11-20 are in the books, and now we move on to the first half of the top ten for the year.

Part One (20-16)

Part Two (15-11)

10. Vicente Escobedo v. Carlos Hernandez
April 4, 2009 - Austin, Texas

As the second bout of the Golden Boy-produced Lightweight Lightning pay-per-view, former Olympian Vicente Escobedo and rugged veteran Carlos Hernandez locked horns, and little was really expected of this fight. Escobedo was best-known to many boxing fans as the guy you wondered about on "Fight Night Round 3." In particular, "Why was he there?" Hernandez, 38, had been a past opponent for Genaro Hernandez (1997), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2001) and Erik Morales (2004), among others.

The show was designed to be an eight-man, single elimination lightweight tournament. Golden Boy never made good on that, though Escobedo and Michael Katsidis did later fight on the Mayweather-Marquez undercard, which I chose to recognize as the Lightweight Lightning tournament finals, as in my mind, Edwin Valero and Rolando Reyes simply dropped out of the tournament.

Escobedo turned pro in 2005 and had yet to really step up competition at all. Hernandez promised that if he didn't win, that would be it for him. He would retire. And both of them fought like they needed this one -- Escobedo to prove he was no joke prospect, and Hernandez to prove that he still had something left in the tank.

Hernandez went down in rounds one and two, but stayed in the fight for the full ten rounds, hammering back when he could against a bigger, younger, faster, stronger opponent. "El Famoso" was giving up a full eight inches and reach, and when Escobedo wanted to use it, it showed. But for the most part this one could've been fought in a phone booth. The two warriors hammered away on one another, embracing at the opening of the 10th and final round, and leaving every ounce of energy they had in the ring. Escobedo couldn't finish Hernandez, and the proud veteran went out on his shield. Thus far, Hernandez has been true to his word, not fighting since. It was one of the year's least talked-about great fights.

9. Jose Lopez v. Marvin Sonsona
September 4, 2009 - Rama, Ontario, Canada

At just 19 years of age, Filipino prospect Marvin Sonsona stepped into the ring with WBO junior bantamweight titlist Jose "Carita" Lopez on September 4 in Rama, Ontario. The 37-year-old Puerto Rican had come in on a 16-fight unbeaten streak (15-0-1) dating back to 2001, when he had lost a 12-round decision to Fernando Montiel.

The veteran was confident, but so was the kid. Lopez looked strong early, but a ripping left hand sent him to the mat in the fourth round, and afterward Lopez said he felt that blow for the rest of the fight. The middle rounds saw Lopez kick up the pressure, attempting to rattle the young challenger. But he just couldn't do it. In the end, Lopez handed his title over to the prospect, who now was a titlist. Sonsona won a unanimous decision over 12 exciting rounds. Lopez offered no excuses, and hoped only to land a rematch, which did not come his way. Lopez also praised Sonsona after the fight, showing his true class.

8. Andre Berto v. Luis Collazo
January 17, 2009 - Biloxi, Mississippi

HBO's boxing year got off to a great start with this criminally underrated fight from January, a fight that was forgotten quickly due to the shock of Shane Mosley dominating Antonio Margarito seven days later, and then the subsequent controversy surrounding that fight. But Berto-Collazo was without any question a vastly superior contest, far more competitive and with one of the most dramatic finishes of 2009.

The much-hyped Berto came in against the experienced, crafty Collazo holding the WBC welterweight title, which was for all intents and purposes given to him when Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced his make-believe retirement in 2008. Berto beat non-contender Miki Rodriguez to win the vacant title, and then defended against non-welterweight Steve Forbes before signing on to face Collazo.

Collazo wobbled an overconfident Berto early in the fight, and then Andre lost a point in the fourth round for excessive holding. With his back then slightly against the wall, he was forced to accept that he was in there with a fighter who could beat him.

But the fight was interesting in a lot of ways. When Berto stayed at distance, Collazo was absolutely no match for him. Berto's enormous speed advantage gave Collazo fits. But when they got close, Collazo put a whooping on Berto, who had never been in the ring with someone as resilient and smart as the Puerto Rican.

