Ask a fan if 2000 was a good year for boxing, and chances are he will say yes.

	Lennox Lewis, right, was in command throughout his heavyweight title defense against David Tua.

That reply would be an honest mistake. After all, many fans still are caught up in the euphoria of the great Dec. 2 bout between Felix Trinidad and Fernando Vargas. Aside from that war and a handful of other exciting fights, however, this was a wretched year for boxing.

The IBF -- and the whole sport, for that matter -- went on trial. Some of the sport's most alluring names (Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather) went dormant. The U.S. didn't win an Olympic gold medal in boxing for the first time in 52 years. Bobby Tomasello died from a head injury. Paul Ingle slipped into a coma. Tony Ayala got shot. Diego Corrales allegedly beat his pregnant wife. Mike Tyson remained at large. Larry Holmes, Roberto Duran, Evander Holyfield and Julio Cesar Chavez continued to live off past glory.

It was a year in which boxing needed all the help it could muster, but could only sigh when one of the country's most powerful men and possibly the sport's strongest supporter, Arizona Sen. John McCain, dropped out of the presidential race.

The best part of 2000 was the trend of rival promoters working together to produce fights fans wanted to see. We saw Trinidad take on Vargas and David Reid. We saw Andrew Golota almost fight Mike Tyson. We saw Shane Mosley vs. De La Hoya, Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, Lennox Lewis vs. David Tua, Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Tapia II.

There were other fights we didn't see for various reasons. There was no Lewis-Tyson, Trinidad-De La Hoya II, Kostya Tszyu-Zab Judah, Naseem Hamed-Morales, Bernard Hopkins-William Joppy or Roy Jones-Anybody with a Chance.

If boxing is going to rebound in 2001, here are people who can help make it happen.

BREAKOUT FIGHTER: Julio Diaz has been known the past few years merely as junior welterweight contender Antonio Diaz's kid brother.

Move over, bro.

Antonio Diaz, a Top Rank product, is a power-punching lightweight from California's Coachella Valley. He is just 20 years old, but already has a record of 19-0 with 15 KOs. He owns victories over veterans Luis Lizarraga, Gustavo Cuello, Awel Abdulai and Eduardo Perez.

"I'd bet any money that he can beat (WBC lightweight champ Jose Luis) Castillo right now," Diaz's trainer, Lee Espinoza, told USA Today. "But Julio is a kid, a baby. There is no reason to rush him, but I think in due time he will be a world champion."

BREAKOUT EXECUTIVE: Lou DiBella insists he's not a promoter, but who in their right mind would admit such a thing? The mastermind behind HBO's boxing division left the network last year and now labels himself a matchmaker and advisor. He already has signed six Sydney Olympians and will debut them on a Jan. 27 card at Madison Square Garden.

His newly formed entertainment company, DiBella Entertainment, plans to start out with 30 to 40 fighters, including veterans Winky Wright and Hopkins. But DiBella will run his business in a way that should be the norm in boxing: All of his fighters are free agents. DiBella will hold all matchmaking and television rights to his clients, while outside promoters will be hired on a case-by-case basis.

"I am trying to rattle the cage a little bit," DiBella recently told the New York Post. "I'm trying to stir things up. We're looking to change the way this business is conducted."

By all means, Lou, be our guest.

BREAKOUT TRAINER: The folks at Top Rank love the way Floyd Mayweather Sr. handles a fighter. Unfortunately, he couldn't handle his punk son, but that's another story.

The elder Mayweather gained his reputation by helping develop his son into one of the world's greatest pound-for-pound fighters.

Now Mayweather Sr. could be working with De La Hoya, a relationship Top Rank secretly wished for years ago. Whether or not a judge rules De La Hoya must honor his contract with Top Rank, having Mayweather in the corner will add a tougher dimension to the Golden Boy's mentality, which could have kept him from losing to Trinidad in 1999. To use the words of one boxing insider, Mayweather's presence "would put a little street fight in De La Hoya's gameplan."

If Mayweather can help De La Hoya win high-profile rematches with either Trinidad or Mosley -- the opinion here is that he will -- then Mayweather's tutelage will become almost as sought after as Emanuel Steward's.

FIGHTS TO LOOK FOR IN 2001: The year begins well with Mayweather-Corrales on Jan. 20 in Las Vegas. Other notables for the new millennium could be Lewis-Tyson, Tszyu-Judah, Mosley-De La Hoya II, Trinidad-Joppy, Hopkins-Dariusz Michalczewski and Jones-Hopkins.

But as we look to the future, let's also take some time to glance back at the best and worst of 2000...

FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Felix Trinidad moved up in weight and beat a pair of previously undefeated junior middleweight champions. He crawled off the canvas to thoroughly beat Reid in March and Vargas in December. Trinidad knocked Reid down four times and dropped Vargas five times. Trinidad also defended his title against WBA mandatory challenger Mamadou Thiam in July.

Honorable mentions go to Lennox Lewis for stopping Frans Botha and thrashing upstarts Michael Grant and David Tua, Mosley for beating De La Hoya, Willy Wise and Antonio Diaz, and Paulie Ayala for topping Tapia a second time and having to listen to Tapia whine about it again.

		The IBF trial impacted boxing more than anything or anyone since Muhammad Ali because it finally exposed the sport's filth to the most casual of fans. Nevertheless, the trial's conclusion and verdict weren't nearly as potent as everyone hoped. Lee was found not guilty of the most serious crimes and it appears business pretty much has gone on as usual -- except maybe a little more carefully.

WORST FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: This dubious honor goes to boxing's designated quitter, Andrew Golota. On one night in October, Golota actually made Mike Tyson look classy by comparison. Not only did he refuse to come out for the third round, but he also claimed he sustained head injuries that went undetected by the Michigan doctors who thoroughly examined him immediately after the fight.

MOST UNDERRATED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: Jose Luis Castillo won't be taken for granted anymore, but he came out of nowhere in June to beat Stevie Johnston, then considered among the world's top pound-for-pound fighters, for the WBC lightweight title. Castillo (41-4-1, 38 KOs) retained the belt three months later with a draw in Johnston's hometown of Denver.

MOST OVERRATED FIGHTER OF THE YEAR: As long as anyone still labels him the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, it's Roy Jones. Sure, he's great. But when it comes to bearing down and accepting a challenge, this guy has more excuses than a kid who doesn't do his homework. The dog must have eaten Jones' heart.

FIGHT OF THE YEAR: In the afterglow of Trinidad-Vargas, everyone seems to have forgotten the epic battle between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera in February. Two men regarded as possible heirs to Mexican boxing god Julio Cesar Chavez's throne flat-out went at it for 12 rounds. The warriors never backed off for 36 minutes, and Morales won a hotly contested decision.

Honorable mentions go to Mosley vs. De La Hoya, Trinidad vs.Vargas, Hasim Rahman vs. Corrie Sanders, Cliff Etienne vs. Lawrence Clay-Bey, Vince Phillips vs. Ray Oliveira and the Vargas vs. Ross Thompson prefight news conference.

WORST FIGHT OF THE YEAR: I caught a lot of heat from readers in July when I ripped Chavez for wearing out the welcome mat. Many readers didn't seem to care Chavez got a shot at WBC junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu because of a cozy relationship with WBC boss Jose Sulaiman. They didn't appear concerned for Chavez's safety even though a dog food salesman named Willy Wise beat him in 1999. Tszyu humiliated Chavez and the WBC with an ugly sixth-round TKO. Hopefully the beating knocked some sense into Chavez, who announced his retirement in the ring then backed off those words days later.

BIGGEST UPSET OF THE YEAR: IBF president Bobby Lee beating the feds and not going to jail. Sworn testimony said Lee accepted payments to rank fighters and sanction bouts. Videotape showed Lee actually handling the cash. Yet he got off on the most serious charges. Go figure.

	GRAHAM'S TOP 15
	Pound-for-pound 1. Felix Trinidad 2. Roy Jones 3. Shane Mosley 4. Lennox Lewis 5. Diego Corrales 6. Floyd Mayweather 7. Oscar De La Hoya 8. Erik Morales 9. Fernando Vargas 10. Naseem Hamed 11. Marco Antonio Barrera 12. Kostya Tszyu 13. Zab Judah 14. Mark Johnson 15. Paulie Ayala

Inside the ring, Dingaan Thobela shocked WBC super middleweight champ Glenn Catley in September with a 12th-round TKO. Thobela, a South African whose best days were at lightweight in the mid-1990s, had won only three of his previous seven fights.

WORST DECISION OF THE YEAR: IBF flyweight champ Irene Pacheco received a gift majority decision over Hawk Makepula in November. Yet virtually every ringside observer who scored the bout gave it to the challenger. Judge Malvina Lathan actually scored the bout 118-110 for Pacheco, while Doug Tucker had it 117-111. Fittingly, the fight took place at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.

MOST DISAPPOINTING FIGHT OF THE YEAR: Based on all the hype and the belief by many the challenger was the second coming of Tyson, the most anticlimactic outcome was Lewis' methodical decision over Tua. The fight generated as much action as a hooker at a eunuchs convention.

