(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Divisions Affected: Pound-for-Pound (not that P4P is a division, but you get me), Junior Middleweight, Welterweight

Our pound-for-pound rankings change this week, and they change right at the top. Junior middleweight gets a minor shakeup, while welterweight welcomes a new top-end fighter.

But this is mostly about Manny and Floyd now, as should be the No. 1 focus of Top Rank's Bob Arum. Only Manny can beat Floyd, in my estimation. Only Floyd can beat Manny, too. I could do a big, rambling feature article on the Manny-Floyd thing, boxing's need for that fight, but why bother? We all know it. It should be done. If either side clearly ducks it, then we'll get going for real. At this point it's such a no-brainer, it'd be like writing an article where one reveals the fact that Peyton Manning is good, or that the Detroit Lions aren't.

Let's do a full, quick look at the updated P4P, then the two divisions that changed this week. All this after the jump at the bottom of this post (under the poll), and as always:

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Chad Dawson didn't move up, but strengthened his position in the light heavyweight division with a dominant win over Glen Johnson. (Photo by Will Hart, via HBO)

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Another Sunday, another update to the rankings.

Divisions Affected: Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Junior Middleweight

Heavyweight: Obviously, the Valuev-Haye fight on Saturday was between two top ten guys. Haye I had at No. 6 and Valuev at No. 8 -- I had Valuev at No. 8 because he stinks. He's deserved to lose a couple of fights he won, including one over an Evander Holyfield who was 46 and frankly older than that after all the punishment he's taken in his career. As I've said plenty since starting the rankings, I don't do this the "normal" way, because I think the normal way doesn't really work for boxing. Wins and losses aren't #1; you can look good losing and look bad winning. You can raise your stock with a loss and lose some with a win. It just is the way it is. And wins and losses in boxing aren't always fair either. You don't simply score more points than your opponent, it's judged.

But despite all that, nothing really changes here. Haye stays at No. 6 (behind the Klitschkos, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev and Cristobal Arreola) and Valuev drops one spot to No. 9. I keep Valuev in despite my opinion of him, because as lame as I think he is, he's still a terrible matchup for basically anybody. Haye looked bad against him, to be honest, but no one looks good against Valuev. That is a fair assessment. Name the last guy that looked good against Valuev.

You could have Haye a little higher if you put any stock into his title belt, which I don't. The WBA's heavyweight title has been devalued to the point of irrelevance. I'm not saying Haye doesn't matter, I'm saying I hope he restores some of the luster. Since he'll fight eternal WBA No. 1 contender John Ruiz, that might have to wait.

Speaking of Ruiz, his ring return on the Valuev-Haye undercard has him back in my rankings at No. 10. I wanted to put him higher, honestly, but I don't see it. The division has actually gotten a fair bit better in the 15 months he's been out of the ring. I had him as high as No. 6 in 2008. I know he's nobody's favorite, but at 37 he's still better and smarter than most guys out there.

As for guys knocking on the door to get rid of a few of these old guys, there's Kevin Johnson (fighting Vitali on Dec. 12), Denis Boytsov (23 years old, 26-0 with 21 KO) and Odlanier Solis. Solis may never get into peak fighting shape, but even heavy he's got a boatload of talent.

Light Heavyweight: Chad Dawson doesn't move, but his win over Glen Johnson was an impressive boxing performance. He looked like a guy who's really at the top of his sport this time, by which I mean he looked fully like a guy that belongs there. Not only is he a great talent, but he has matured and become very smart. Clearly he's clicking with trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. Dawson stays at No. 2, behind Bernard Hopkins.

Glen Johnson does drop down from No. 3 to No. 6. He just was not in that fight. The judges' scorecards (two of them at 115-113) really surprised me. Glen clearly lost that fight, no matter how much celebrating he did after. His own corner knew they were down huge, and they had to convince him of that by exaggerating and saying, "Oh, Glen, it's because that always want to job you out!" Johnson has had plenty of losses in his career that were arguable or even robberies, but there have been some that were very legit, too. Last night was quite legit. Dawson made him look 40.

