This is such a mentally turbulent time of year for sports writers. In addition to fighting off multiple holiday hangovers and covering such meaningful events as the John Rocker Humanitarian Bowl, our editors ask for those year-in-review stories that are wearisome to write and even more laborious to read. And then we have those stories previewing the upcoming year.

	The coming year might not be so kind to heavyweight John Ruiz.

Well, I'm a boxing columnist. Not even three bottles of $6.99 New Year's Eve bubbly can make me wretch as easily as a quick perusal of boxing headlines from the year gone by, and predicting what may happen in this sport is a complete waste of time. Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis is a done deal? Suuuuuuure.

So, I figured, why not combine the two, a preview and a review rolled into one? Multiply two negatives and they become a positive right?

You be the judge, as we step into the future to review some of the top boxing headlines of 2002. Please feel free to place large sums of money -- your personal savings if you feel like it -- on any or all of these predictions coming true.

Fight of the Year: Rematches don't often live up their billings, but Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales II certainly did. It was a non-stop brawl between two gladiators who didn't take a step back and wouldn't quit on their own accord. Only after the referee stopped this spectacular bout in the 11th round was Barrera's hand raised in victory, evening the score after Morales' much-disputed split-decision victory in the 2000 Fight of the Year. What made the outcome even better is that it sets up Barrera-Morales III.

Other candidates included Barrera KO-7 Naseem Hamed, Joel Casamayor KO-8 over Acelino Freitas, Oscar De La Hoya KO-11 over Fernando Vargas, Floyd Mayweather W-12 over Paul Spadafora and Paulie Ayala W-12 over Bones Adams.

Non-Fights of the Year: The much-hyped showdown between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis came close to fruition before an epic Iron Mike meltdown -- and questions over his illegal visit to Cuba -- scrubbed it. Other bouts that would have been great had they been made in 2002 include Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones (not enough moxie on Roy's part), Jones-Dariusz Michalczewski (same reason), Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson-Tim Austin (not enough money to go around) and Johnny Tapia-Hamed (not enough sanity on either side to reach accord).

	Pound for pound list
	ESPN.com boxing writer Tim Graham's top 15: 1. Bernard Hopkins 2. Shane Mosley 3. Roy Jones 4. Marco Antonio Barrera 5. Kostya Tszyu 6. Erik Morales 7. Floyd Mayweather 8. Oscar De La Hoya 9. Felix Trinidad 10. Lennox Lewis 11. Fernando Vargas 12. Tim Austin 13. Zab Judah 14. Paulie Ayala 15. Naseem Hamed

Fighter of the Year: After avenging his frustrating loss to Morales and dismantling Hamed for a second time, Barrera will forever be mentioned as an all-time great in any division. Many people tabbed Barrera as the one who would supplant Julio Cesar Chavez as the Latino ring hero. Barrera always demonstrated the skill needed to succeed JC Superstar, but Barrera never possessed those eye-popping, big-fight credentials. There is no argument now.

Trainer of the Year: Who cares? This is boxing. Any dude who can motivate himself to climb through the ropes to face potential head trauma while, in turn, trying to bruise his opponent's brain shouldn't have to share his glory. The guy who usually wins this type of honor, after all, merely is the Fighter of the Year's trainer. Besides, a fighter forgets everything his trainer tells him between rounds as soon as the bell rings because he's trying to survive in there. Yes, some trainers are better than others. But, in the end, they're only as good as the fighters they work for.

Manager of the Year: Next.

Promoter of the Year: Top Rank boss Bob Arum endured a turbulent 2001. De La Hoya was gone. The bones in Floyd Mayweather's hands were becoming as fragmented as his brain. Diego Corrales went to jail for beating his pregnant wife. Julio Diaz's fast-track career was briefly sidetracked with his first loss.

Yet Arum bounced back in 2002. Oscar returned, enabling Arum to make the Fernando Vargas grudge match a reality. Arum orchestrated a pair of sensational rematches: Morales-Barrera II and Ayala-Adams II. Mayweather kept winning. Miguel Cotto's stock continued to rise. And, of course, Arum still promoted a guy called Six Heads. Can't beat that.

Matchmaker of the Year: It doesn't get any better than Top Rank's Bruce Trampler. Picking him to win this award is like predicting the New York Yankees will win the World Series. As Peter McNeeley would say: "Duh."

