Boxing Info: Israel Cardona gets dream fight against Zab Judah

When Israel “Pito” Cardona came out of his 3 1/2-year retirement last year, he dreamed of getting an opportunity for a high-profile fight like the one he just signed against former 5-time world champion Zab Judah on April 27 in Southaven, Mississippi.

Born and raised in Hartford (CT), “Pito” won his first 24 pro fights, 18 by knockout, including an IBO super featherweight winning performance against Jeff Mayweather. He later defeated Steve Larrimore for the IBO light welterweight crown.

In 1997, “Pito” stopped “Mighty” Ivan Robinson (23-1) in the third round for their USBA lightweight title and three fights later, Robinson beat Arturo Gatti for the first of two times in their 1998 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year.

After his win against Robinson, Cardona extended his win streak to six, including four USBA title defenses against Sam Girard, Richard Kiley, Golden Johnson, which was also fought for the NABF belt, and Joel Perez. In his only major world title fight, Cardona lost a 12-round decision to undefeated Paul Spadafora (26-0) for the vacant IBF lightweight championship in 1999.

Cardona, frustrated by boxing politics, retired in mid-2002 at the age of 27 with a 34-6 record. He returned to the ring last year with a new manager, Bret Hallenbeck, and new trainer, John Scully. His comeback fight was a first-round TKO of Bobby McAndrews and his last outing (Sept. 23, 2006) resulted in a third-round TKO of intra-state rival Shakha Moore.

Securing fights was difficult this past year because Cardona, sporting a great record and invaluable experience, was considered by many to be too risky of an opponent. Cardona’s promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, and Hallenbeck made the Judah-Cardona fight a reality, however, working with Judah’s new promoter, Prize Fight Promotions.

“I’m very excited,” Cardona said. “I know I’m taking a big chance. I’m fighting a former world champion; he’s Zab Judah! I could have continued doing what I’ve been doing, waiting around for fights and hoping for a break, or jump right into a fight like this where a win will get me right back into the top 10. Hey, I only have a few years left and we decided to make the most out of this fight. I’ve got the right team behind me now and I have three months to get ready.”

Cardona works nights as a lieutenant for a security company in Hartford, as well as a boxing trainer at LA Boxing in Hartford.

“This is a great opportunity and we thank Judah’s team for accepting ‘Pito’ as his opponent,” Hallenbeck added. “This is why ‘Pito’ came out of retirement, a chance like this against a great fighter like Judah. We’ll all find out what ‘Pito’ has left.”