Honestly, I think there's a pretty big gulf between Hopkins and Dawson and the rest of the field.

Junior Middleweight: I flip-flop Alfredo Angulo up to No. 5 and Daniel Santos down to No. 6. I know, I know -- Santos hasn't lost this week. Keep your wigs on. I'm more impressed by what Angulo did to Harry Joe Yorgey than I will be by anything that Santos does to Yuri Foreman next Saturday. I also didn't see Cintron over Angulo as clearly as a lot of people did. That fight wasn't a blowout. It was surprising that Cintron fought perhaps his best-ever fight, but Angulo wasn't outclassed. Honestly, junior middleweight is one of the strangest divisions there is. It's competitive, in a sense, but the top guys aren't fighting each other, and there isn't a single great fighter there.

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Tomasz Adamek's domination of Andrew Golota and intention to stay at heavyweight moves him into Bad Left Hook's rankings in a new division. (Photo via espn-i.starwave.com)

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A few more tweaks to the divisional rankings today, and there'll be more next week with some big fights coming up.

Divisions Affected: Heavyweight, Cruiserweight, Bantamweight

Heavyweight: For the time being, Tomasz Adamek is still the reigning, real world champion at cruiserweight. But his October domination of Andrew Golota and his stated intentions to stay up there with the big boys means that's probably going to be short-lived. Adamek says he wants to fight the Klitschkos, and thinks he'll be ready in about a year. In the meantime, there are plenty of interesting opportunities for him, though he might have to base himself in Europe again in the short term to take full advantage of what's out there. I think one interesting idea might be a bout with Alexander Dimitrenko, whose size (6'7", 250ish, 83" reach) matches up to Wladimir and Vitali even if his skill doesn't. Dimitrenko was outboxed in July by Eddie Chambers, who isn't any bigger than Adamek.

I'm also not saying that Adamek's win over Golota is any huge deal, because Golota is an all-time great crumbler. Once met with resistance, Golota has reacted in any number of ways over his career, but now he's too old and toned down to heavy bag a guy in the junk or try to eat him. Now he just falls apart like any cowardly lion. But Golota also still moves pretty well, and Adamek just flat-out torched him. Having watched what Adamek did with him, I think the same fate would await many of the heavyweights, and certainly Samuel Peter, who falls out of the top ten with Adamek coming in at No. 9. Peter is powerful, but he's another guy Eddie Chambers beat, and he hasn't looked good against a truly strong opponent in a long time now. Adamek has always been tougher than hell, and while there are certainly guys at heavyweight with bigger punches than he's taken in his career, I don't see him being any easy mark for anyone besides the Klitschkos, which is the standing of just about everyone else in the division anyway.

Cruiserweight: Adamek moving up means Steve Cunningham takes the top spot, 3-10 bump up a spot each, and Matt Godfrey -- who will fight Cunningham for the vacant IBF title in the first quarter of 2010 -- enters in the final spot. Many would have already had Godfrey ranked anyway.

Bantamweight: Entering Saturday night, I had Joseph Agbeko at No. 2 and Yonnhy Perez at No. 6. After Perez proved out for absolute certain with a tremendous win in a fantastic fight, Perez goes all the way up to No. 2, and with what he showed on Saturday, I really think this is a guy that could do some serious damage before he's done. He's not the stereotype of a Colombian brawler at all. Yes, he threw his hands a ton, and yes, he showed a blatant disregard for defense at certain points. But he also showed a magnificent chin in taking some huge shots from Agbeko and never backing down, and he fought with utter fearlessness against a hell of a good opponent. I'd give Perez a legitimate shot against Hozumi Hasegawa, No. 1 in the division and in my pound-for-pound top ten. I like Agbeko a lot, and Perez beat him at his own game.

Agbeko dips, but only down to No. 4, just behind Hasegawa, Perez and a steady Anselmo Moreno. Moreno made a successful fifth defense of his WBA title on October 9, beating a guy he should have beaten (Jorge Otero) and doing it how he should have (TKO-6). Moreno has become one of the most overlooked top fighters out there today. Bantamweight has emerged as one of the best divisions in the sport over the last couple of years, and its top four stacks up pretty well with just about any other class. I really think only welterweight (Mayweather, Mosley, Cotto, Clottey) holds a truly significant advantage.