Going into the 12th and final round, I had the fight at 104-104, counting that fourth round deduction against Berto. From where I was sitting, he NEEDED to win the 12th round, to prove he was a true "champion," whatever diluted meaning that word still has in boxing.

And he did just that. With a ferocity heretofore unseen in either this fight or really his entire career, Andre Berto dug deep down and took the fight to Collazo, who seemed ill-prepared for that sort of onslaught. Unable to time Berto anymore, Collazo was forced into the role of survivor. When all was said and done, I scored the fight 114-113 for Berto, and so did two of the official judges (the other had it 116-111 for Berto, which was very wide).

It was with this fight that, in my opinion, Berto finally earned his status as a welterweight titleholder.

7. Joseph Agbeko v. Yonnhy Perez
October 31, 2009 - Las Vegas, Nevada

From this fight on, we're into the territory of what I consider the TRUE Fight of the Year contenders. Any one of these fights could be argued as the best of the year, I believe.

Seeing as how I'm not six years old, nor do I go to bars to do anything other than drink and kick ass at karaoke, Halloween holds zero appeal for me anymore. But the folks at Showtime put together what wound up being a thrilling main event, with Don King back in Las Vegas at the Treasure Island Casino to promote his man, Joseph Agbeko, against Colombian contender Yonnhy Perez.

While this fight had sleeper status, I don't think anyone expected it to be quite as great as it was. Reigning 118-pound titlist Agbeko had come off of a win over a white-hot Vic Darchinyan in July, and Perez had scored a big comeback stoppage of Silence Mabuza in May. (Mabuza-Perez I should have mentioned on the cut list post as well. I have not seen the full fight, so I couldn't rank it.)

I don't recall a single clinch in this fight. The workrate was astounding, with both men throwing a ton of punches, particularly the hyper-active Perez. Perez scored a controversial 10th round knockdown, which it appeared at first might have wound up being a deciding factor. But for as closely contested as this war was, the scores were fairly wide at 116-111, 116-111 and 117-110. I scored it 116-111 for Perez myself, feeling he clearly won the fight over the always-tough Agbeko, but those scores don't reflect what a great, great fight this was. This year's Halloween wound up pretty damn memorable for the boxing fans that stayed in to watch this one, a true treat for the hardcore audience.

6. Jamie Moore v. Ryan Rhodes
October 23, 2009 - Bolton, England

In my view, without question this was the British Fight of the Year. Dubbed the "War of the Roses," Salford's Moore put his European 154-pound title on the line against Sheffield's Rhodes, who was looking to complete a comeback story with what would be a stunning win over a top ten worldwide junior middleweight.

Moore started the fight very strong, making Rhodes look bad in the opening frame, but meeting a bit more resistance in the second round and beyond. Still, though the fight was constant action and zero clinching, thus quite exciting to watch, I had Moore up 4-0 at the end of four rounds.

But there was a moment in the fourth when the tide seemed to turn. Rhodes hurt him to the body after absorbing more offense, and it would be the fifth round that I finally got Rhodes on the board with a winning three minutes. It was also that fifth round when you could tell for sure that there was a special fight brewing in the air.

Rhodes took the first half of a wonderful sixth round, with Moore coming back strong. On what appeared to be weakening legs, Moore made a major rally and took the round. He may well have gassed himself out, as he already appeared to be tiring. The sixth round might have been a valiant, last-ditch attempt, and it nearly did work.

But in the seventh, Rhodes dropped Moore with a right hand, right as Moore was making another run at a big push. The titleholder got back to his feet to fight on. The two then went toe-to-toe, firing everything they had. Moore suddenly wobbled Rhodes, but just as quickly, Rhodes landed a big right hand that sent Moore stumbling. Rhodes pounced, and with Moore being hammered on the ropes, the referee called an end to the action, giving Ryan Rhodes the dramatic, epic comeback victory.

Round seven of this one was my Round of the Year. They lived up to the "War" in the fight's title for sure.

Photo Credits

Escobedo-Hernandez: The Daily Texan

Lopez-Sonsona: insidesports.ph

Berto-Collazo: Naoki Fukuda / notifight.com

Agbeko-Perez: Tom Casino / Showtime

Moore-Rhodes: Chris Royle / The Boxing Bulletin

WBC welterweight titlist Andre Berto came into the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Miss., to face the toughest test of his young career. Former welterweight titleholder Luis Collazo made the fight live up to that hype.

