James Toney can fight. Always could. Now that he is in something resembling fighting shape, he is a bona-fide force in the cruiserweight division.

"Lights Out" mentioned recently that he wants to unify the cruiserweight division. He has yet to win his first title in his new weight class, but I have an idea about who he could go after. How about undefeated IBF cruiserweight champ Vassily Jirov? Jirov vs. Toney is the kind of fight that would bring back the excitement the 190-pound division has lacked since its greatest champion, Evander Holyfield, moved up to heavy.

	Trinidad-De La Hoya excited some people, but not Kellerman.

Who's hot
Speaking of Jirov, although he didn't look like a world beater his last time out, he remains one of the most overlooked fighters in boxing. Jirov won the Olympic light heavyweight gold medal in 1996. That's the same medal Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) won in 1960. It's the same medal Holyfield should have won in 1984. Not only did Jirov take home the gold in one of amateur boxing's historically glamorous divisions, but he won the Val Baker Award as the outstanding boxer of the Games. In other words, based on his performance at the Olympics, Jirov was considered the best amateur, pound-for-pound, in the world.

I remember when the cruiserweight division first came on the scene about 15 years back. You know how different sanctioning bodies have different names for the same weight class? Well, back then, the WBA called cruiserweight "Junior Heavyweight." Jirov is now an undefeated junior heavyweight champion whose record stands at 22-0 (20 knockouts). He is a southpaw, a committed body puncher -- and someone you might want to keep your eye on.

A look back
OK, so several weeks ago I was raving about five upcoming matchups, four of which turned out to be duds. Stevie Johnston-Angel Manfredy was the next thing to a great fight, but Kostya Tszyu-Miguel Gonzales, Freddie Norwood-Juan Manuel Marquez, David Reid-Keith Mullings and Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad all disappointed.

The world's leading heavyweight contender, Ike Ibeabuchi, is in jail. Mike Tyson struggled so much against Frans Botha, that for the first time in his career, Tyson would be the underdog against most of the top contenders. No one will give Vernon Forrest a shot at anything. The two best fighters in boxing, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr., have no competition, and therefore no superfights available in their weight classes. I don't know how boxing managed to do it, but it turned one of the most promising years in recent history into another disappointing 12 months.

Well, a disappointing 9½ months so far. Boxing fans are cynical by nature, but we are also optimists. You know, hope for the best, plan for the worst. Maybe the next 11 weeks will do what the first 41 were unable to do: revive our beloved and beleaguered sport. There is reason for hope...

A look ahead
Naseem Hamed is fighting Cesar Soto next Friday. The Prince will be on Friday Night Fights this week promoting his bout. Now, Hamed might stink it out. He might run around and outpoint Soto over 12 rounds. But he also might erupt when faced with a rugged fighter like Soto. Maybe Soto pressures Hamed into a real fight. Maybe Hamed-Soto winds up a war.

Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are fighting again in November. The fight could be a carbon copy of their first fight, which stunk on ice. But maybe this time it will be different. Maybe Lewis will be more aggressive, and Holyfield will have more opportunities to counter. Maybe Evander can summon one last super-human effort and win the heavyweight title for the fourth time (let's face it, Evander lost the title in every fan's eyes when Lewis beat him --despite the ridiculous draw verdict).

The fight between Michael Grant and Andrew Golota might wind up being tactical and boring. Golota might even disqualify himself again, as he did twice with Riddick Bowe. But just maybe, Grant and Golota will turn into the kind of heavyweight war we have not seen in a while. Maybe Golota will fight like he realizes his status as a serious contender is truly on the line.

Zab Judah is Terron Millett's mandatory contender. Judah is the best prospect/contender in boxing, and Millett, the IBF 140-pound champ, must sign to fight him by late November. It will be interesting to see just how Don King gets around giving Judah his title shot. King knows Millett will fall to Judah, and since King does not have Judah, he will likely steer Millett in another direction. But then maybe, just maybe, enough pressure will be brought to bear, that Judah will get his shot and will emerge as boxing's newest superstar.

Vinny Pazienza and Dana Rosenblatt are fighting again, on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. Pazienza knocked Rosenblatt out in a fight Rosenblatt was winning a couple of years ago. There is legitimate bad blood between the two. It very well may be that Rosenblatt will box extra cautiously to avoid a knockout loss this time around. But maybe the bad blood will spill over into the fight itself, and we'll have a war on our hands. Maybe.

Champions Mark Johnson and Paul Spadafora and war-horse Arturo Gatti will also all be on Friday Night Fights before the year is out.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst, the only outlook for a boxing fan. More likely than not, the next 11 weeks will disappoint us just as the first 41 have. But maybe, just maybe, they won't.

Max Kellerman is the co-host of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights and quite possibly the world's biggest boxing fan.