting in December. Both were MIA till this bout was set...Bert Schenk pulled out of his bout with Matthews, but it seems the Brit will still fight someone this month...Branco slips a notch ‹ he needs to fight soon...Ditto Cherifi and Cardamone...Don King controls both Holmes and Joppy. Supposedly, the WBC and WBA are trying to unify their titles. What fight could be easier to make than the one between these crosstown rivals?

Jr. Middleweights (154 lbs)
Champion: Javier Castillejo (WBC)
1. Fernando Vargas (IBF)
2. David Reid (WBA)
3. Harry Simon (WBO)
4. Winky Wright
5. Laurent Boudouani
6. Tony Marshall
7. Keith Mullings
8. Bronco McKart (IBA)
9. Luis Ramon Campas
10. Emmett Linton

Little in recent action here, but lots of huge things on the horizon: Felix Trinidad is set to crash the division in March when he faces Reid; Vargas defends against Wright in December; and Simon should be rescheduling his title defense against McKart soon...Mullings slips a few notches since last time due to his points loss to Reid...Boudouani inactive and will begin to slide soon. This is unfortunate, as heıs a very good fighter...And rumors persist that Oscar de la Hoya will challenge Castillejo early next year.

Welterweights (147 lbs)
Champion: Felix Trinidad (IBF & WBC)
1. Oscar de la Hoya
2. Ike Quartey
3. James Page (WBA)
4. Shane Mosley
5. Oba Carr
6. Vernon Forrest
7. Shannon Taylor
8. Willy Wise
9. Ahmed Kotiev (WBO)
10. Michele Piccirillo (WBU)

Little going on, but itıs whatıs upcoming thatıs exciting: the top 2 fighters here may be moving north early next year; Mosley will face new entrant Wise in January; and Forrest will face Vince Phillips a week later...This is Quarteyıs last month if he doesnıt appear soon. Carr also inactive...Pernell Whitaker and Jose Luis Lopez both exit due to too much time out of the ring and are replaced by Wise and a returning Piccirillo.

Jr. Welterweights (140 lbs)
Champion: Kostya Tszyu (WBC)
1. Antonio Diaz (IBA)
2. Thomas Damgaard
3. Sharmba Mitchell (WBA)
4. Zab Judah
5. Randall Bailey (WBO)
6. Terronn Millett (IBF)
7. Shea Neary
8. Miguel Angel Gonzalez
9. Diobelys Hurtado
10. Mickey Ward

Lots going on here. 1st up, Tszyu won the long-vacant Championship and Mago slips to #8 due to that devastating loss...Julio Cesar Chavez isnıt here for the 1st time in over 10 years after his significant loss to Willy Wise (who I incorrectly rated here for a month - Wise beat Chavez, and competes, at Welterweight)...Diaz and Dominguez continue to win, and win impressively, so they pass by weak titlists Mitchell, Millett and Bailey...Speaking of Bailey, is he gonna fight again this year? He slips a spot...Millett and Bailey are higher than last time due to attrition, but their positions are certainly tenuous...Neary also up through attrition...Reggie Green exited after his loss to Ward, who enters, and Hurtado returns...Judah continues to climb. Lots of exciting fighters here.

Lightweights (135 lbs)
Champion: Stevie Johnston (WBC)
1. Paul Spadafora (IBF)
2. Angel Manfredy
3. Ivan Robinson
4. Cesar Bazan
5. Artur Grigorijan (WBO)
6. Israel Cardona
7. Gilberto Serrano (WBA)
8. Julien Lorcy
9. Jean-Baptiste Mendy
10. Colin Dunne

Well, 1 good thing about Serrano winning a title is the pathetic Stefano Zoff is gone...Johnston ascended since last time...Manfredy lost to Johnston, but actually moved up a motch, proving that when youıre active and perform well, you can improve your standing...Spadafora burst in with his commanding win over Cardona...Grigorijan impressive with his win over Michael Clark and moves up...What happened to Dunne? He scored an impressive win over ex-titlist Philip Holiday early this year but since, nada.

Jr. Lightweights (130 lbs)
Champion: Floyd Mayweather (WBC)
1. Derrick Gainer
2. Acelino Freitas (WBO)
3. Jong Kwon Baek (WBA)
4. Diego Corrales (IBF)
5. Lakva Sim
6. Robert Garcia
7. Goyo Vargas
8. Yongsoo Choi
9. Anatoly Alexandrov
10. Dennis Holbaek Pedersen (IBC)

Wow, now thatıs how you win a title. Corrales took some heavy punishment before rallying to stop Garcia. And by the way, Garcia showed how you can lose and move up...An influx of top level talent causes ex-titlists Vargas, Choi and Alexandrov to plunge. Pedersen also displaced a couple of notches...Baek (who defeated Sim), Corrales and Garcia displace Saul Duran, Jesus Chavez and Joel Casamayor. But expect any of the latter 3 to reappear soon...Gainer continues to fight once a month and Freitas already made the inital defense of his title. A solid division up and down.

Featherweights (126 lbs)
Champion: Naseem Hamed (WBO & WBC)
1. Luisito Espinosa
2. Fred Norwood (WBA)
3. Juan Manuel Marquez
4. Cesar Soto
5. Carlos Rios
6. Paul Ingle (IBF)
7. Cassius Baloyi (WBU)
8. Guty Espadas
9. Angel Vazquez
10. Manuel Medina

Finally Hamed ascends. It wasnıt pretty, but itıll do. Soto slips below Espinosa (who he holds a controversial decision over) because of his very unimpressive showing against The Prince. He lands just above another guy he decisioned, Rios, who remains active...Ingle returns with his win over Medina, whoıs down 4 slots...The very talented Vazquezı last month if he doesnıt fight...Baloyi also MIA...Steve Robinson displaced by Ingleıs return...Antonio Cermeno also departs as heıs back to Jr. Feather...Espadas up through attrition. Iıd like to see this excellent fighter in the ring more often.

