Judah’s Recent Loss Adds Another Chapter To A Disappointing Career…
By Rui Zheng
In a little more than a decade, Zab Judah has underwent a complete metamorphosis from the hottest prospect in boxing and a comparisons to Pernell Whitaker to boxing’s poster boy for wasted talent. And now, Judah has been relegated to fighting top names in the welterweight division based on his moniker rather than his actual ring accomplishments. With his recent loss to the rugged Joshua Clottey for the vacant IBF welterweight title, Judah has only won 2 of his last 7 fights and is a distant shadow from the electric 23 year old Brooklyn native who stepped into the ri
ng against Kostya Tszyu for the undisputed junior welterweight championship.
On that November night in 2001, the undefeated Judah was expected to use his athleticism and speed to overpower the older and slower Tszyu. Judah was not without flaws, however, for he had suffered recent flash knockdowns against Terron Millett and Jan Piet Bergman. In both instances, Judah got off the canvas to knock out his opponents a few rounds later, but the boxing community had already pegged Judah as a fighter with a dubious chin. Judah’s physical tools completely made up for whatever technical skills the fighter lacked. Judah possessed catlike reflexes along with some of the fastest hands in boxing. Once he had his opponent in trouble, it would only take a blink of an eye before a 4-punch combination left Judah’s victim incapacitated.
The first round of the Judah/Tszyu fight was one-sided. Judah landed an uppercut that appeared to have stunned Tszyu and for the most part, the Russian couldn’t land a glove on the slick Judah. In the second round, Tszyu was more successful in cutting off the ring and in the final seconds, he landed an accurately placed right hand while Zab simultaneously pulled back. Zab was dropped on his back and after a failed attempt to immediately rise on his feet, the referee Jay Nady chose to stop the fight.
Fast forward seven years and Judah has gone 9-5 since suffering his first loss to Tszyu. Along with winning a paper title at junior welterweight, Judah’s most notable accomplishment involved avenging his second loss by knocking out Cory Spinks, the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. When it finally appeared that Judah had earned a second chance in the boxing world and with a career high payday looming against the pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Judah again put in a disappointing performance against longtime journeyman Carlos Baldomir and was the victim of the 2006 upset of the year.
Since then, Judah was given three more opportunities against the likes of Mayweather, Cotto, and Clottey – all elite welterweights. And three more opportunities resulted in three more failures. Judah appears to be an individual who can defeat the good, but will always lose against the great. And it carries back to his amateur days when the highly touted Judah devastated the New York Golden Gloves, but was defeated twice by David Diaz in the Olympic Trials. Judah may defeat guys like DeMarcus Corley, Cory Spinks, and Junior Witter, but against the truly elite fighters in the sport such as Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, and Kostya Tszyu, Zab simply lets his victories slip away. Whenever an elite fighter suffers the first loss of their career, a certain portion of their mentality shrivels up and fades into obscurity. Men like Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali all bounced back from their losses by defeating their conquerors in convincing fashion, but Zab Judah never placed himself in such a position. Furthermore, the mental fortitude of a man like Muhammad Ali is exponentially greater than the mentality of Zab Judah. I’m not questioning Judah’s heart because in the Cotto fight, Zab showed he could take punishment like a true warrior. Essentially, Judah had already lost the fight by the midrounds, but he hung in there with the welterweight equivalent of the Terminator in Miguel Cotto and survived until the 11th round.
No, I’m not questioning his heart. But for Zab Judah, it’s his mental stability that I must question. As seen in the Baldomir, Mayweather, Cotto, and Clottey fights as Judah started off to sizzling starts, midway through the fights as the pressure began to mount on the shoulders of Zab, he psychologically gives up. And while his heart still forced him to fight on, it’s quite apparent that he was essentially going through the movements rather than putting himself in a position to win the fight. In last week’s fight with Joshua Clottey, I was surprised at Judah’s weight of 143 lbs, a clear indication that he had been working hard in the gym. However I still picked Clottey to win by decision because he had the style to give Judah problems: Tight defense, ability to pressure his opponent, and a sturdy chin. Judah started out jabbing with no effect as Clottey picked off or blocked each of Judah’s shots. By round 6, even though it appeared that the fight was still competitive, one could see that it was only a matter of time before Zab was going to fade in the later rounds. The shots that Judah landed appeared to only partially connect against the face of Clottey while the Ghanaian’s punches had already left Zab’s face disfigured. Following an accidental headbutt in the 9th round that caused a serious laceration over the eye of Judah (in reality it was a left uppercut by Clottey that caused the cut), the fight was stopped and Clottey won the vacant title through a technical decision.
So what’s next for the two fighters? With the win, Clottey could potentially earn a big payday against the number one welterweight in the world, Antonio Margarito in a rematch of their competitive first fight. Clottey was handily winning the early portion of their first match until a hand injury along with Margarito’s stamina gave the Mexican slugger the decision win. And as for Judah, he’s still going to get fights against some top names. Though he’s no longer the feared destroyer he once was, Judah still possesses the name recognition and physical tools to give any welterweight in the division a good fight. If you would hypothetically put Judah in with any of the top 10 fighters in the welterweight division, it would look like a good, competitive fight on paper. Does Judah still have what it takes to win a world title? Possibly. I certainly wouldn’t dismiss his odds. But based on his recent fights, does he deserve another shot at the world title?
Now that’s a whole different story…
Top 10 Pound For Pound
1.) Antonio Margarito
2.) Paul Williams
3.) Miguel Cotto
4.) Shane Mosley
5.) Carlos Quintana
6.) Joshua Clottey
7.) Zab Judah
8.) Andre Berto
9.) Kermit Cintron
10.) Jackson Bonsu
Previous Articles By Rui Zheng
08/09/07 - Slow Week For Boxing? Not Exactly ...
15/09/07 Pavlik might not be ready for the big stage, but Cotto is ready to embrace it...
23/09/07 Ranking the best pound for pound fighters of all-time: Part I
23/09/07 Ranking the best pound for pound fighters of all-time: Part 2
29/12/07 The Underrated Mike Tyson
13/02/08 Things Look Ghostly for the Vengeful Taylor…
02/03/08 Klitschko disappoints and the heavyweight division is still in shambles…
17/03/08 Marquez cant catch a break ...
09/04/08 Gomez is a live underdog amidst Cotto’s rampage…
19/04/08 Cotto Should be Recognized as the “Interim Lineal” Champion…
06/06/08 Quintana hoping to punish Williams for a second time..
27/07/08 Tijuana Tornado Wipes away Cotto
06/08/08 Judah’s recent loss adds another chapter to a disappointing career…
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