Berto was able to adapt and overcome just enough to squeak out a tight unanimous decision victory over the somewhat snakebitten Collazo, who is now 0-3 against perceived elite opposition. He was robbed, some would say, against Ricky Hatton, and when he fought Shane Mosley, he got hurt. This time, the 12th round was the difference, as the stronger Berto fired on a winded Collazo for the entire three minutes, sealing the victory.

Official scores were 116-111 and two cards of 114-113. Berto had a point deducted in the fourth round for repeated holding. The scorecards reflected what I saw, which was the fight being up for grabs in the 12th and final round, which Berto unquestionably dominated.

It was a hell of a good fight that boiled down to a few bullet points.

• At distance, Collazo was no match for Berto. Berto's natural athletic gifts were too much for Luis, who had to rely on timing and wits in those situations. In those instances, it sort of resembled Yuriorkis Gamboa's fight against Roger Gonzalez last week.
• Inside, Berto was outgunned by the rugged, steel-chinned Collazo. Collazo did a ton of body work meant to slow Berto down, which worked beautifully. When he got him in close quarters, he took Berto's rhythm completely away.
• It was a fight with great ebb and flow. And it was a hell of a battle that will unfortunately be semi-forgotten, I assume, as the year rolls on and bigger fights litter the landscape.

Round-by-round coverage and scoring of Berto-Collazo starts at 9:45, and the fight is televised on HBO. Join us tonight for the first "big" fight of 2009, and one that looks to be pretty interesting on paper.

No doubt about it, I'm an Andre Berto fan.

The Haitian-American's rise to the upper class of the welterweight ranks has been stunning to watch transpire. Currently, the 25-year old Berto sits on a perfect 23-0 record, with 19 knockouts. He took the WBC welterweight title vacated by the "retired" Money Mayweather.

His talents are obvious. Hand speed, ferocity, power that adds up if not so big one-punch thunder.

Yet there's the itching feeling somewhere that Berto, as it is right now, is sitting on something of a throne of lies.

The WBC title he holds is a paper championship. It means nothing. It was put up for grabs when Berto fought Miki Rodriguez, who was nowhere near championship-level.

Prior to that, Berto built his rising star on names like Miguel Figueora, Norberto Bravo, Cosme Rivera, David Estrada and Michel Trabant. I'm not trying to insult any of those men, but Rivera and Estrada are the two best fighters mentioned, and both are gatekeepers.

Steve Forbes challenged Berto in September, and was easily outclassed over 12 rounds. You know why? Because as much as we all like Steve Forbes, he isn't that good, and he's not a welterweight.

On Saturday night, with HBO televising, Berto will take on his first true test. Luis Collazo is no superstar -- it's not the risk Berto was willing to take against Shane Mosley before Sugar's fight with Antonio Margarito panned out. But it's a legitimate challenge.

It's a test. It's another step up.

Berto thus far has acquitted himself very nicely in each step. Only Rivera knocked him down, and Berto sprang back into the fight with ease, winning a wide decision against a tough guy.

Collazo is best known as Ricky Hatton's first welterweight opponent back in 2006. Since beating Jose Antonio Rivera for the WBA welterweight strap in 2005, Collazo's career has been a series of unfortunate events. Some will still argue he deserved to be the man that took Hatton's "0." After that, it gets a little fuzzy.

Between his disputed loss to Hatton and a clear loss to Shane Mosley during which Collazo was injured, Collazo beat Artur Atadzhanov in Arizona. Atadzhanov was a 10-5 fighter at the time. After nearly a year out of commission following the Mosley fight, Collazo has gone 2-0, both wins over guys he had no trouble with, and shouldn't have.

Now, Collazo steps back into the lion's den against Berto. For as much as it might seem like I'm sort of dissing Berto right now, I'm not. He's a clear favorite against Collazo. He's younger, stronger, fresher, has been more active.

But has Berto been in with a crafty southpaw on Collazo's level? Has he faced even a top 20 welter, let alone an arguable top 10 guy?

