By Michael Katz

Photo © Natasha Chornesky/FightwireImages.com

Our world has been shaken. This is a good thing; we don't need a flat world. Turmoil is stimulating. Forgive me if I nonetheless attempt to restore order.

There is a welcome lull to all the recent action, giving us time to catch our collective breath. The only “major” fight this weekend matches two Armenian-born middleweights in Berlin. It is the calm preceding the fantastic finish to the 2007 schedule. It's already been a shocking year. Since the last time I compiled my very own personal pound-for-pound list, back in late March, for some web site I have long forgotten, many of my hardy perennials have been uprooted.

This is testimony not only to my lack of expertise, but to the depth of the talent pool. Take away the heavyweights, please, and we might be in a moderate golden age - if not 24 karat, at least 14 or 15.

Winky Wright is beaten. Okay, but it took a Bernard Hopkins to do it and so what if B-Hop is 42. Rafael Marquez goes down, but instead of crying over spilled Mexicans, lets celebrate the Mexican who stands tall, Israel Vazquez. Jorge Arce gets soundly outboxed, but it was a revelatory performance by Cristian Mijares.

This is what happens when good fighters face good fighters. Somebody, usually, has to lose. And as the year comes to a roaring coda, with such matches as Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Ricky Hatton, Jermain Taylor-Kelly Pavlik, Sugar Shane Mosley-Miguel Cotto, Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler, Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto and yes, even the heavyweights are well represented by Oleg Maskaev-Samuel Peter, the game is in a delightful flux.

Attempting to overcome my short-term memory loss, I shall endeavor to put it in perspective. The best way, I believe, is to show just how many good fighters are in practice at the moment and I shall attempt that by the over-rated game of rating them. Pound for pound, remember, was created for Sugar Ray Robinson. There was no No. 2 when he was the king. Maybe it should be that way now, but too many out there are not willing to attend the coronation of Prince Floyd.

No. 1 - Of course young Mayweather gets the call. It's pound-for-pound, not thrill-for-penny, otherwise Manny Pacquiao's well-deserved fan base would complain bout being held to No. 2. I'm not ready to coronate Mayweather, as Don King did the other day, as the best since Muhammad Ali - a ludicrous estimation, considering King once promoted Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez and a pretty fine country heavyweight named Larry Holmes, and that's not taking into account Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Pernell Whitaker et al. Pretty Boy is picking and choosing his victims very carefully. He comes out of “retirement” to face Ricky Hatton, a smallish, hittable battler, because of “insults” made by the English brawler.

When a bigger man, Antonio Margarito, made similar insults, Mayweather turned the other cheek. If he really wants recognition as an all-time great, he must face the Mosley-Cotto winner, maybe Paul Williams. Beating the aged and slow Oscar de la Hoya does not impress me. Hatton may be a step down from that. It's as if he chooses to walk a tight rope six inches above a kiddie pool instead of soaring above the Grand Canyon as his wondrous talents should insist.

No. 2 - The aforementioned Pacquiao. He's got a date for a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera and he'd better not take it too lightly just because he annihilated him the first time. By returning to the Philippines to train, in front of adoring fans, he indicates a certain lack of seriousness. Barrera may be long in the tooth, but great fighters sometimes have one big effort left in the tank and he's motivated.

No. 3 - Juan Manuel Marquez. This is the rematch Pacquiao needs to win if he wants to have any claim to No. 1. Marquez scrambled this list by handily defeating Barrera this year and next faces the tough Rocky Juarez, a hell of a tuneup for what we hope will be the early 2008 rematch with Pacquiao. Finally, the smooth Mexican boxer is among the elite of the elite. I thought Pacquiao, who knocked him down three times in the first round, deserved the decision,  but their draw was a satisfying result. As Leon Spinks would say, “A draw - nobody wins, nobody loses and everybody gets to fight another day.”

No. 4 - Joe Calzaghe - This is where the list becomes fuzzy, where if you juggle the following order, you will receive no complaints (you will also receive no compliments, in fact, you will receive nothing, I do not discuss my ratings; your ratings do not interest me any more than do, say, Dandy Dan Rafael's and he invented boxing). Calzaghe has been hiding behind Jeff Lacy's apron string - since exposing the American youngster, the left-handed Welshman has done little but beat outclassed journeymen. However, in November, he gets another chance to assert his great talent when he faces another unbeaten super middleweight, Mikkel Kessler. It is a fight fan's fight.

No. 5 - Bernard Hopkins. Elevating Calzaghe keeps me from going hog-wild over Hopkins, who after all, lost two decisions (okay, I thought he lost the first by a point, won the second by the same margin, or vice versa, who can remember such mundane details?) to Jermain Taylor. But his domination of Antonio Tarver last year and of Winky Wright this summer in his new light-heavyweight body by Mackie Shilstone, have convinced me that the old master is still one of the greatest forces in the game. But at 42, he's slowed to one fight a year.

