Dear Santa:

Just wanted to drop you a note regarding some wishes for boxing fans in 2002. Many thanks for a generous bounty of gifts this year. We've been nice and not naughty, so can you see fit to deliver some of the following in upcoming months?

Wish No. 1: A definitive ending to Tyson-Lewis
Now, Santa, we know this fight's probably going to take place, but it's as important to the historical loose ends of the '90s as it is to today's heavyweight standings. Please prevent any weird Acts-of-Santa from meddling in Tyson-Lewis, including but not limited to dental displays of depravity by Mr. Tyson, jab-grab-and snooze tactics by Sir Lewis, legal problems preventing the fight from occurring, and other acts of malfeasance. It's not too much to ask, is it? A definitive ending would be nice so we can wrap this one up and move on to giving the young guys a shot at the title.

Wish No. 2: More of the little guys
Seeing as how you depend readily on those elves to do your handiwork, Santa, this one shouldn't be too pressing a request. More match-ups between Timmy Austin, Marco Antonio Barrera, Bones Adams, Mark Johnson, Johnny Tapia, Derrick Gainer and even that little Hamed character would be great. And I'm not talking about the fights many of them already have scheduled through spring. Let's have the winners meet the winners and let the little guys keep doing what they do best - redeem boxing for all those who watch it with a jaded eye. Big boys delivering stone-cold knockouts gets the highlights on the 11 p.m. news, but these guys make casual fans lifelong ones when they collide because they give their all for 12 rounds.

And besides, Santa, what with this recession going on, I'm sure some of your laid-off elves could easily change careers and obtain a No. 1 WBA ranking at 122 pounds.

Wish No. 3: Hopkins-Calzaghe
Don't mean to throw you a curveball, big fella, as I know you've probably been deluged for requests of Hopkins vs. De La Hoya or any of the other 154-pound stars. But realistically, all those guys can make equal or better money fighting each other for less risk, and they know it. Hopkins needs to strike while the iron is hot, and it's growing colder by the month as he quibbles with HBO over low purse money for his Carl Daniels mandatory, and the 154-pound stars suddenly find a renewed interest in fighting one another in lieu of him.

This Calzaghe fellow is not afraid, and he needs a big fight like Hopkins. Plus he's naturally bigger so he has the confidence to tackle the middleweight champ.

Please let Hopkins break Monzon's record in his next fight so he can move on to the toughest opponent that's likely to give him a good fight, and that's Calzaghe. See, we were nice, we didn't ask for Jones-Hopkins, which would probably tax even your powers of creation (Jones might want options on next year's Christmas receipts).

No. 4: Floyd Mayweather-Kostya Tszyu
OK, maybe we jumped the gun on next year's Christmas requests, but let's cut to the chase. You know Mayweather isn't going to find anything but speed bumps at 135. We know it, and you know we know it. So why not let Floyd sail through the division with a couple belt-grabbing fights and send him right through to 140. Waiting for him there are a wealth of other good matches to prepare for Tszyu, including Micky Ward, Terronn Millett, Arturo Gatti, Sharmba Mitchell and Diego Corrales. Lots of good fights between any of these guys, in fact, would draw attention to a division that's been largely overlooked since J.C. Chavez went south. Tszyu-Mayweather might be the only fight in the next couple years where Floyd is less than a 5-1 favorite, assuming you decline wish No. 5.

Wish No. 5: The Francisco Bojado Factor
Yeah, he's only nine fights in, but boxing needs him, as eventually will Mayweather and Tszyu. It's not too much of a stretch to see him tackling Jesse James Leija in the coming months, is it? He's already had more TV exposure equivalent to what most fighters get in a career, and that's key to getting the big purses later on (just ask Shane Mosley what a late TV start can do for your Q-rating). Maybe after Leija, give him a Manfredy, a Stevie Johnston, and move on to a belt from there. If Bojado keeps looking this good at the higher levels of competition, Floyd Mayweather might have something to worry about if he hasn't gotten to Tszyu by then. Boxing needs a bright young superstar, Santa, so please don't pull any of your cruel tricks with this kid.

Wish No. 6: De La Hoya-Vargas
Boxing's longest-running feud in recent memory has got to be resolved, and both fighters need one another to resolve lingering questions. Trinidad figures to be too much of a risk for Oscar at this point, and you can come up with an extra few bucks to make this fight, can't ya, Santa?

Wish No. 7: De La Hoya-Trinidad II
This one figures to be a little more exciting than the original, because the press buildup will pit two of boxing's biggest smack-talkers -- Floyd Mayweather, Sr. and Papa Tito -- against one another. The action on the dais could be more entertaining than the fight itself, but imagine the prefight ambiance. Mayweather will be crowing about the "new, improved" Oscar, giving Papa Tito nasty Bernard Hopkins flashbacks. Trinidad will be wrestling with a dented psyche, his old nemesis and all the accompanying baggage. Will Oscar box, run, or slug? Who knows, but there are a lot of questions Trinidad can ask of him at 154 because he's stronger than the drained guy that chased The Golden Boy two years ago.

Plus, you've got to like a press conference where Don King can't land a single quote in the following day's write-up. The fight creates a perfectly logical opponent for Mosley or Vargas at 154, and Hopkins at 160. It may not be the Fight of the Millennium (the original wasn't, either, despite being billed as it) but it can help establish the pecking order in boxing's hottest division.

Wish No. 8: A 108-pound monster for Ricardo Lopez
You were just off by a couple years and three pounds when you sent us Michael Carbajal and Humberto Gonzalez a decade ago, Santa, as Lopez never moved up to fight them. But in the twilight of a brilliant career, the best little man since Eder Jofre has toiled against opponents whose names we can barely pronounce, much less recognize. Here's hoping you can produce one good American flyweight with some name recognition so Lopez can end his career showing us how good he is, which is scarily effective yet largely unnoticed. Even a second coming of a Danny Romero would suffice.

Wish No. 9: More big fights without fear of sanctioning bodies
Hamed-Barrera was proof that fans will pay to see a good fight without the shakedown tactics of the WBA, WBC and IBF present. Many good fights could be made in the spirit of this new trend, as fighters grow tired of paying sanctioning fees against phony mandatories. Here's hoping the ties of legal obligations holding various fighters to mandatories are broken in the coming year, so we can see various WBO, WBA, IBF, and WBC champs fighting one another with or without the belts.

Wish No. 10: More unification
It's great for boxing, and you really delivered this year, big guy, with unifications at 140, 160 (no matter what the WBA says about "super champs") and with Hamed-Barrera creating a publicly recognized featherweight king. Here's hoping Dariusz can finally meet Roy, the 154-pound boys can unify, and all of boxing's other piecemeal belt holders can get together whenever possible. Thanks for all your help, and remember, we've been good, and we promise to keep ignoring comebacks by Camacho, Sr. and Duran just to prove it.