It's Collazo's style that should most worry Berto's team and his biggest supporters. Against Collazo, you get nothing for free. He's a sound technician and smart fighter. Berto's mind has not been tested the way it will be on Saturday.

Berto is clearly being positioned as one of boxing's next big stars, and he's earned that right. Luis Collazo, though, won't care what plans HBO might have for Berto, or how promoters see Berto faring at the box office in two or three years.

If Berto lets him, Collazo will find holes. He'll pick at them. He'll frustrate Berto. And then you've got a real fight on your hands. But if Collazo isn't 100% ready, isn't in great shape, and gets overwhelmed early by Berto's speed and energy level, it could be a short night of work.

In other words, color me intrigued by this matchup. We'll have live, round-by-round coverage and scoring of Berto-Collazo on Saturday night here at Bad Left Hook.

A fight between WBA junior middleweight titlist Daniel Santos and Sergio Martinez has been agreed to for HBO's February 14 card, removing Martinez from the January 17 show and turning that Feb. 14 lineup into a brilliant triple-header, according to BoxingScene.com.

Santos (32-3-1, 23 KO) and Martinez (44-1-1, 24 KO) will likely be the opening fight on a night featuring Ricardo Mayorga v. Alfredo Angulo and Nate Campbell v. Ali Funeka, making for a PPV-worthy fight of nights on HBO World Championship Boxing. Frankly, given recent PPV cards, it's far more than PPV-worthy.

Santos was approached as a replacement for "Mean" Joe Greene on Jan. 17, but balked at having to get ready on just 10 days' notice. The multiple-time titleholder has been out of the ring since knocking out Joachim Alcine last July, gaining the WBA title in the process.

It's an excellent fight added to an already-great doubleheader. There's a lot of intrigue in every bout, and I can't say enough good things about the three-fight event. Kudos, HBO.

Queens fighter "Mean" Joe Greene (pictured, courtesy Sky Sports) is out of a scheduled fight on January 17 against Sergio Martinez, which was to be the co-feature to Andre Berto-Luis Collazo on HBO. The unbeaten Greene is currently suffering from kidney stones, and despite a desire to fight anyway, promoter Lou DiBella and doctors have strongly advised Greene to fight, and thus he will not.

The 22-year old Greene was taking a massive step up in competition, going from fighting the likes of Joshua Okine and Jose Miguel Torres to Martinez, a world-ranked competitor who stole the show on HBO's last "night of the prospects" offering when he thoroughly dominated the rugged Alex Bunema.

According to Dan Rafael, ESPN first tapped 154-pound titlist Daniel Santos on a deal to fight over the divisional weight limit in a non-title bout, but even though promoter Don King was OK with it, Santos balked at having to get ready for a fight on just ten days' notice.

HBO is now looking at 27-year old Anthony Thompson, whose career has stalled a bit after back-to-back controversial losses to Yuri Foreman and Ishmail Arvin, and 37-year old ex-titleholder Travis Simms, who hasn't really fought since a July 2007 loss to Joachim Alcine. Simms did fight last August, but against a total tomato can at a Radisson Hotel in South Carolina.

Source: LA Times

Promoter Lou DiBella has won a World Boxing Council purse bid for the right to stage welterweight champion Andre Berto's next title defense against New York's Luis Collazo, the WBC announced on Monday.

DiBella, who promotes Berto, told The Times the bout will occur on Jan. 17 at a site to be determined. The fight will be televised by HBO.

DiBella won the bid for $675,000. Collazo's promoter, Don King, came in second at $427,000.

Berto (23-0, 19 KO) is facing what should be a final "ladder step" opponent before he starts taking on the best in the 147-pound division, or at least that's how I see it. Collazo (29-3, 14 KO) has come up short in his two biggest fights, against Hatton and Mosley, and hasn't beaten anyone worth a crap since 2005.

This would be a BIG upset for Collazo, even though he is a step up from the likes of Michel Trabant, Miki Rodriguez, David Estrada and probably even the undersized Stevie Forbes. And it's a fine welterweight lead-in night for January 24's Margarito-Mosley fight, too. Glad it's done, glad it's going down.