No. 6 - Winky Wright. Carlos Arias, after watching Hopkins defeat the Florida master, wondered if Wright was still worthy of the hall of fame. Never mind that Jose Sulaiman is in there, Wright is a first-time ballot shoo-in, or should be. So he lost to someone bigger and stronger. After eight rounds, it was even. Don't give me his 1-1-1 recent record. That was no draw with Jermain Taylor. He's getting up there in age, but the slippage isn't really showing. He'll be fine at 160.

No. 7 - Jermain Taylor. Yes, he's got two “victories” over No. 5 and a draw with No. 6, but he hasn't done much for me lately with his two victories over Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks. Maybe Emanuel Steward isn't a perfect fit. He's going to say goodbye to the 160-pound division with a showdown against the powerful Kelly Pavlik. Maybe there is a future in the 168-pound division against the Calzaghe-Kessler victor.

No. 8 - Sugar Shane Mosley. Okay, maybe a spot or two higher than most would give the gallant old warrior, but I still believe he is the only welterweight around who could beat Mayweather (Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron would indignantly dispute that statement), an opinion that would gain much favor if he gets past the undefeated Cotto in November. Mosley has the hand speed, smarts and chin to tangle with any 147-pounder short of Vernon Forrest, who thankfully for the Sugarman is now at 154.

No. 9 - Israel Vazquez. A just reward for discombobulating - don't you love that word? - my pet, Rafael Marquez ten days ago. I wanted to keep the younger Marquez in the top ten so naturally I have to stick Vazquez in there before him. It's not a reach.

No. 10 - Rafael Marquez. Losing to good fighters will not be punished severely. I had him No. 4 in March, No. 3 after Winky was beaten. Anyone who can knock out Marc (Too Sharp) Johnson and Tim Austin deserved that touch of nobility. Losing a fight of the year to the bigger Vazquez is not a sign that the end is near, not after beating his rival the first time. They'll meet again, guaranteed, next year.

No. 11 - Miguel Cotto. This is partly on faith. Beating Zab Judah is not an automatic qualifier for the top ten, but this kid looks special with his almost stoic body attack, reminiscent of the great Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez. We'll see how he handles speed and poer when he faces Mosley. The loser does not figure to fall too far.

No. 12 - Ricky Hatton. I wouldn't argue too strenuously if someone put him a few notches above this, but his spotty performances make me wonder. He's looked real sharp against two stars whose brightness may have been dimmed by age and overuse, Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo. I like the kid and he could rise in the rankings even if he loses to Mayweather.

No. 13 - Joel Casamayor. It's like they're waiting for him to join a home for assisted living. No one wants to fight the multi-talented Cuban southpaw. Forget what the sanctioning bodies decree and don't listen to any 135-pound pretender named Diaz  - he is the real lightweight champion of the world. At least, while ducking Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Julio Diaz will face each other, hopefully for the right to lose to the Cuban.

No. 14 - Joan Guzman. The classy Dominican stylist has been crying for the top 130-pounders - Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Barrera - and to show how serious he is, he's agreed to meet one of the most dangerous junior lightweights around, Humberto Soto of Mexico, on Nov. 17. Guzman, who smoothly went from 122 to 130, may not live up to his nickname of “Little Tyson” at the greater weight, but his superb skills make him formidable for anyone. He'll need it all against Soto, who has won 20 in a row since dropping a majority decision to Kevin Kelley five years ago and was the first “L” on the record of Rocky Juarez. Another terrific fight for the fall.

No. 15 - Oscar de la Hoya. Here's where it starts getting muddy. I'm taking Oscar because of my inclination to go with the tried and true. But he did put up a valiant struggle this year against the No. 1 (though it wasn't close on my scorecard) and as long as he stay away from his business partners - Mosley and Hopkins - he can still compete.

No. 16 - Chris John. I've never seen the Indonesian, and I've been told that he really didn't deserve that decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, but just to come close to the Mexican artiste warrants recognition.

No. 17 - Alexander Munoz. His only two losses, both on points and one split, against 30 victories were both to the very talented Martin Castillo. He moves up past his old nemesis by clearly outpointing, in Tokyo, the Japanese fighter, Nobuo Nashiro, who betwixt had taken Castillo's superfly title.

No. 18 - Chad Dawson. The light-heavyweight belt-holder was a lovely surprise the way he handled the gutsy Tomasz Adamek to win his title earlier this year and after one soft defense now meets Adrian Diaconu, who has almost the same pro record. Dawson is 24-0 with 16 KO's, the Romanian-born Diaconu is 24-0 with 15. Dawson, a smooth southpaw, will present enormous problems for the Montreal-based challenge on Sept. 29. Dawson is 6 feet 3 iinches, Diaconu is 5-9. Would have preferred to see Dawson against Antonio Tarver, but if he beats the tough Diaconu, who's coming off a three-round stoppage of Rico Hoye (okay, Hoye has always been overrated, but still….), and does it impressively, then he'll warrant such a high ranking.

