By Nick Bannister: In part one of this article, I wrote about the prospects for the current top 10 P4P boxers, as ranked by the Ring Magazine. Boxing is fascinating for its constant state of flux, and along with 2010’s best guys, there were a host of boxers slowly making their way toward the top 10, hoping to get the recognition as one of the game’s very best. In part two, I profile some of these fighters, and try to predict which of them will end up in the list this time next year.

One of Ward, Bute and Froch.

The Super Six has done a great job of bringing clarity to the super middleweight division, and with Ward’s impressive wins over Green, Kessler and Bika (the latter not as part of the tournament), he has established himself as a clear favourite to be the overall winner. He faces Arthur Abraham next, and will likely win comfortably, and is therefore likely to face Carl Froch, who should have enough to beat thoroughly impressive but aging Glen Johnson.

Froch is slated by much of the press, but with wins over Dirrell, Taylor, Abraham and current light-heavyweight champ Jean Pascal, he has the resume to be considered a real danger. His loss to Kessler was deserved but closer than the scorecards suggested, and his long reach, iron chin and underrated skills make him a genuine contender. My guess is that Ward will take a lot of punishment on the way to winning a close 12 round decision, but don’t count the tough Brit out. While the winner will probably go straight in to the P4P top 10, true clarity will only emerge when the tournament winner fights Lucian Bute.

Bute is a big, exciting and powerful fighter, who seems to raise his game whenever he is required to, and whose 1 punch KO of Edison Miranda was one of the best of the last year. A Ward-Bute fight is a real toss up, which could go either way, but the winner will have come through a formidable set of opponents to make a claim to undisputed 168lb supremacy for the first time since Calzaghe, and will rightfully take their place somewhere in the top 10.

Chad Dawson

Dawson was until August regarded by many, including Floyd Mayweather, to be the second best technician in the game, but fought totally the wrong fight in losing a technical decision to Jean Pascal in a bout for the Ring light-heavyweight championship. He will get another bite at Pascal, whether before or after the Haitian-Canadian’s rematch with Hopkins, and would also like to get a fight with Hopkins as well as young power puncher Tavoris Cloud in 2011. Now trained by Emmanuel Steward, a more savvy and aggressive version of Dawson should have the talent to beat all three and reclaim his status not only in the top 10, but as one of the top two or three once Mayweather, Pacquiao, Marquez and Martinez retire or slip away.

Yuriorkis Gamboa

The former Olympic champion has had a visually appealing, if relatively steady professional career until now, mostly knocking out lesser fighters in a crowd pleasing style. There probably isn’t a more dangerous offensive boxer anywhere right now, even if he is there to be hit. His road to Juan Manuel Lopez seems to have been mapped out, with that fight, and his opportunity to enter the top 10, taking place in November or December. Before then, potential fights against unbeaten Indonesian Chris John, always dangerous Rafael Marquez or recently defeated Celestine Caballero seem likely to build his name further while gradually increasing his level of opponent. If Gamboa adds some ring smarts to his frightening offensive power, I would expect him to beat Lopez in a close but thrilling fight, and to take his place in the lower reaches of the top 10.

Amir Khan or Devon Alexander

A lot has been written about light-welterweight and for good reason, as it is a genuinely stacked division with a lot of competitive fights and young, hungry fighters. From the division, Bradley has staked his claim to the number 9 spot on the P4P rankings, but two significant challenges to him await.

Devon Alexander is first, and has been touted by many as a potential superstar. He is rangy, fast, and packs a superb uppercut, as Juan Urango found to his considerable cost last year. If Alexander can keep Bradley on the outside, he could give him a real challenge, though his last performance against Andreas Kotelnik does not bode well. Alexander’s win by unanimous decision was met with boos from many, and scores of 116-112 all around were clearly absurd for a fight many felt Kotelnik won. Alexander had his game plan taken away from him, and failed to dictate terms to the savvy Ukrainian, who it is worth noting that Amir Khan totally outclassed a year earlier. If Alexander has learned the lessons from that fight, he could go far, if he hasn’t, expect an easy win for Bradley.

