Best wishes at the holidays

It's the time of year when boxing people say "Season's Beatings" and look forward to a new year in which more than a few good fights break out. That may not be what everyone in the world is looking for, but for fighters, their fans, and those who promote, manage, or cheat boxers whenever possible, it's the one thing everyone in the sport can agree on.

It seems an appropriate time for some New Year's resolutions and wishful thinking that 2005 could be the dawn of another boxing renaissance after too many years in the doldrums.

For Bob Arum: A good alibi in case the feds in Nevada ever decide to push the case they started by raiding his offices a year ago.

For Todd duBoef: A good attorney in case his stepfather, Arum, has a good alibi, since duBoef's the new El Presidente of Top Rank.

For Don King: An equally good alibi for whatever he gets accused of this year. More importantly, a good heavyweight tournament that crowns one champion in boxing's most important division.

For HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg: The leverage to force King to make it a three-fight, two-date, no-options tournament and crown a champion the public will accept as the real heir to the great John L.

For John Ruiz: The respect a man deserves for defeating Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman, Kirk Johnson, Fres Oquendo, and Andrew Golota even if it wasn't ballet to look at very often.

For Chris Byrd: A rematch with Vitali Klitschko and a chance to prove a good little man can beat a bad big man.

For Vitali Klitschko: The courage to accept that challenge.

For Andrew Golota: Another chance, because everyone deserves a seventh chance at a second chance.

For Mike Tyson: Some iron in his will.

For Joe Mesi: A retirement party.

For Evander Holyfield: A bigger retirement party.

For Jack Mesi: The good sense not to risk his son's life trying to prove the kid was what he said he was.

For Dr. Robert Cantu: A second opinion on his opinion that a fighter with a bleeding brain should be allowed to continue fighting.

To the friends of Evander Holyfield: The good sense to walk away if he won't.

For Ron Scott Stevens: A gold medal for making the decision to suspend Holyfield indefinitely in New York after Holyfield lost every round to Larry Donald, and the courage to do it to a few other guys as well.

For Larry Donald: Sense enough to realize he didn't beat Holyfield, he beat a shadow.

For Kostya Tszyu: A big fight with Floyd Mayweather or Oscar De La Hoya. Or maybe both?

For Arturo Gatti: Anything but a fight with Kostya Tszyu. Who needs the hospital bills?

For Ricky Hatton: A way to avoid Kostya Tszyu. Why end your career so soon?

For Miguel Cotto: A breakthrough fight that makes him a star outside the Hispanic fight community that loves him.

For Jermain Taylor: A way to stick and move away from Bernard Hopkins for another year.

For Bernard Hopkins: A way to con Jermain Taylor into the ring in 2005 while he's still too inexperienced to know what he's getting into.

For Oscar De La Hoya: A good lawyer for when Hopkins eventually sues his new promoter, who happens to be De La Hoya.

For the WBC, WBA, WBO, WBU, IBF, IBA, IBC, and any other combination of three capital letters: A plastics strike so they can't make up any more phony title belts.

For Cory Spinks: Another win over Zab Judah.

For Zab Judah: Some dental work.

For Floyd Mayweather Jr.: An anger management class and a clue how to promote himself.

For Riddick Bowe: A year's supply of Ultra Slim-Fast and the mental strength to use it.

For Michael Moorer: The mental strength to stay out of the ring or to get into shape.

For Artie Pelullo: Another great Brazilian fighter like Acelino Freitas.

For Acelino Freitas: The desire to go back to being what he used to be.

For Joe Calzaghe: A big fight before he's too old to know what to do with it.

For Amir Khan: No pro fights until he's ready for them, and the common sense to stay an amateur in England until the next Olympics.

For Winky Wright: A shot at Felix Trinidad.

For Felix Trinidad: A shot on Winky Wright.

For Shane Mosley: A shot of reality.

For James Toney: An injury-free year and a fight with Vitali Klitschko, which might look like Mutt and Jeff when it starts but not once Toney starts boxing Klitschko's ears off.

For Wladimir Klitschko: A day job.

For Glen Johnson: A fight for real money, because he's earned it.

For Antonio Tarver: A rematch with Johnson even though he didn't earn it.

For Marco Antonio Barrera: A rematch with Manny Pacquiao.

For Manny Pacquiao: A win over Juan Manuel Marquez Feb. 26 to make that rematch possible.

For Erik Morales: A fourth fight with Barrera and some lessons on the art of moving his head.

For Dan Birmingham: Another young fighter to train as well as he's trained Wright and Jeff Lacy.

For Ricardo Mayorga: A new dye job. That red-headed look has to go. He looks like a salmon, which they don't have in Nicaragua.

For Teddy Atlas: A new fighter to train, because some kid deserves to benefit from all he knows. And a bigger TV job, because he's the best analyst in the fight game.

For Lennox Lewis: The intelligence to stop showing up at fights, because if he doesn't, he'll be out of retirement soon and out on his feet too soon after that.

For Dan Goossen: A year in which his best fighters don't get hurt every other match.

For Lou DiBella: A world champion in his stable and a minor league championship for his new baseball team in Norwalk, Conn.

For Jimmy Burchfield: A break, which is what every small promoter deserves.

For Al Valenti: A license, because the Massachusetts Boxing Commission has held him hostage long enough.

For Richie Capiello: Another big victory for Ian Gardner.

For Marvelous Marvin Hagler: Continued retirement.

For Goodie Petronelli: Another Marvin Hagler.

For ESPN's "Friday Night Fights": A regular starting time.

For Jason Estrada: A change in his training approach.

For Scott Pemberton: The world title shot he's earned the right to.

For Mohegan Sun: A fight card so big it makes Foxwoods jealous.

For Foxwoods: A fight card so big it makes Las Vegas jealous.

For Wayne McCullough: One last title fight with Oscar Larios that goes right.

For Silence Mabuza: A chance for the South African bantamweight to make some noise.

For Jack Newfield: A peaceful resting place for a great friend of boxing who died, too soon, last week.

For all fight fans: Some good fights on free TV and about 100 fewer "world champions."