No. 19 - Paul Williams. Another tall southpaw who showed great moxie in holding on to his lead against tough Antonio Margarito to win one of the minor welterweight belts. No, he's not another Thomas Hearns - nowhere near the same power - but he is a good boxer and managed to thwart Margarito's pressure offense by keeping the Tijuana Tornado on the defensive for the first half of the fight. None of the other top welterweights, except maybe Kermit Cintron, seems anxious to jump in the ring with the Punisher, so a rematch with Margarito may be his best payday. Love to see him against Zab Judah or Joshua Clottey in boxing's deepest and most talented division.

No. 20 - Cristian Mijares. Talk about surprises, he just didn't beat Jorge Arce to hold on to his superfly title, he beat him every which way. Arce had not lost since 1999, when he was stopped by Michael Carbajal while way ahead in the 11th round and was making a reputation as having the greatest ring entrances since either Naseem Hamed or Liberace. Mijares didn't just come out of nowhere - the 5-foot-6 southpaw hasn't lost in five years.

No. 21 - Kelly Pavlik. This may be too high, or not high enough. It all depends on how the largely untested middleweight does challenging Jermain Taylor next month. The Ghost, 31-0 with 28 KO's - the last eight in a row against increasingly tough opponents, capped by a seven-round blowout of Edison Miranda - has been a work in progress. Taylor seems sometimes to be a work in regression. It should be a lot of fun while it lasts and with Taylor, win or lose, moving up to 168, the division almost needs Pavlik to show that the Ghost is very real.

No. 22 - Antonio Margarito - He came on strongly against the superior boxer, but my gut feeling is that he wouldn't do as well the second time around with Paul Williams, who should now have the confidence to go with his other attributes. Margarito does a lot of things wrong - wide punches, slipshod defense - but it's what he does right that makes him tough to handle. He takes a punch and keeps on driving.

No. 23 - Joshua Clottey. Just to underline how good the welterweight division is. If Margarito can't get a rematch with Williams, how about giving one to Clottey, who is also promoted by Bob Arum.

No. 24 - Mikkel Kessler. Undefeated Danish fighters used to have the distinctive aroma of herrings, but this guy seems very real. He added the WBC belt to his WBA trinket by overwhelming Markus Beyer in three, not that the German is on the same level as Joe Calzaghe, but it was impressive. It would be very impressive if he beats Calzaghe in Wales.

No. 25 - John Ruiz. Just kidding. On the other hand, if this were a list of money made with the least talent, he might be at the very top. Give him some credit. Okay, not that much. Meanwhile, the real No. 25 is good ol' Marco Antonio Barrera. It's almost an insult to put the great Mexican down so low, but it would be a greater one to leave him out, even if his one-sided loss to Juan Manuel Marquez had the unmistakable feeling of a career at the end.

Okay, that's my order. Don't bother me with your opinions until you spend 40 years in the trenches dealing with Bob Arum and Don King and their ilk. That's why you're allowed to blog a bit at the end of my operas.

PENTHOUSE: There have been many deserving fighters in recent weeks, but Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez stand out, for the second time this year. The third round of their second meeting was as good as anything I've seen this year. This was two highly skilled boxers trading punches, but not in an amateurish brawling Gatti-Ward manner. It was more Ali-Frazier III than Gatti-Ward III and, after they both get deserved rests, there should be Vazquez-Marquez III as 2008 is already looking like another good year.

Eddie Futch wasn't around to stop it, but Referee Lupe Garcia, perhaps a tad too quick on the trigger, intervened with Marquez out on his feet. Yes, I would like to have seen him get a chance to recover, perhaps while Vazquez took a breath from all that punching, but Garcia's action was understandable….Scratch Freddie Roach as trainer of the year, by the way. He parted with Vazquez, saying he didn't think his man was ready to face Marquez again and Rudy Lopez, who has been working exclusively lately for Marco Antonio Barrera took over with spectacular results….Let's not overlook the perfect 1-2 thrown by Ulises (Archie) Solis in the eighth round that took out Rodel Mayol in what certainly is a candidate for knockout of the year. The IBF 108-pound champion survived a sixth-round knockdown by the Filipino challenger on the undercard of the terrific Bob Arum pay-per-view show featuring Erik Morales's game challenge of David Diaz (I had it a draw from my living room, but have no quarrels with the outcome of another fight-of-the-year honorable mention (it wasn't fight of the night, easily surpassed by Vazquez-Marquez II)….Wallace Matthews, doing commentary alongside the improved Nick Charles, kept going “Wow” - a reaction he had so often later on a Versus prelim that we're going to have to call him Wally Wow Wow.