Amir Khan will likely face off against Bradley or Alexander for the Ring 140 championship in the summer, provided he can overcome Lamont Peterson in April (few suspect he won’t). Khan is poised to become a major crossover star, as he is good looking, articulate and has a super fast, crowd pleasing style. His supposed weakness, his chin, was found to be better than expected in his last win over Maidana, but new flaws appeared to emerge, such as an inability to fight going backwards, a susceptibility to uppercuts, and a failure to target the body when it was clear to everyone that his body shots were doing damage. If he fights Bradley, he will need to keep him on the outside where Bradley’s lack of reach and power can be exploited, if Bradley can get underneath Khan and negate his jab and reach he could be in trouble. My suspicion is that Khan will beat Bradley in a close fight, but would find Alexander a tougher challenge due to his ability to throw uppercuts. Khan to take the Ring title and a top ten placing in the summer, and then have a serious but ultimately victorious fight to hold on to it against Alexander in the winter.

Vitali Klitschko

A lack of activity and meaningful challenge has seen the elder Klitchko brother kept out of the top 10 since his return from retirement, but he has the talent to be there. A fight against Orlandier Solis seems likely to be as one sided as most the giant Ukrainian has had for most of his career, and barring a fight with Haye, it is hard to see what Vitali can do to get in to contention. However, he is without doubt someone close to the top 10, so a couple of upset defeats of top guys by lesser fighters will see him enter at the low end, and not without just cause for a man who has only ever been beaten on cuts.

Tomasz Adamek

The iron chinned Pole was a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, who owns wins over current cruiserweight number one Steve Cunningham and once highly rated contender Chris Arreola. He faces Wlad in September in what is likely to be the first genuinely competitive heavyweight title fight in what feels like a very long time. I don’t see him having the power to beat Wladimir, but he is a live dog in the fight, and if he wins will earn a low top 10 ranking, which will be thoroughly deserved.

Bernard Hopkins

What more needs to be said about this seemingly ageless legend? After looking to be on the down slope of an amazing career that included a five year reign as undisputed middleweight champion and a legitimate reign as light heavyweight champion he comes out with one of the performances of the year in his controversial draw with Jean Pascal. He’s been written off before, and he always surprises, whether against Trinidad, Pavlik or Pascal. With a rematch against Pascal likely either next or next but one, and Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud willing opponents, a return to the top 10 is something maybe only a fool would bet against, even if at nearly 46 years old that should be impossible.

David Haye

Haye has two sure fire routes to the top 10, both involve beating a man called Klitchko. For whatever reason however, it is still a remote possibility that the fights will happen in 2011. Beating up on Ruslan Chagaev won’t cut it, nor will a win over Povetkin, Solis, Arreola or anyone else. Haye probably won’t ever make the top 10, which will be a real waste of some serious talent.

Abner Mares or Joseph Agbeko

The winner of Showtime’s Bantamweight tournament will earn significant credibility and deservedly so, but to reach the top 10 will likely have to face the winner of Donaire-Montiel, which few bookmakers would make either favourite for. They may be two fights away from a top 10 ranking, but given the magnitude of the task they face, a P4P top ten slot seems unlikely.

Giovani Segura

Beating Ivan Calderon by eighth round KO was a serious achievement, and put Segura at the top of the light-flyweight tree. He intends to leave the flyweight division as he can’t make weight, so will go looking for big fights at higher weights. Whether or not he can find and win these fights will define whether or not he can maintain his forward momentum in the eyes of the public and the rankings panel. With a lack of big name challenges, my guess is not quite.

So, these are the guys who are the contenders for the Top 10. With that in mind, here is my guess for the top 10 this time next year.

Manny Pacquiao
2.

Sergio Martinez
3.

Nonito Donaire
4.

Andre Ward/Lucian Bute (I just can’t decide which)
5.

Chad Dawson
6.

Amir Khan
7.

Yuriorkis Gamboa
8.

Wladimir Klitchko
9.

Pongsaklek Wonjonkam
10.

Juan Manuel Marquez

What do you think? Who else is coming in to P4P contention? Who have I missed? Can anyone depose Manny unless he fights Floyd? As always, I welcome all comments and suggestions. You can also email feedback to nicholasjoelbannister@gmail.com.