ranking the best fighters in the world

Super Middleweight 19 1 (13) Last Year s Ranking: 68 Status Report: There was only one thing Dirrell could do to negate all the good will he earned with his upset win over Arthur Abraham (W DQ 11): quit the Super Six tournament. And that s what he did. Maybe the claims about his neurological problems are true; it remains that the match against Andre Ward was troubled from the very start and those who said it wouldn t happen were proved correct. Future: Dirrell will fight again but not at the level he would have if he d stayed in the tournament. A bummer for everyone

Bantamweight 27 2 (22) Last Year s Ranking: 52 Status Report: Agbeko s loss to Yonnhy Perez last October (L 12) was close enough to warrant a rematch, and we all expected another shootout. What do we get? A boxing clinic. We had no idea King Kong, could make like a little Gene Tunney. Good for him. Future: Abner Mares in the final round of the bantamweight tournament on Showtime.

WBA Strawweight Titleholder 26 0 (22) Last Year s Ranking: 35 Status Report: Gonzalez remained busy over the last year, but the quality of his opposition plummeted, hence the demotion. He beat Ivan Meneses (KO 4), Jesus Limones and, in October, Francisco Rojas for some alleged interim belt or some such. Future: Wouldn t a showdown with Nkosinathi Joyi be fun?

Junior Lightweight 29 1 (18) Last Year s Ranking: 43 Status Report: Linares demolished shopworn Jesus Chavez (KO 4) and won a wide decision over veteran contender Rocky Juarez (W 10) in July. Everyone s beaten Juarez, you say? True enough. But at the end most were hanging on for dear life

Junior Middleweight 19 1 (16) Last Year s Ranking: Unranked Status Report: Angulo rebounded from his puzzling loss to Kermit Cintron in 2009 with impressive wins over Gabriel Rosado (KO 2), Harry Joe Yorgey (KO 3), Joel Julio (KO 11) and Joachime Alcine (KO 1). That s enough to get him in the discussion, and then some. Future: Several sources reported in late September that Angulo was found to have been residing in the United States illegally and was being deported. If true it throws a fat monkey wrench into his burgeoning title hopes. Plus, no guy this talented should be sitting on his hands, or, even worse, fighting in a place where we can t watch.

WBA Junior Bantamweight Titleholder 32 6 2 (23) Last Year s Ranking: 44 Status Report: Cazares keeps plugging along. Wins over Nobuo Nashiro (W 12), Everardo Morales (KO 7) and Alberto Rossel (KO 9) keep him from losing ground and also mark him as one of the more consistent and reliable titleholders in the business. Future: The only guy to beat Cazares over the last 10 years is Ivan Calderon. Now that Calderon is over the hill, we guess it s safe to say Cazares can be expected to keep winning over the next what, 10, 20 years?

WBC, WBA Junior Bantamweight Titleholder 32 3 1 (26) Last Year s Ranking: 53 Status Report: Darchinyan won three straight after dropping a decision to Joseph Agbeko (L 12), beating Tomas Rojas (KO 2), Rodrigo Guerrero (W 12) and Eric Barcelona (W 12) before losing to Abner Mares in a terrific fight (L 12). Darchinyan gets bonus points for creeping us the hell out. Future: The loser s bracket showdown: Darchinyan against Yonnhy Perez.

Junior Middleweight 22 1 2 (6) Last Year s Ranking: Unranked Status Report: You can laugh at Mora all you want, there s more to this business than being able to knock a guy s brain loose. Whether or not you agreed with the decision, Mora demonstrated against Shane Mosley (D 12) that he can stay on even terms with a world class fighter and on his better nights maybe beat him. The Latin Snake also beat Calvin Green (KO 7) in April. Future: Mora is hopeful that his new promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, will keep him active. There s no good reason a fighter as good as Mora is shouldn t be working consistently

Heavyweight 42 1 (28) Last Year s Ranking: 31 Status Report: We know, this looks all wrong. Adamek jumps up to heavyweight, beats Andrew Golota (KO 5), Jason Estrada (W 12), Chris Arreola (W 12) Michael Grant (W 12) and Vinny Madalone (KO 5) and gets demoted? Damn right. Here s why: He was the best cruiserweight in the world. He s not the best heavyweight in the world. Clearly he was better at 200 than he is at 215 plus. And you thought we didn t put any thought into this stuff. Future: Reportedly a fight in Poland against an opponent to be named.

IBF Bantamweight Titleholder 20 1 1 (14) Last Year s Ranking: Unranked Status Report: You can t blame Perez for not knowing Joseph Agbeko could box and move the way he did in their rematch (L 12). Who did? Their first meeting was a riveting punch a thon; we re surprised they weren t throwing punches at their cornermen between rounds. And it was Perez who forced the pace. It was the same in his war with Abner Mares (D 12). He is a hard guy to beat. Future: An interesting meeting with Vic Darchinyan in the loser s bracket.