Continued from above...

This writer refusing to factor in Fernando Vargas's win over Wright, breaks the promise made above regarding the ethics of a writer, but consider them broken as that fight was a bit to close for the decision's outcome and the liking of fans world wide...even the commentators were bothered by that decision. Anyways, a loss is a loss and in a 50 fight career...3 losses is nothing to cry over.

Is the young upstart Jermian Taylor worthy of the mantle that he was bestowed or is Ronald "Winky" Wright the man to be the undisputed champion of 160lbs? In this writer's heart...the answer is YES to both questions...but...alas...there can't be two kings...no matter how badly the people want to keep their royalty...only one man can fit in the throne.

With the fight looming on the horizon, contracts already inked, and Wright set in stone as Taylor's mandate...we the fans will have our answer come June the 17th, 2006 in the form of one of the most anticipated middleweight showdowns of the past two years.

Now if that's not enough to wet your appetite then all that need be is to factor in Germany's Golden Boy Adnan Catic...better known as Felix Sturm. A compelling figure himself, Sturm has risen up through the middleweight division like a quiet storm for the past three to four years. A name that was rarely spoken over coastal waters, Sturm made a name for himself after controversially losing a 12 round decision to Oscar De La Hoya back in 2004. Points can be argued back and forth regarding Oscar being outclassed...the performance is more frowned upon regarding Oscar's weight and lack of preperation instead of smiling on the acheivement of Sturm.
Sturm, in this writer's opinion, put on quite a show. He gave Oscar one of the tuffest fights of his career and tactically matched him down the stretch in power and abilities. Hardly anyone credits Sturm's "loss" over Oscar...but on the flip side...many writer's and fans did take notice and fell immediately in love with Sturm's workrate, his jab, and his ability take and block the majority of De la Hoya's assault. To stand toe to toe with and control such a worthy opponent as Oscar speaks leaps and bounds of one's abilities.
Since the loss to Oscar, Sturm went on to win his next five fights in a row...two of those he won by KO before the 5th round. He defeated hard hitter Jorge Sendra over a twelve round stretch with an injured hand. After coming off of the injured list, Sturm conquered hard hitting Samoan power puncher Maselino Masoe to become the WBA's Middleweight Champion. Sturm now has the prestige in his country of being a champion once again. Good for him.

Again...to be fair and open minded though...saying that Sturm is going to dominate the division is as improbable as saying that Taylor will...but if anyone can...you would have to lean towards Felix, his defense, power, and brilliant work rate.

Just as soon as one is set on the would be kings...another pawn makes a move on the board. That pawn is Arthur Abraham, argueably...he could be considered a knight or possibley even King.

Abraham is the fastest riser of the division and the most active. Like Sturm in the past, Abraham fights as often as possible. After his pro debut in 2003 he fought five times, in 2004 he fought nine times, in 2005 he fought five times, and only once thus far for 2006...each time stepping up the opposition and out of the twenty men that he has fought...he's stopped seventeen of them. Not bad for a prospect that has begun fighting the tuffest in the 160 division.

The greatest accomplishments so far have been his beating of Howard Eastman and his knockout of Kingsley Ikeke. He controls the WBA's Inter-Continental title and he also holds the IBF's strap. How long he can hold them fighting the line up that his team has arranged for him will remain the question. Next up the fighting Armanien sharpens another tooth in his mouth as he takes on heavy handed Kofi Jantuah this month. After that...provided that he wins against Jantuah...he will then match strength for strength against another prospect by the name of Edison Miranda. The kid is definently going for the cream of the crop. Royalty awaits...but can he maintain the pace that he has been steadily pushing his body to keep.

Speaking of Edison Miranda...he has followed in the footsteps of Jermain Taylor...more or less, so to speak. He did what no other man had ever done in 40 fights...he not only defeated a durable veteran war horse in Howard Eastman...he knocked him out! No small feat for a prospect. But as exciting as Miranda is...he's got a lot of question marks hanging over his head, along with a very penetrable defense.

The fight against Abraham will answer most...if not all questions of this future hopeful.

Other pieces of the board on the back burner are Kelly Pavlik, Chad Dawson, Sebastian Sylvester, Khoren Gevor, Sechew Powell, & Giovanni Lorenzo.

That's one hell of an exciting set of pawns & knights just waiting to become king of the ring.

Knocking just one key piece off the board would push all of the pawns into place...thus ensuring better matchups and also enticing a large amount of fans back to the little square box that holds all of the magic of the square circle.

It'd be checkmate for boxing fans around the globe.