Jimmy Wilde was the greatest flyweight who ever lived. He fought over 80 years ago. Pancho Villa, who knocked out an over-the-hill Wilde for the title, might have been the best-known flyweight of all-time.

Miguel Canto was the greatest flyweight of the last quarter century. His prime came in the mid- to late-1970's. I am too young to have seen Wilde or Villa. I never did see Canto at his best. I did, however, see Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson at his. He was the best flyweight I have ever seen with my own eyes.

Johnson's prime has now come and gone without any name fighter in or around his weight division ever getting in the ring with him. Until last Saturday night, Too Sharp had suffered two career losses. The first came in his second pro fight. He was fighting an Irish fighter in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day. He "lost" a four-round decision.

The only other blemish on his ledger came in his match against Rafael Marquez, the hard-hitting bantamweight brother of featherweight standout Juan Manuel Marquez. The fight was action-packed and Johnson was initially declared the winner. The scorecards had apparently been added incorrectly and the decision was changed later on that night. Johnson, who had won belts at 112 and 115 pounds, suffered his first real loss at 118 pounds against a young, improving, and naturally larger powerpuncher. Even so, the loss was razor close.

Going into the rematch with Marquez, it could therefore have been argued that Johnson never really lost a fight. That argument does not work anymore. Marquez outfought and, surprisingly, outboxed Johnson, eventually dropping him twice and stopping him. Sadly, Too Sharp will never get his superfight, and his place in boxing history is not as secure as it might have been. Marquez, meanwhile, has established himself as a force at 118 pounds and a bantamweight showdown with Tim Austin is the best fight the division currently has to offer. Should Marquez beat Austin (Marquez would likely enter the ring as the underdog), perhaps history will record Too Sharp's loss the way it has recorded Wilde's loss to Villa -- the great old lion beaten by the great young tiger.

It's a shame that Ricardo Lopez, Johnny Tapia, and other top-shelf fighters did not have people around them with enough confidence in them to make a fight with Mark Johnson. For years Johnson looked for a superfight, only to be ducked by every top guy near him. I think at his best he would have beaten them all.

The Marquez-Johnson fight was the undercard to the main event between Paulie Ayala, The Ring Magazine's No. 1 ranked 122 pounder, and Bones Adams, The Ring's No. 2 ranked 122 pounder. The fight was a rematch for the two junior featherweights, who waged a fight-of-the-year type war in 2001. Most observers felt Adams won their first tussle close, but Ayala was awarded the decision. The rematch, however, was anti-climactic. Ayala won going away.

From the outset, it was clear that Bones' gameplan was to box more this time around. In their first meeting Adams stood and traded with Ayala, and although he enjoyed success by trading a little defense for a lot of offense, he absorbed more punishment than has been the case through most of his career.

Ayala is a volume puncher -- he throws a very high quantity of punches. A good boxer will often have success against a big puncher, because the big puncher looks to load up on one punch at a time, and the good boxer can usually avoid single, telegraphed bombs. The volume puncher, however, often overtaxes the boxer's defense with the sheer number of punches he throws. Bones made Ayala miss punches throughout their rematch, but even when Ayala missed three straight, he would throw another six, and eventually some of those shots got through. Ayala won the first four rounds cleanly and then won at least half of the remaining eight to win the bout by a wide margin.

Ayala won the fight of the year in 1999 against Johnny Tapia. In 2000, he won a fantastic rematch with Tapia, though many felt the decision could have gone the other way. In 2001, Ayala and Adams waged the best war of the year between two elite fighters. Now in 2002, Ayala has won the Adams rematch big, and has established himself as the ruler of the 122-pound division. A big-money fight with the winner of the Barrera-Morales rematch is now a possibility for Ayala, as is a third fight with Tapia. He could perhaps even match up with Naseem Hamed. Paulie Ayala is a big player in a weight area that is arguably the most talent-rich in boxing.

This last Sunday on the ESPN boxing special we had lightweight silver medalist Ricardo Williams, the most advanced of all the fighters who turned pro out of the 2000 Olympic class. He took on Anthony Washington, a skilled, undefeated Philadelphian who came into his meeting with Williams not as an opponent showing up to lose, but as a young prospect determined to win.

The fight was a high-paced, professional exhibition of boxing skill and guts from both men. After a close first round, "Slick Rick" took control, dropping Washington with a vicious right hook, and breaking his own left hand in the process. Washington was game and tried his best to scrap his way back into the fight after the knockdown, but the difference in the two fighters' amateur experience, and perhaps in their natural ability, was ultimately telling. Williams took the 10-round decision by a wide margin on the scorecards.

There are probably only a handful of guys in the lightweight division right now capable of beating Ricardo Williams over a six- or eight-round limit. Two of them are fighting each other in a couple of weeks, when Paul Spadafora takes on Angel Manfredy. God I love boxing.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.