1) Lennox Lewis- He's back. Lewis crushed Rahman in 4 rounds to regain his status as the undisputed heavyweight champion. At 36, I think Lewis ought to fight Wladimir Klitschko and Mike Tyson. There are a few good heavyweights out there like Lance Whitaker, Chris Byrd and Fres Oquendo. But unless they make big statements in the coming months, I think Lewis can retire without fighting them.
2) Wladimir Klitschko (pictured right in his fight with Schulz)- I have to hand it to Wlad. After a setback to Ross Puritty, this guy has come back to become a huge force. I think he's worked very hard to reclaim credibility and I think he deserves a shot at Lennox Lewis. He totally wiped out Chris Byrd, Derrick Jefferson, Wolfgramm, Axel Schulz, David Bostice, Monte Barrett and Phil Jackson, which are all nice wins.
3) Mike Tyson- Obviously, it's very hard to rate him since we don't know what he has left. The fight with Golota didn't prove much at all. Although he was able to get inside of Golota's reach and hurt Golota. And he was off for nearly a year after that when he fought Brian Nielsen. Impressive KO wins over tough guys Lou Savarese and Franz Botha were steps in the right direction, but that was over a year ago. Fight with iron-chinned, iron-willed Ray Mercer will show a lot.
4) Kirk Johnson- After years of speculation, we definitely saw a determined, action fighter in Johnson when he thrashed Oleg Maskaev. He was almost taken out in the first with Oleg's right hand, so we'll have to wait and see if he can take it against the bigger and better fighters.
5) Hasim Rahman- Rahman is a talented fighter. Assuming that face-wrenching right hand he got blasted with hasn't taken a lot out of him, I expect he can continue fighting the top contenders. His suspect chin doesn't bother me as much as his questionable stamina. Ever since I saw Rahman struggle with Jeff Wooden a couple of years back, I felt stamina would be his undoing. But he is talented and he can compete with everybody in the heavyweight division.
6) Chris Byrd- It's hard to complain about Byrd. No, he doesn't have a lot of power, but he makes for that in determination and that's not something everyone has. Boxing would be an infinitely better sport if more fighters had the heart Chris has. He didn't take any time off after his first loss to Ibeabuchi. He took the Vitali Klitschko fight on 10 days notice. He could've easily made an excuse by stating that he had already signed to fight Adolfo Washington, but Byrd went ahead and took the tougher fight. So far, Byrd has been true to his word that he fights all comers. Loss to Wladimir Klitschko was brutal, but Byrd continues to look for the best fights. With a win over David Tua, I think he deserves respect from boxing fans.
7) John Ruiz- Ruiz was impressive in beating Holyfield in their second fight. Prior to the second fight, he improved his image as a worthy contender with an inspired fight against an aging Evander Holyfield, displaying a good jab and snappy right hand. Ruiz was ahead on my scorecard, (117-112), against Holyfield in fight no. 1. He has the skills to conceivably beat a few name guys, but quite honestly, I don't think he will remain WBA champion for very long. I'd pick any fighter in this list to beat him, but he beat Holyfield legitimately, twice in my opinion, and he deserves credit for that.
8) Fres Oquendo- Big win over hot prospect Cliff Etienne and subsequent wins over Obed Sullivan and David Izon have made a force in the division. I respect this guy. He's been moving up with wins over respectable opposition.
9) Jameel McCline-Out of nowhere, McCline comes in and beats Michael Grant and Lance "Goofi" Whitaker. Two big wins, especially given that Whitaker was rapidly becoming a big force.
10) Lance "Goofi" Whitaker- Has gotten consistently better, but the loss to McCline moves him down this list. Huge right hand power has kept him highly interesting. He did show that he could come back from a loss before, so he should be able to do it again.
*) David Tua- Great power, chin, and stamina. I don't remember ever seeing anyone who can carry their KO power so late in a fight. Thus far losing only to Lennox Lewis, Chris Byrd and a razor thin fight against Ike Ibeabuchi, which I felt Tua won. Maybe we have seen the best of Tua, but I still think that left hook makes him worth watching.
*) Vitali Klitschko- I wasn't really impressed with Vitali when I saw a few of his fights. He's has an effective jab and he obviously has power. But I thought he looked too robotic and straight-up to campaign successfully among the heavyweight elite. He's got something cooking if he's managed to get this far. I was impressed with the way he was outboxing Chris Byrd in their fight. There is some talent here, but Vitali didn't show a lot of heart against Chris Byrd, quitting after 10 rounds. I don't think he will become heavyweight champion, but he seems to have big power.
*) Evander Holyfield- Badly hurt by John Ruiz of all people. Ruiz is a decent fighter, but he shouldn't have been able to hurt Holyfield. I also thought Holyfield lost to John Ruiz in their first fight. I really think it's over for Evander. This time, probably for good. But he's proved us wrong before, and that's what makes him a fighter to watch.
*) Cliff Etienne- Got knocked out by Fres Oquendo, a talented heavyweight, but one that shouldn't have KO'd Etienne. I like Etienne. He's a hell of a lot of fun to watch. But I said it from Day One: This guy must beef up his defense if he's going to crack the top 10. I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, but I saw this coming. Not against Oquendo, but I knew it was bound to happen. Even when a lot of fellow boxing fans were singing his praises as the heavyweight heir. He just eats too many punches. The good news is that Etienne didn't go in there with a Tyson or Lewis who could've really inflicted some damage and may have messed up his potential for heavyweight stardom. If Etienne can go back to the gym and improve, he can probably make a statement. If he doesn't, then he'll get whipped again. He's one of the more entertaining fighters out there, so he's definitely one to watch.
*) Ray Mercer- Has had a successful comeback, so far against limited opposition. He was an action fighter against Holyfield, Lewis and Tommy Morrison and he came damn close to beating both Lewis and Holyfield. It will be interesting to see if he can make it back to the top. Upcoming fight with Mike Tyson is a must-see even if both are past their best.