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Arthur Abraham's brutal knockout of Jermain Taylor moves him up one spot at 168 pounds in the Bad Left Hook divisional rankings. (MICHAEL GOTTSCHALK/AFP/Getty Images)

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Now that everything's in one place, it'll be easier to do quick and dirty updates to the BLH boxing rankings, and I figure after most weekends we'll have something to change here or there. This could become a bit of a Sunday tradition.

Divisions Affected: Cruiserweight, Super Middleweight, Featherweight, Flyweight

Cruiserweight: Yoan Pablo Hernandez (20-1, 11 KO) moves in to the No. 10 spot, where Enad Licina had been. Hernandez beat Licina by a pretty wide decision in Berlin on the Abraham-Taylor undercard, and only has the one loss on his sheet, a stoppage against powerful Wayne Braithwaite in 2008. At 6'4", the Cuban Hernandez could wreak havoc on the division if he kicks his career into a new gear.

Super Middleweight: The two big fights obviously change some things at 168. With the Froch-Dirrell fight a heated debate for the foreseeable future, this is as good a time as any to explain how something like this can affect the rankings. Going in, I had Froch at No. 3 and Dirrell at No. 7. I, personally, feel Dirrell won the fight convincingly. The ringside judges, who matter, did not. Unless it's a case like Casamayor-Santa Cruz or Lewis-Holyfield I, though, I don't see a reason to "punish" the winner. Froch does drop to No. 4, but that's a combination of his skin of the teeth win and Arthur Abraham's beatdown of Jermain Taylor just pushing him up from 4 to 3.

Instead of "punishing" Froch, I simply don't punish Dirrell, who proved to be at least as good as I already thought he was, if not a bit better. Despite the first L on his record as a professional, Dirrell actually moves up from 7 to 6.

And then there's Jermain Taylor. He's out of the top ten, slipping from No. 6 to around No. 13 or so if I went that far. This division is loaded with good, competitive fighters, most of which I think have the power to knock him out. His punch resistance is going, I believe, and his natural gifts just aren't enough to carry him. In moves Allan Green to the No. 10 spot; and yes, I would pick Green over Taylor every day and twice on Sunday at this point. Karoly Balzsay and Denis Inkin are also ahead of Taylor in my mind.

Featherweight: Mario Santiago drops a spot for an eight-round SD in Texas over journeyman Morris Chule (11-8-2, 8 KO). What's most odd about that fight is that Chule had never fought in America before. The Kenyan has fought in his home country, and in the Philippines, Uganda, Hungary, Russia, and Kazakhstan, but never in America. Apparently the handlers for Santiago felt this is the sort of talent you can only fly in -- surely there's nobody as qualified knocking around in Texas, right? Anyway, the one spot drop isn't a big deal; I think there's plenty of good reasons to re-evaluate guys from fight to fight and not just leave them in one spot in a rankings chart because that's where they were before, and it's getting further and further removed from Santiago's spirited draw with Steven Luevano. Santiago did just sign a three-year deal with Top Rank, though, so hopefully his career actually starts moving again. He's stagnating badly.

Flyweight: Raul Martinez stays in the rankings and nobody moves, but it's worth noting that Martinez fought this weekend at just under the bantamweight limit. It was more or less a stay busy/rebound fight, so we'll see what his intentions are. For now, he stays here.

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Yuriorkis Gamboa is shooting up the featherweight rankings. (Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank)

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I decided to spend too much time putting together division-by-division top tens, plus the pound-for-pound top 20 from September on the same page. It's not a post, technically, so there's nowhere on the page itself for discussion, and since discussion is what drives this site, this post is meant to be a hub for that.