Jr. Featherweights (122 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Erik Morales (WBC)
2. Marco Antonio Barrera (WBO)
3. Nestor Garza (WBA)
4. Nana Konadu
5. Carlos Navarro
6. Michael Brodie
7. Vuyani Bungu
8. Lehlo Ledwaba (IBF)
9. Antonio Cermeno
10. Yober Ortega

The title will be vacant no more in February as Morales and Barrera will meet (!)...Morales very impressive, again, as he defeated ex-titlist Wayne McCullough in a war...Speaking of ex-titlists, Bungu continues to plummet as heıs inactive...Another ex-title holder, Konadu, also needs to fight...Yet another ex-titlist, Enrique Sanchez, leaves due to inactivity, as does Marcos Licona, who was displaced...Cermeno and Ortega in with good performances against each other...And Brodie continues to win and climb the rankings.

Bantamweights (118 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Paul Ayala (WBA)
2. Veeraphol Sahaprom (WBC)
3. Johnny Bredahl (IBC)
4. Johnny Tapia
5. Jorge Julio (WBO)
6. Cuahtemoc Gomez
7. Julio Gamboa (NBA 115#)
8. Danny Romero
9. Tim Austin (IBF)
10. Adan Vargas

Since last time, Sahaprom passed Bredahl with his solid repeat win over Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, who then retired. The Japaneseıs retirement allows Vargas a place to return...Bredahl remains active and looked awesome in his last bout. Heıd be a good pick to beat anyone here...Ayala made his 1st defense...Gamboa and Austin plunge due to inactivity. Itıs the formerıs last month unless he fights...Romero is a question mark ‹ he suffered a black-out while training last month and his future at this weight class ‹or any other‹ is unclear.

Jr. Bantamweights (115 lbs)
Champion: In-Joo Cho (WBC)
1. Mark Johnson (IBF)
2. Samson 3K Battery (WBF)
3. Gerry Penalosa
4. Mauricio Pastrana (IBO)
5. Hideki Todaka (WBA)
6. Joel Luna-Zaratev
7. Diego Morales (WBO)
8. Eric Morel
9. Jesus Rojas
10. Jesper Jensen (IBC)

Johnson just defended his title, and we can look for him next on HBO in February. Finally!...Todaka up a notch after his good win over fellow Japanese Akihiki Nago...Rojas active, as was 3K Battery (twice in a month!)...Luna Zarate and Pastrana inactive ‹ a real shame in the case of Pastrana, who is a truly excellent fighter.

Flyweights (112 lbs)
Champion: Medgoen 3K Battery (WBC)
1. Manny Pacquiao
2. Chartchai Sasakul
3. Jose Antonio Lopez-Bueno (WBO)
4. Alejandro Montiel
5. Sornpichai Kratingdaeng (WBA)
6. David Guerault
7. Leo Gamez
8. Ruben Sanchez-Leon
9. Jose Lopez
10. Raul Juarez

This division looks different than last time. 1st off, 3K Battery (yes, another one) came from nowhere to unseat Pacquiao...Kratingdaeng beat Gamez...1-time titlist Jose Bonilla exits after drawing with a journeyman...Sanchez-Leon continues to fall since he isnıt active...The intro of the 2 new titlists displace Isidro Garcia and Peter Culshaw, but both are good fighters and should return...Juarez came back w/a good win over Jesus Chong, but after his shameful challenge of Mark Johnson, you can be sure heıll be gone next month.

Jr. Flyweights (108 lbs)
Champion: Yeosam Choi (WBC)
1. Ricardo Lopez (IBF)
2. Pichit Chor Siriwat (WBA)
3. Saman Sorjaturong
4. Michael Carbajal (WBO)
5. Melchor Cob-Castro (IBA 112#)
6. Will Grigsby
7. Jorge Arce
8. Hawk Makepula (WBU)
9. Chana Porpaoin
10. Ratanapol Voraphin

A time of change here. Choi upset Sorjaturong after years of rule, and Lopez finally crashed the division. Next up, Rosendo Alvarez challenges Siriwat in what should be a really good match...Jake Matlala exits after a year of inactivity...Grigsby doesnıt fall far as he looked good against Lopez; he was just in over his head...Cob-Castro remains active and performing at a high level...Juan Domingo Cordoba leaves after too much idle time, and Joma Gamboa leaves as well - he went down to 105 to challenge for a title...Ex-titlists Porpaoin and Voraphin return to fill the gaps...Lots of solid fighters here and a many good potential match-ups exist.

Strawweights (105 lbs)
Champion: TITLE VACANT
1. Wandee Singwancha (WBC)
2. Rosendo Alvarez
3. Noel Arambulet (WBA)
4. Zolani Petelo (IBF)
5. Joma Gamboa
6. Kermin Guardia (WBO)
7. Satoru Abe
8. Songkram Porpaoin
9. Lindi Memani
10. Wolf Tokimitsu

For the 1st time since 1990, Ricardo Lopezı name does not appear at the top of this list. An amazing record...Singwancha takes the top spot with a good win over Tokimitsu. He moves past an inactive Alvarez, whoıs moving up soon to 108 lbs...Tokimitsu briefly exited but returns with a win and the exit of an idle Ronnie Magramo...Guardia and Abe active and move ahead of Porpaoin and Memani, both of whom need to fight soon...And Andy Tabanas was displaced due to the entry of Arambulet (who defeated Gamboa for Porpaoinıs old title), and then was beaten by a nobody. Blows his title shot with Singwancha.

World Champions: 13 (of 17)