The cover story of the excellent new issue of Ring (futuristically dated September 2007) brings back a neat idea tried twice before and now officially in the magazine every two years: handing out report cards that grade the star power of boxing's current leading men. Each of 20 selected boxers, from heavyweight to junior feather, is given a separate letter grade on five dimensions: talent, achievement, marketability, support system, and growth potential. The write-ups are thorough, but it's a lot of grading. Before long you start getting that alphabet-soup feeling and wondering how it all adds up. A single, unified grade for each guy would have made it easier to compare the guys.
Probably more interesting than the individual grades (they're all high) is seeing which 20 boxers have made Ring's 2007 A-list (and who's left off). If you can guess 20 out of 20 without looking, give yourself an A.
They are (approximately by size): Wladimir Klitschko, Sam Peter, Ruslan Chagaev, Bernard Hopkins,Joe Calzaghe, Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Juan Diaz, Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao, Edwin Valero, Juan Manuel Marquez, Chris John, and Manuel Marquez. Twelve fighters from 2005 didn't make it this time, a churn rate that seems about right. Six of the 20 are U.S. natives, a national shortfall "reflecting the decline of free television and newspaper interest," the magazine says.
In the news: Bernard Fernandez looks at the fighting Tiberi family of Delaware , and other topics, in the Philly Daily News. Dan Rafael sums up Klitschko-Brewster, Simms-Alcine and all the other weekend action at ESPN.com. Norm Frauenheim writes in the Arizona Republic that the Klitschko-Brewster dud is symbolic of the heavyweight division: "Brewster simply did what the heavyweights did years ago: Quit."
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