These rankings are not meant to be definitive, just yet another set of top tens to put into the machine. They are but one man's opinion, after all. Fighters that are inactive for one year will not be ranked unless they have a fight currently scheduled. Ring Magazine champions are not automatically ranked No. 1 in their division, but it helps mightily. Some fighters who are about to move up a division will be ranked in the division they're moving into, others may not. It all just depends on the fighter and their broader intentions. Not all fights that are listed in the upcoming sections are concrete, and many are speculative, but look like they will be made.

These are just rankings, nothing more. They're not the most serious thing in the world. Hope you enjoy looking through, and with the scattershot strawweight division especially, I can only say I did my best.

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Enjoy, discuss, share your own rankings for as many divisions as you wish, and thanks for reading.

Vitali Klitschko's dominant win over Chris Arreola keeps him steady near the top of the heavyweight division. Some will even argue he's better than his brother, Wladimir. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

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Bad Left Hook Heavyweight Rankings

The truth remains this at heavyweight: It's a two-horse race, and those horses aren't competing. Whether you feel it's Ring world champion Wladimir Klitschko as the true top dog or his older brother, Vitali Klitschko, your pick is one of the two brothers or you're insane. I go with Wladimir, because for as much talk as there has been of how dominant Vitali has been since his comeback last fall, Wladimir has been that dominant during the same timeframe against comparable opposition, and he was doing it while Vitali was out. Wladimir has barely lost a round dating back to his 2006 fight with Chris Byrd. That's a run of eight contests, including a unification fight with Sultan Ibragimov last year, and a fight the highest-rated non-Klitschko in the world, Ruslan Chagaev, earlier this year. He demolished both of them.

Conventional wisdom is pretty straight across the board. Wladimir is the better athlete, Vitali the tougher man with the better chin. But there doesn't really appear to be anyone in boxing right now that can provide either brother with a genuine challenge. Keep that in mind as we count down the rest of a lackluster top ten.

American Eddie Chambers has had an excellent year, beating Samuel Peter and Alexander Dimitrenko. His lone loss came in January 2008 against Alexander Povetkin, a fight I've watched several times now and still feel Eddie should have won. He took his foot off the gas, lost his focus -- whatever it was, it wasn't that he wasn't a better boxer than Povetkin, who is a pretty fair boxer himself. He all but gave that fight away. He picked up the pieces and is now in line to fight Wladimir, likely in March 2010.

Ruslan Chagaev looked terrible against Wladimir in June and hasn't looked too great in a few years now, really, but it's a weak division and his record gets to speak louder than it might with stiffer competition around him.

Many felt that Chris Arreola represented a "hope" for the division. The laid-back Mexican-American brawler was outclassed badly by Klitschko. I said it the other day, I'll say it again: Going as easy as he has on condition hasn't been a problem when it came to guys like Travis Walker and Jameel McCline. McCline barely seemed interested in fighting, and Arreola does have the amateur pedigree plus the punching power to eventually outgun a guy like Walker, which is what he did. But the guy that beat Walker and McCline isn't going to beat one of the Klitschkos. He has to be better than that. If he can do the work, he's got a lot of the right attributes. He's got a ton of heart, legit power, and apparently a much better chin than many believed heading into the Vitali fight. We'll see where he goes, but I think he actually won a lot of fans the other night.

Former cruiserweight champion David Haye will get his first real chance to make noise when he takes on eighth-ranked titleholder Nikolai Valuev on November 7. The way some people felt about Klitschko-Arreola -- i.e. "God I hope he can rid us of Vitali's boring dominance" -- is how I feel about Valuev-Haye, except take out the "dominance" part. It's nothing personal or anything like that, but Valuev will never be in a good fight. Haye potentially could be in a lot of them.

Alexander Povetkin is still waiting on the shot against Wladimir that he won with that Jan. 2008 triumph over Chambers. To be perfectly honest, it doesn't seem like he's in any great rush, and even with that Olympic gold pedigree of his, I don't think he has a hope in hell. Too small (6'2", 225-230), not strong enough, not fast enough to make up for the lack of big power. At 30, he seems somewhat content. He's made no real stink about making the Wlad fight happen, and since beating Chambers has run over trial horse Taurus Sykes and kinda-prospect Jason Estrada.

