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One would have been forgiven for thinking that Zab Judah’s immediate challenge to Cory Spinks for the undisputed welterweight title was somewhat impetuous. While Spinks went about the business of repelling Judah’s challenge, he could not do so before being knocked down by the Brooklyn man’s |
fast and powerful punches. That moment is largely responsible for Judah’s position to challenge Spinks once more, only this time, the champion’s own territory of St. Louis will host the event. The packed-out Savvis Center in Spinks’ stomping ground will be a hostile environment for Judah to attempt another audacious feat, but it is do or die now for Zab Judah, a fighter who once promised so much finds himself at a crossroads. A loss now for Judah condemns him to an uncertain future in the ring. Meanwhile, Spinks has worked hard to emerge from the shadows of his famous boxing relatives. He feels it is his time to begin a rich legacy in his name and one that will not soon be eclipsed. The main support bout is the showdown between unbeaten heavyweight Owen Beck and Monte Barrett. The manner in which Beck and Barrett have conducted themselves before this fight indicates that there is no love lost between them. Fueling this grudge match is the divisional impact it contains. The winner of the Beck-Barrett fight will be the number one contender for the WBC and IBF heavyweight titles. Incentive enough for the performance of a lifetime? Let’s hope so and before we do, let’s find out what the SaddoBoxing.com writers think of it all.
Katrina Walters: In regards to this weekend in boxing, I have spoken with Zab on several occasions and he is really pumped for the fight, he is really focused and in great shape and ready to go. As a matter of fact, he even told me to double up on my bet (if I was a betting woman. He is guaranteeing a win, so I go with Judah by TKO in the eighth. I will also go with Owen Beck with an early stoppage.
Jim Cawkwell: Cory Spinks has the career momentum and the psychological edge of knowing he has beaten Judah once, he will fully believe that he can do it again. Zab Judah’s inability to live up to his initial promise must be erased in a single performance if he is not to be entered into the annals of fighters who squandered immense talent. Judah needs to bring his intensity from the first bell to the last, he has to fight as if he will never get another chance, and let’s face it, if he loses, that may well be the case.
I have not had the pleasure of being able to watch Owen Beck box so I will be very interested to see what he is capable of, and there are fewer more appropriate opponents for him to showcase his talents against. What Monte Barrett lacks in size as a heavyweight, he recovers through his heart, talent and desire to win. If Beck is too inexperienced to deal with Barrett, then it should be Barrett that finds himself receiving a shot at the WBC or IBF champion sometime in the future.
Richard Eberline: I see Judah as having his old confidence back and therefore very dangerous for Spinks this time out. Spinks will have the advantages of fighting in front of a hometown crowd and of course being the reigning champion but I see the real initiative as being with Zab. Spinks can fight, no doubt about it but so can Judah and the New Yorker arguably has the heavier hands. I foresee that Judah will swing for the fences from round one and connect enough throughout the bout to wear down Cory and force a stoppage somewhere around the tenth.
The Barrett -Beck fight is all about Beck. If the undefeated heavyweight is true upper echelon material, he’ll get past Barrett, as did Wladimir Klitschko, Lance Whitaker and Joe Mesi. If not, he’ll go the way of Eric Kirkland, Robert Davis and most recently Dominick Guinn. At thirty-three, Barrett may be on his last campaign for a title shot, which should provide a lot of inspiration. Beck has never been in with a fighter even close to Barrett’s caliber and I believe that he will find gulf in experience too much to navigate and drop a decision for his first loss.
Jim Amato: I really like Cory Spinks in the rematch. He is a real smart boxer and he’ll learn from the mistakes he made in his first fight with Judah. Zab won’t change all that much. I look for Cory to set the pace and dictate the terms of the fight. It won’t be easy. Zab is no pushover. I just think Cory will win again by a wider margin.
All I hear is Owen Beck this and Owen Beck that. You would be a damn fool not to realize what a good prospect he is. This match with Monte Barrett was a very gutsy move by Beck’s management. If Beck wins…He is far and away the number one heavyweight prospect. I think he’s been overmatched. Monte by a tough but well earned verdict.
Shaun Rico LaWhorn: My predictions for two very interesting and fulfilling fights for this weekend.
We have a potentially entertaining fight on our hands with the Monte Barrett and Owen Beck showdown. No matter who ends up a winner in this fight, somebody will earn a chance to be entered into the heavyweight mix of “who’s a real heavyweight” and “who’s not.” This division needs a boost and here is an opportunity. Owen has a lot on his hands, both in the sense of keeping an undefeated record (24-0, 18 Ko’s) and taking a fight against a guy who has intentions of knocking him out. Monte Barrett has a competitive record (30-3, 16 KOs) and will fight a good match. I see Owen Beck winning this fight in decision fashion and being tossed into the heavyweight pot of contenders with hope of unifying the belts as one major title.
Zab Judah (32-2, 23 KO’s) and Cory Spinks (34-2, 11 KO’s) is the first powerful match up for the year of 2005. Cory is an accurate boxer, who can win the old school way of making you miss and landing more shots. Zab is a boxer who once had the chance to be in Cory’s shoes years ago. A second fight and I see a different outcome. Zab did hurt Cory in the final round of their last fight. I think that was enough confidence to push him into thinking he can knock Cory out, if granted another fight. Here we go, I see Zab knocking Cory out in round six. Confidence is more dangerous than a power punch and I think Zab has a lot of it. This fight here will be the fight that push a Zab vs. Cory III, in New York, City.
Don Caputo: Cory Spinks vs. Zab Judah – I’m expecting Judah to make a much faster start this time around and come out blazing. He knows he can hurt Spinks and will throw caution to the wind in the early rounds in an attempt to catch the welterweight king cold or put him on the defensive. Because of his height and reach disadvantages, I don’t think Judah can outbox Spinks in this one so he will be looking to land his big guns early and often while Spinks will try and control the action with his southpaw jab and pick off the challenger with sharp lefts on his way in. Ultimately, I see Judah’s aggression playing into the champions hands who I believe will be fighting with a certain amount of fear in his veins as he know Judah has the power to turn his lights out if he gets careless. I expect Spinks to be sharper than he was in the first fight and keep the challenger at bay although I would not be at all surprised if he has a few shaky moments along the way as I’m sure Judah will be swinging for the fences when the bell rings. Spinks UD12.
Barrett vs. Beck – Monte Barrett has never overly impressed me, he is very technically flawed but he has plenty of experienceand has shownhe can fight a bit. I regard him as the gatekeeper of the division and a legitimate top fifteen heavyweight who loses to the contenders (W. Klitschko) and exposes the pretenders (D. Guinn). Beck is still pretty much an unknown quantity, if he gets past Barrett I will regard his as a legitimate contender but, because there are so many question marks hanging over him going into this fight it’s very hard for me to predict a likely outcome with any kind of authority. All I can say is that I hope Beck prevails in impressive fashion because the heavyweight division needs young blood like the undefeated Beck to bring it back to life. Beck TKO9.
Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk
