As 2001 winds down we can look ahead to the next year and the fights it brings. And that's the great thing about the sport of boxing. There are no 'offseasons', just one fight after another. And by all indications it looks like 2002 will get off to a strong start.

This past year featured more than its fair share of memorable events, namely Marco Antonio Barrera's exposing 'the Prince' Naseem Hamed and Bernard Hopkins' validation as a great fighter when he took apart Felix Trinidad. What lended a little spice to the year was Hasim Rahman's upset of Lennox Lewis in April several continents away.

Who knows what the upcoming year has in store for boxing fans, after all it has been said that boxing is 'the theater of the unexpected', some would say 'of the absurd', but it's always a lot fun.

The stage seems to be set for a fun-filled '02.

Jan. 5: Micky Ward vs. Jesse James Leija (HBO)
The promoters of this show are dubbing this matchup, 'Real Men, Real Fights'. A not-so-veiled shot at Hector Camacho Jr., whom HBO basically banned after he laid down like a rug against Leija in Coney Island back in July. On that night HBO stood for: "Hector Bitched Out". So with that, two fighters who are as honest as they come, butt heads And it should be a good one, both Ward and Leija have a habit of getting into good fights and are both prone to cuts. The blood should be flowing.

On the undercard, WBA lightweight titlist Raul Balbi defends his crown against the fast rising Leo Dorin.

Jan. 12: Joel Casamayor vs. Acelino Freitas (SHO)
Some, such as yours truly can't believe that this fight is actually happening, with the problems 'Popo' has in making the 130-pound limit. This fight's been backed up several times already, but as we speak the it seems to be a go.

With Floyd Mayweather moving up, this fight between the WBA (Casamayor) and WBO (Freitas) titlists, will determine who is top dog in the junior lightweight class. So don't let any of the talking heads tell you that this isn't for the 'real' championship or anything like that.

Jan. 19: Juan Pablo Chacon vs. Angel Vasquez (SHO)
This was originally supposed to feature Mike Tyson against Ray Mercer, but that fight was scrapped to the surprise of nobody. Instead we get this featherweight matchup from England. It's like ordering filet mignon and getting SPAM.

Hey, does anybody remember when Vasquez was a prospect?

Jan. 26: Shane Mosley vs. Vernon Forrest and Arturo Gatti vs. Terronn Millett (HBO)
A card that at the very least true boxing aficionados will appreciate. The unparalleled Mosley going up against his amateur nemesis Forrest, who kept him out of the 1992 Olympics. Who knows if anyone can give Mosley a run for his money at 147 pounds, but Forrest, a tall, smooth, boxer-puncher is the best bet to do so.

Gatti-Millett should be filled with offensive fireworks. Gatti may not have any more scar tissue to give, but as long as he does, he's 'must see TV'. Millet is awkward, but he can punch.

Feb. 2: Roy Jones vs. Glen Kelly (HBO)
YAAAAAAAAAWN. I guess another belated Christmas gift to Jones, who gets about two of these a year from his cable enablers. But look on the bright side, at least with him and Derrick Gainer's fallout, we get a 'Smoke-less' telecast.

Feb. 9: Joe Calzaghe vs. Charles Brewer (SHO)
Calzaghe has gone through all of the super middleweights that reside in England in Robin Reid and Richie Woodhall, now it's time to step up from Triple AAA. He does so against the hard-punching, yet soft-chinned Brewer.

Feb. 16: Michael Moorer vs. Lawrence Clay-Bey (SHO)
OK, who is going to out-lazy each other? Punch-Stats for this fight could be kept with an abacus. This is a classic 'loser leaves contention'-type of bout.

Just as many will be tuning into this Showtime broadcast to watch the continued development of Francisco Bojado and Jeff Lacy, who are featured on the undercard.

Feb. 23: Paulie Ayala-Bones Adams and Rafael Marquez vs. Mark Johnson (HBO)
Ayala-Adams is a rematch of one of the most controversial decisions of '01. At the end of 12 heated stanza's it would be Ayala coming away with the verdict (but doesn't he always come away with it?). Ayala, has made more great escapes than Geronimo. Can he do it again?

On the flip side, Marquez-Johnson II, is a rematch of the best fight nobody saw outside of the live audience in Corpus Christi, Texas back in October. Hopefully, these two bantam scrappers can put on the same type of fight and the Nevada State Athletic Commission does a better job of adding up the scorecards afterwards than they did in Texas.

March 2: Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales (HBO-PPV)
Simply put, the most anticipated matchup of the new year that is actually signed in ink on the dotted line. Already the action is heating up, with Barrera taking a swing at Morales on a recent press conference. Which makes Barrera 2-0 in press conference scuffles. You do remember the right hand he landed on the chin of Kennedy McKinney at there press gathering a few years back, don't you?

Their first encounter was simply one of the most savage, brutal, intense and electrifying fights in decades - too bad the judges had to ruin it with the 'terrible' decision they gave. Regardless, it was impossible to tarnish something that great.

In an interesting role reversal from their early 2000 matchup, it's Barrera who now comes in on a roll and Morales thought of as the 'shot' fighter.

In limbo ...