Wladimir did have his own Arreola during his run of one-sided title fights, a guy that made him work harder than usual. That was Tony Thompson, an uncelebrated, now-37-year-old American that didn't so much trouble Wladimir as he did bother him. It was probably the toughest fight Wlad has had since the Samuel Peter near-fiasco back in 2005. And eventually, Tony was knocked out in 11. He's fought just once since then, and given his age and lack of really quality wins, this is a quite debatable ranking, I know.

Samuel Peter himself is starting to kick around again, following back-to-back losses to Vitali (an eight-round pummeling) and Chambers (who just outslicked the big Nigerian). Since dropping the fight to Chambers in April, he's signed with Top Rank, and they've started to rebuild his career. Knockout wins over journeymen Marcus McGee and Ronald Bellamy may set him up for something more meaningful soon. How about a potential slugfest with Arreola next? Sink or swim, y'know?

On the Outside: Does the division really have much else? Nah, nobody of appreciable difference, really, but there are some names that could just as easily be up here, starting with Alexander Dimitrenko (29-1, 19 KO), whose lone loss came to Chambers ... Juan Carlos Gomez hasn't made a peep since getting shellacked by Vitali ... American Kevin Johnson (22-0-1, 9 KO) was going to fight Odlanier Solis (14-0, 10 KO) on the October 10 Top Rank card, but surprise, surprise! Johnson pulled out and that interesting fight is off. Instead, Solis faces unlucky vet Fres Oquendo (31-5, 20 KO) ... I think Martin Rogan seems like a wonderful guy and agree his loss to Sam Sexton was bunk, but he's not world class material. Rogan and Sexton rematch on November 6 ... Tyson Fury (9-0, 7 KO) may or may not have a future on the world stage himself. Too early to tell. Remember, for all the hype and talk he's generated, he is still just 21 years old ... Did you know Tye Fields actually didn't decide that boxing isn't for him after getting starched in 57 seconds by a shot Monte Barrett? ... Oleg Maskaev really might be Vitali's next opponent. You know what, ESPN Classic? Don't even bother ... For those that barely follow anymore and are wondering, these men still fight professionally: Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, David Tua, James Toney, Lamon Brewster, Francois Botha, Andrew Golota, and Oliver McCall.

One Other Guy: If I had to pick a single guy in boxing right now that could potentially someday pick off one of the Klitschkos, it would be 23-year old American Deontay Wilder. Let me make this 100% clear: If you put Wilder in a ring with one of the Klitschkos right now, he'd be lucky to last three rounds. That's no knock on him, it's just the level of experience. He's seven fights into his pro career, has a lot to learn, and has a fair amount of bulk yet to pack on to his 6'7" frame.

But the frame is the thing: Wilder, at 6'7" with an 84" reach, is as big as the Klitschkos, even a little longer than both of them. Of all the American fighters that we've seen coming up in recent years, guys like Chambers, Arreola, Kevin Johnson, et al, none of them have Wilder's frame. The guy looks like a freak athlete, and is a better natural, all-around athlete than either Klitschko. I already mentioned bulk, and yes he needs to put some on. Given his length and height, it would seem 240 or so could be a destructive weight for Wilder in due time. Right now, he's fighting at 220, a little under, and you have to remember he came in to pro boxing and weighed all of 207 3/4 pounds for his pro debut. They're taking it slow and doing it right.

Now, maybe Deontay Wilder never turns out to be anyone special as a pro fighter, maybe he just doesn't make it. Better prospects than Wilder have flamed out, and worse prospects have become outstanding professionals. But this is the type of guy that could potentially shake up the heavyweight landscape.

Another problem, though: By the time Deontay himself is ready, both Klitschkos might be retired. Vitali's 38, Wladimir's 33, and both of them take their post-boxing lives very seriously, vocally saying they'll never go too far and become "punch-drunk" fighters. Deontay's at least three years away from that type of fight, at which point Vitali will almost surely be retired for good and Wladimir would be 36, and we're talking the soonest possible date.

But even if they never get knocked off, Wilder might well inherit the throne someday.