Breakout Fighter of the Year: Heavyweight prospect Derek Bryant exploded on the scene with a series of devastating knockouts. The southpaw stayed busy for the first half of 2002, fighting almost once a month, and his insidious style placed him on HBO before the year was over. His business relationships with former HBO boxing boss Lou DiBella and vastly underrated advisor Rick Glaser didn't hurt, and Bryant gained even more exposure because of his female trainer, Sharrone Baker. Bryant entered 2002 at 11-0 with 9 KOs.

Breakdown Fighter of the Year: John Ruiz couldn't keep buoying his career with ugly and thoroughly boring victories over Evander Holyfield. Mandatory challenger Kirk Johnson pounded the "Quiet Man" into submission in 2002, finally taking away Ruiz's ridiculous WBA heavyweight belt. Honorable mention goes to Paul Spadafora, the former IBF lightweight champ who was beaten by his first legitimate opponent in some time. Mr. Pitter Pat had long been ripe to lose his title, and Mayweather finally picked him off.

Breakout Female Fighter of the Year: Generally, I wouldn't include such an entry. But Vonda Ward isn't a typical female fighter. She's not in boxing because she's the daughter of a ring legend. She isn't using the sport to further a modeling career. She doesn't fight because the gimmick will make her money. Ward is a boxer because she's a damn good athlete. Ward was USA Today's 1991 national high school basketball player of the year and went on to play center for the University of Tennessee and then professionally before an injury stunted her hoops career. She started boxing for fun, and although her 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame made it difficult to find worthy opponents, she finally became the first women's heavyweight champ in boxing history in 2002.

But let's not forget all the screwy stories that will evolve in 2002. After all, this is boxing, where some of the better tales of 2001 included a dead fighter rising in the WBO super middleweight rankings and heavyweight Lance Whitaker changing his name to GOOFi.

Here are some off-the-wall predictions I have as much confidence in becoming reality than some of the ones listed above.

Riddick Bowe Brainpower Prize: Despite warnings, several boxers refused to retire, hoping against hope that slurred speech becomes as trendy in 2003 as butt cleavage was in 2002. The list includes Holyfield, Vinny Pazienza, Hector Camacho Sr. (any time a fighter needs to be labeled "Sr." it's automatically time to walk), Julio Cesar Chavez and Arthur Williams.

Whose Line Is It Anyway Award: Former champ Pernell Whitaker in January pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. He was caught carrying a small bag of coke into a courthouse when he arrived to serve time for multiple traffic violations. (This item already happened.)

P.T. Barnum Cup: On Feb. 2, Eric "Butterbean" Esch and William "Refrigerator" Perry -- to settle an argument apparently over a turkey drumstick -- fought in a reinforced ring in Gulfport, Miss. The combined weight of both topped 800 pounds, and the judges used the 10,000-calorie-must scoring system. (Stop laughing. This bout actually has been scheduled).

Darrin Morris Second Chance Award: Just when you thought he would be spending the rest of his life looking at Rorschach tests, Andrew Golota returned to the ring. Upon stepping through the ropes, however, he head butted the ring post, curled into a fetal position, wet himself and begged announcer Michael Buffer to stop tanning.

George Carlin Bloated Record Award: The comedic genius once asked "How come none of these boxers seem to have a losing record?" I'll be sure to ask that stiff, Richie Melito, when he comes to pick up this trophy. Melito, the former heavyweight laughingstock, dropped a few pounds in 2002 to fight for the same title at cruiserweight. The stumblebum entered the year with a gaudy 27-1 record, and there are serious suspicions many of his opponents took dives.

Play It To The Bone Award for Cinematic Excellence: While "Ali" raked in millions at the box office, a more obscure boxing film garnered rave reviews from critics around the globe. "Judah," the heart-wrenching tale of a young, cocksure champ whose glorious world abruptly collapses, forcing him to search for his identity while trying not to drool on himself. He staggers around, looking for answers only to discover the cruel truth. Sadly, he lashes out at the only man who can help him stay on his feet, and the spiral continues.

Ahmad Rashad Award for Journalistic Excellence: HBO's George Foreman remained a terrible boxing analyst in 2002. In one particularly embarrassing moment, he couldn't pronounce Freeda Foreman's name and couldn't recall anything about her background.

ESPN.com boxing writer Tim Graham covers boxing for The Buffalo News and The Ring Magazine, and formerly wrote for the Las Vegas Sun.