ROUND OF THE YEAR: The 12th round of Mosley-De La Hoya featured some of the best action a fight fan can hope to witness. Two of boxing's best went toe-to-toe for three freewheeling minutes in front of a deafening Staples Center crowd.

Honorable mentions go to Morales-Barrera 5, Trinidad-Vargas 9, Rahman-Sanders 3, Etienne-Lamon Brewster 1 and Zab Judah-Terronn Millett 1.

KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR: It didn't get more gruesome than Naseem Hamed's stoppage of Augie Sanchez in August. Hamed landed a three-punch combination that dazzled those who saw it, but not nearly as much as the one who didn't. Sanchez was out before he hit the canvas and needed to be removed from the ring on a stretcher.

Honorable mentions go to Mbulelo Botile's scary KO of Paul Ingle, Lewis' brutal stoppage of Botha and Ben Tackie's dramatic last-round KO of Roberto Garcia.

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: I'm not about to pay homage to any of today's promoters, although DiBella could very well turn out to be an exception to the rule that all promoters are self-serving invertebrates.

But I will say which front office did not have the best year. Top Rank boss Arum hung himself out on the line in the IBF trial by testifying he paid $100,000 to gain sanction of the George Foreman-Axel Schulz rematch (which never came off), had his meal ticket (De La Hoya) sue him for contractual freedom and watched two of the boxing's best prospects possibly fritter away their futures as Mayweather Jr. started acting like a punk and Corrales was arrested for beating his pregnant wife.

TRAINER OF THE YEAR: Felix Trinidad Sr. got his son prepared for the move up to junior middleweight, where he demolished Reid and then pummeled Vargas. The fact Trinidad Jr. was on the floor yet went on to score multiple late-round knockdowns in each of those victories only further illustrates his corner's ability not only in terms of conditioning, but also in regard to drawing up effective strategies.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR: The Boxing Writers Association of America nominated only three men for their award, another sign of a shoddy year. Two nominees were Trinidad Sr. and Jack Mosley. They are up for the honor because they helped guide their sons to the top of boxing's pound-for-pound list.

The third nominee deserves the award. Cameron Dunkin is the manager or agent for more than 40 fighters, including WBA super bantamweight champion Clarence "Bones" Adams, IBF junior lightweight champion Steve Forbes and WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel. He has managed 12 world champions in the past three years.

STORY OF THE YEAR: The IBF trial impacted boxing more than anything or anyone since Muhammad Ali because it finally exposed the sport's filth to the most casual of fans. Nevertheless, the trial's conclusion and verdict weren't nearly as potent as everyone hoped. Lee was found not guilty of the most serious crimes and it appears business pretty much has gone on as usual -- except maybe a little more carefully.

FEEL-GOOD STORY OF THE YEAR: After 19 years of trying, Dave Hilton finally won a world title when he recorded a decision over Thobela for the WBC super welterweight belt in December. Hilton (39-2-2, 26 KOs) started fighting professionally in 1981 and was inactive for all of 1986 and 1987. The Canadian's bout with Thobela was his first world title shot.

MOST SHAMEFUL STORY OF THE YEAR: Tony Ayala, who was released from prison in 1999 after serving 16 years in prison for committing a brutal rape, was shot in December by a woman who allegedly confronted the uninvited guest in her kitchen. Ayala apparently was trespassing, setting the stage for what might have been an eerie reenactment of his previous crime.

TOP BROADCASTERS: My ringside dream team consists of HBO's Jim Lampley with the blow-by-blow, ESPN2's Teddy Atlas with primary analysis, CNN/SI's Steve Farhood for historical perspective and Showtime's Jim Gray on roving interviews. ESPN2's Brian Kenny and Max Kellerman are in my studio.

WORST BROADCASTERS: At this time last year, Bobby Czyz was on my ringside dream team. I always thought Lampley, Atlas and Czyz would make the greatest announcing team any one sport ever had.

But after Showtime dropped the raggedy Ferdie Pacheco, Czyz must have decided he had to pick up the slack and went into critical overdrive. Czyz hit the mark early in 2000 when he blasted the WBC for ranking Chavez its No. 1 junior welterweight contender.

But Czyz must have received too much positive feedback from pundits and the public. As the year went on this guy had more conspiracy theories than Oliver Stone's paranoid brother. He and parroting partner Steve Albert concocted a pair of controversies by claiming John Ruiz beat Holyfield and Tapia beat Paulie Ayala. Both Holyfield and Ayala clearly won.

ESPN.com boxing writer Tim Graham covers boxing for The Buffalo News and The Ring Magazine, and formerly wrote for the Las Vegas Sun.