Juan Manuel Marquez took the lightweight world championship last year from Joel Casamayor. A year later, and even after a loss at welterweight to Floyd Mayweather Jr., he keeps the top spot in Bad Left Hook's lightweight rankings.

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Bad Left Hook Lightweight Rankings

The 135-pound division remains one of the sport's best. Floyd Mayweather's return finally beefs up welterweight to somewhere near its public reputation, but lightweight has more potentially explosive matchups, and it all starts with the man at the top. Juan Manuel Marquez won the RING championship from Joel Casamayor about a year ago. Little did we know then he'd go on to fight Mayweather in 12 months.

The loss to Mayweather doesn't affect his standing here. The stoppage wins over Casamayor and fourth-ranked Juan Diaz are still highly impressive, and someone will have to knock him off his perch at 135 to take that spot from him. Though Marquez appears to prefer a potential 140-pound fight with Ricky Hatton, it seems more likely he'll be facing No. 6 Michael Katsidis, who was very impressive beating Vicente Escobedo on the Mayweather-Marquez undercard.

Second-ranked knockout machine Edwin Valero might need to return to the rings of Venezuela and Japan to fight again. Top Rank's investment in Valero has been a waste thus far, as he's fought just once, knocking out Antonio Pitalua in April. Legal and visa issues, along with his medical history, are keeping him out of the ring, but his stubbornness over opponents and paydays is no help, either.

No. 3 Joan Guzman will face No. 5 Ali Funeka on November 28, with Golden Boy promoting. Oscar and Co. signed Guzman, whose career has been really rocky and in many ways a waste of his outstanding talent. Sometimes it's easy to forget he's 33. The tall, rangy Funeka will test a should-be-rusty Guzman, who hasn't fought since last December. His last outing before that was November 2007, and before that, December 2006.

Seventh-ranked Rolando Reyes hasn't fought since April, when he stunned Julio Diaz with a fourth-round TKO. He's won five in a row since a 2006 loss to Jose Luis Castillo. Miguel Acosta, No. 8, burst into the top ten with his own stunning upset, a ninth round knockout of Urbano Antillon in July. He looks likely to face 130-pound titlist Humberto Soto on the Cotto-Pacquiao undercard.

Namibian Paulus Moses stepped up in competition this year, beating Yusuke Kobori in Japan on January 3, then Takehiro Shimada in Namibia on July 25. American prospect-slash-contender Anthony Peterson checks in at No. 10. He's the brother that goes "FWAH!"

On the Outside: David Diaz and Jesus Chavez will go to war this Saturday in Chicago. It's last chance for romance for both guys, probably ... Antonio DeMarco has had a really good year, and looks to close it out on a high note with a Halloween night fight against Jose Alfaro ... John Murray is the top Brit contender ... Marco Antonio Barrera is as shot as shot can be, and has very little to offer at this weight ... Vicente Escobedo fought hard against Katsidis, and on a different night with a few breaks, that fight may have turned out differently ... Joel Casamayor is not ranked, as he's been inactive for over a year now ... Miguel Vazquez took the "0" from Breidis Prescott on ESPN2 in July ... After missing Lightweight Lighting, world-ranked trash talker Jorge Barrios returned in August, and looks to get back in the ring again in November ... Chances are Urbano Antillon will bounce back and spend a lot of time on top ten rankings lists in his career

Guess who's back in the pound-for-pound rankings? Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s return win on Saturday has crashed the Pacquiao party at the top of Bad Left Hook's rankings. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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We always knew he'd be coming back. Manny Pacquiao may be the hottest property in boxing, but Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s return to the ring has opened up a ton of debate. Who's really No. 1? Well...

1. Manny Pacquiao (Junior Welterweight) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Welterweight) -- Tie

I don't even like scoring 10-10 rounds, but the truth here, I think, is that there is ONE FIGHT out there that will truly decide the pound-for-pound crown, and it's Mayweather-Pacquiao right now. That might not even be true in two months. If Miguel Cotto upsets Pacquiao, then the pound-for-pound ruler is Mayweather, no questions about it.

A Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be the perfect storm. Guys like Ricky Hatton and many others have talked about "winning" the pound-for-pound "title" in past fights, but it doesn't really work that way. Should Pacquiao beat Cotto, we would potentially have a fight that is literally to crown the world's top boxer. It's very rare that you get a chance like this, and should that fight come about, I hope boxing fans cherish the opportunity to see a fight of that magnitude and importance take place.

Of course, I still don't think the fight will, for any number of reasons. But I still like to hope.

3. Juan Manuel Marquez (Lightweight)

Until someone more his size can take him down besides (arguably) Manny Pacquiao, Marquez isn't dipping lower than this for me. He didn't look shot, he looked outclassed and out of his range weight-wise. It happens. Lots of great fighters have taken that risk, and while some make special things happen, many just don't, because the weight is too big an obstacle. That's what happened to Marquez. I think he's very vulnerable even at 135, but he's taken out Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz at that weight, neither an easy task.

4. Paul Williams (Middleweight)

We'll see exactly what Williams can do against a young, strong, big-punching opponent on December 5. Williams' fight with Kelly Pavlik will be a decider in some ways. Either I'm really overrating Williams on the strength of how horribly he embarrassed an aged Winky Wright, plus his disposals of Verno Phillips and Carlos Quintana and a near-forgotten gutsy win over Antonio Margarito, or he becomes cemented up here with the top guys in the world.

5. Bernard Hopkins (Light Heavyweight)

Calling B-Hop a light heavy is kind of a fib, as he has looked more comfortable cutting down to 170 and beating Kelly Pavlik and Winky Wright in two of his last three, and a full 175-pound fight with Joe Calzaghe didn't go near so well. Guys that can make Bernard work really hard and use their speed can still give him fits, which is why I think even the shot Roy Jones Jr. would be a dangerous opponent for Hopkins. And I'm not sure he has the frame to work well at cruiserweight, as has been discussed for a bout with Tomasz Adamek. But Hop has earned his spot up here, and he won't lose it until he loses or retires, and I'm not sure which is more likely to happen first.

6. Shane Mosley (Welterweight)

It's very close between Shane and Cotto. Thing is, if they rematched right now, I'd lean toward Mosley just a little bit. I had him losing a clear, tight decision to Cotto when they fought back in 2007. Last time we saw Shane, he beat the hell out of Margarito, and you can asterisk plenty about Margarito, but one thing is not his chin. He's taken some absurd shots in his career, and no plaster helped him in that regard. Mosley beat him mercilessly until he caved.

7. Miguel Cotto (Welterweight)

A win over Manny Pacquiao would leapfrog Cotto higher than he's ever been, maybe even a shot all the way up to No. 2 depending on how it came about. Cotto isn't in a make-or-break situation or even close to it, but he's never had a bigger fight than this one, and if he loses, he might not get the chance to ever have one this big again.

8. Hozumi Hasegawa (Bantamweight)

Hasegawa jumps from No. 10 for me thanks to a couple of guys dropping after lackluster performances, and the fact that he's just plain been a bulldozer at 118 pounds the last couple of years. He's been ripping guys apart. He may be the most underrated and overlooked fighter out there.

9. Juan Manuel Lopez (Junior Featherweight)

Like Williams, you might think I simply have Lopez too high, but he's got such enormous talent that I can't help but be mesmerized by what he could do. Facts are facts, though, and Lopez needs to face the music against Celestino Caballero. The fight has been discussed for January. If he skips up to featherweight, it'll always be a bit of a question mark on his ledger.

10. Chris John (Featherweight)

John (43-0-2, 22 KO) got the W he probably deserved in February when he again survived a late charge from Rocky Juarez on Saturday night. John was nearly out on his feet in the 12th round, rocked by a short left hook that buckled his knees. He held on for dear life and won a clear decision. John's two fights with Juarez have finally made it clear that yes, this guy is one of the best boxers in the game. His late-fight struggles with Juarez are nothing to be alarmed about, either. Even though he's never gotten over the hump, Juarez is a powerful, legit fighter at 126 pounds.

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