OUTHOUSE: Welcome home, Don King. It's bad enough you campaign to get Felix Trinidad Jr. to come out of peaceful and well-earned retirement. It's bad enough you match him with the much bigger and stronger Roy Jones Jr - no, this is not the Junior Bowl since Little Floyd is not included - but to have the audacity to say this fight, which is at least six years too late, is for the “peoples' championship” is asinine. “This is about pleasing the people,” said King, who now will get to work on other fights that have withered on the vine - Lennox Lewis vs. Riddick Bowe and the ever-popular Jack Johnson vs. Sam Langford….Why does WBC split judges like this: for D. Diaz-Morales, there was one from Illinois (Diaz's longtime home), another from Mexico (Morales) and a “neutral” from Japan. Okay, all three came up with Diaz winning, but there should be three “neutral” judges, even in appearance…..Wally Wow Wow blew a big chance. In explaining the rules on the Diaz-Morales card, he played it straight with no imitation of Harold Lederman. Let's say this, WWW is no Lederman…..Wow Wow may be trying to replace Larry Merchant as HBO's greatest blood-thirsty ghoul, the way he complained when Downtown Louis Brown, a hopelessly outmatched (in size and skills) brawler, was finally spared further damage from Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Brown, whose defense is more Ground Zero than Downtown, should have been stopped from his own bravery earlier by his corner, the ref, ringside doctors or the Illinois commission. “It's not an issue,” said Wow Wow, who needs to be castrated since his balls are too big for most fighters….Let's make room in here for the idiots who defended chicken fighting by saying it's no different than eating poultry.

Last weekend's terrific double-header from Sacramento was disappointingly short of HBO's usually high production standards. Nick Charles said Jhonny Gonzalez was way ahead on the official scorecards when he was taken out by that perfect left hook to the liver by Gerry Penalosa, but the scores were not given, and in fact, I read that while C.J. Ross of Nevada, who's had it wrong before, scored five of the six completed rounds for Gonzalez, Steve Morrow had it only 4-2 and Ralph McKnight, like me, had it 3-3….Also, where were the post-fight interviews following that scrap?

SEGUE INTO DIS AND THAT: Still, am rooting for Wally Wow Wow to get HBO gig of replacing Mad Max Kellerman on HBO's Boxing After Dark series, especially if his main competition is Ron (Flip Flop) Borges, the writer (and a damn good one in his prime) who after once saying Foul Pole Golata should never be allowed to fight again after walking out against Mike Tyson, applauded a title shot given him by Don King - after first being hired by King to do TV commentary on the show…..Others said to be in contention are Rich Marotta, the West Coast veteran; Doug Fischer of maxboxing.com, which somehow sounds familiar, and Lester Bedford, who's been a fight coordinator, promoter, manager (Jesse James Leija) and a quick wit…..Got phone call from Buster Mathis Jr, one of the bravest fighters I've had the pleasure to cover - he went into the ring knowing there was no possible way he could ever hurt Riddick Bowe or Mike Tyson (like his father, who went into the ring knowing his feather fists couldn't harm Joe Frazier or Muhammad Ali). Young Buster, now 37 (I know, I know), has just graduates from the University of Miami with a degree in sports management and is hoping for work in his old trade (if I were Bob Arum, I'd make a big run at the affable former fighter - there's not one African-American out front for Top Rank)…..See where Tony Thompson was bitching that he was passed over for Evander Holyfield when Ruslan Chagaev called in sick for his match with Sultan Ibragimov. Thompson said as No. 1 WBO contender, he should have had priority. Never mind that he became No. 1 by beating Luann Krasniqi, Evander Holyfield - and I'm almost afraid to say this, he could have a shot - is a bit bigger attraction….Doesn't it warm the cockles when you see Bob Arum and Oscar de l Hoya in each other's arms?

Avetik Abrahamyan, known to you aficionados as Arthur Abraham, should have little trouble with fellow German-based Armenian Khoren Genor in Berlin on Saturday night in defense of one of those meaningless middleweight belts (if it's not wrapped around Jermain Taylor, it's meaningless). However, with Taylor moving up to 168 or more, Abraham needs to maintain his status along with Winky Wright and Kelly Pavlik in the battle for succession - unless of course Pavlik decides that for himself Sept. 29. If so, his first mandatory defenses should be Wright and Abraham, who is an 11-1 favorite last time I checked off-shore…..Wladimir Klitschko has gone to the sidelines for the rest of the year. Says he has no one to fight and, besides, HBO has no money to pay him in his customary manner. He's behaving just like most of the leading heavyweights in history. Ah, the good old days…..Where is Larry Holmes now that we need him?