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Can anyone stop “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather? Long considered boxing’s pound-for-pound champion, the undefeated Mayweather faces his greatest challenge when he attempts to capture his fourth world title in as many weight divisions when he takes on three-time world champion Zab “Super” Judah in a blockbuster showdown for Judah’s IBF welterweight title, Saturday, April 8, at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV. The fight was announced today at a news conference at The New York Palace Hotel.
Promoted by Top Rank and Don King Productions, in association with Caesars Palace and Wynn Las Vegas, Mayweather vs. Judah will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Tickets, which are priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack box office, online at www.unlvtickets.com or by calling (702) 739-FANS.
Mayweather vs. Judah will also mark the first time Hall of Fame promoters Bob Arum and Don King have jointly promoted a pay-per-view event since their 1999 extravaganza, “Fight of the Millennium,” which featured Oscar de la Hoya vs. Felix “Tito’ Trinidad. It remains the highest grossing non-heavyweight fight in pay-per-view history.
Mayweather vs. Judah is a huge showdown, matching speed, power and strategies. Once best friends years ago, the two are now “Sworn Enemies!” Mayweather, (35-0, 24 KOs), from Grand Rapids, Mich., is a three-time world champion at 130, 135 and 140 pounds. Judah, (34-3, 25 KOs), a two-time world champion at 140 and the former undisputed world champion at 147 pounds, lives and trains in Brooklyn, NY. Finally the scale has balanced out and after years of anticipation, these two gladiators will finally settle the question of who really is the best of the best.
“I have been here before. I have fought on major pay-per-views. I know about big fights,” said Mayweather. “I may be going in as the challenger but I will be fighting like a champion. You will never see me in the ring unprepared. He is the best in the east and I am the best in the west. Now we are going to see who the best of the best really is. Zab is fast and strong but he has no chin. No way he will be able to take my punch.”
Zab Judah had his own take on things.
“This will be an extravaganza,” declared Judah. “I have waited my whole life for a fight like this. Floyd and I have been friends a long time and we have talked about fighting each other for almost as long, and now it’s finally here. That fight on January 7 wasn’t me. Everyone knows that. We’ll give Mayweather what WE want. He’s done.”
Promoter Bob Arum followed up with his own sentiments.
“Floyd Mayweather is the greatest fighter I have ever seen since Muhammad Ali,” said Arum. “Fight fans know that what happened to Judah in January was an aberration,” Arum declared. “Mayweather versus Judah is a fight that fans have been clamoring to see for years. It’s going to be exciting, riveting and I am certain fans will get their money’s worth.”
Co-Promoter Don King agrees with his longtime rival on this point.
“It will be lights out in Arumville again,” exclaimed King. “Don’t worry, we won’t let the lights go out completely. This time I will have a generator handy to merely dim them. This will break the record for a non-heavyweight pay-per-view and it will be done for the first time by two African Americans. Zab Judah has performed at his best after coming off a loss, like he did against Cory Spinks. In the rematch with Spinks, Zab was very focused and scored a knockout to win the undisputed welterweight championship. I have every reason to believe he will do the exact same thing to Floyd Mayweather — knock him out — on April 8. Zab is at his best when his back is against the wall.”
“Floyd Mayweather has a terrific opportunity to solidify his claim to be the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter, while Zab Judah has the ultimate opportunity for redemption,” said HBO Pay-Per-View’s Mark Taffet. “April 8th could be a night of fireworks between two long-time archrivals.”
At the age of 28, Floyd is a nine-year pro. Boxing’s biggest superstar, he is considered to be the best active fighter at any weight, “pound for pound.”
In his last fight on Nov. 19, Floyd fought as a welterweight for the first time and knocked out former WBA super lightweight world champion Sharmba Mitchell in the sixth round.
Floyd won the WBC super lightweight world title fight on June 25 with a dominant sixth-round TKO against defending champion Arturo Gatti. After the fight, HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant said on the telecast, “We don’t see many fighters with his kind of skills. He fights as naturally as a fish swims, and sometimes the fish is a shark.”
In his last appearance, Judah faced No. 1-rated World Boxing Council mandatory challenger Carlos “Tata” Baldomir in the Theater at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 7. Judah built a comfortable scorecard lead halfway through the match of 59-55, 59-56 and 58-56 that evaporated after Baldomir wobbled him with a right hand in round seven. After that, Judah struggled to regain his previous rhythm, and ended up on the losing end of a very close decision.
Zab won the IBF junior welterweight title, at the age of 22, in February 2000, and made five successful defenses over the next 21 months. He won the WBO junior welterweight title, at 26, in July 2003, and made one successful defense before he moved up to the 147-pound division in April 2004 and became undisputed world welterweight champion in February 2005.
Zab is experienced against top opposition, and has fought current world champion Carlos Baldomir, and former world champions Cory Spinks twice (TKO9, L12), Rafael Pineda (W12), DeMarcus Corley (W12), Kostya Tszyu (TKOby2), and Terronn Millett (TKO4). He also has impressive wins against contenders Omar Weis (W10), Reggie Green (TKO10), Junior Witter (W12), Jan Bergman (KO4), and Micky Ward (W12).
The Mayweather vs. Judah pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on April 8, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 56 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your daily Mayweather vs. Judah fight week updates, log onto www.HBOPPV.com.
