How “Super” Can Zab Judah Be?

Once again, Zab Judah has managed to get his name to pop up in all conversations regarding boxing. The only difference is, this time it is for the right reason. With his back against the wall, and in a must win-situation, he delivered in the clutch. In what was a very close fight against Cory Spinks, Zab closed the show with a ninth round TKO. I had written an article a little less than a year ago titled, ” Zab Judah: Pretender or Contender.” In it, I clearly stated that his potential is limitless, if he got serious and exorcised his inner demons. With that in mind, I shouldn’t have been surprised to

Click for larger image © Tom Casino/Showtime

witness what took place on the fifth of February. However, I was. I was not sure “which” Zab Judah was stepping into the ring. Now you guys should all know by know that I am objective and I give credit when credit is due. Zab delivered a sensational performance. But this sensational performance, was extrinsically motivated, I’ll explain.

Let’s analyze all of the events that took precedence in order for Zab to come with his “A” game. For starters, the fight took place in Cory’s backyard of St. Louis. Missouri. Secondly, he had no choice but to take the “short” money for the fight. Zab only made a $100,000 compared to Cory Spinks’ $1.2 million. And last but not least, Zab knew this was his last shot to try to claim the welterweight throne, considering the ominous return of Oscar de la Hoya and “Sugar” Shane Mosley to 147-pounds. So, with all that said, anything less than a magnificent outing would be unacceptable. So my question is this: “Is this what has to happen for Zab Judah to be focused?” Maybe-maybe not, only time will tell.

But from my assessment, I’ll tell you this, as the undisputed welterweight champion all roads lead to Zab Judah. As of late, the welterweight division has become so tightly condensed and so competitive, that a short reign at the top wouldn’t be too surprising. But from what Zab showed me, I think he’s got a few surprises in store for his critics. His biggest downfall was his “cockiness” and “arrogance.” Whenever he got caught up in the two, he paid dearly for it. I think that ended on May 15th of last year. In October, he took care of business with Wayne Martell and in February, he brought the championship belts back to Brooklyn. I doubt Zab will get caught up in his ego this time.

With big things, come big responsibilities. He showed enormous class when he looked for the referee to stop the fight, to prevent Cory from serious damage. And at the post fight press conference, he conducted himself like a true gentleman. He has matured mentally, plus the fact that he got married allows for a more grounded foundation. He is fully aware that in order for the family to eat, he must take care of business inside that ring.

Many people are getting caught up in the hoopla, that at five-feet-seven-inches, he is unusually small for a welterweight. If you look back at your previous champions, they weren’t that much bigger than Zab, (e.g. Ray Leonard & Shane Mosley). Inquiring minds would love to know how he would fare against the likes of an Oscar de la Hoya. Or a Kermit Cintron? Or a “Sugar” Shane Mosley etc. Making an educated guess, I would say he would fare very well against the top welterweights and for several reasons, I’ll tell you why. One his athleticism, Zab executes excellent lateral and head movement. Think back to round one against Kostya Tszyu, agility isn’t something every prizefighter is born with.

The second reason being his hand-speed. Zab has tremendous hand-speed. Now please don’t misquote me by accusing me of saying Oscar and Shane don’t have hand-speed. I never said that, I just feel that Zab has faster hands than all of his predecessors. Now that we are talking about De La Hoya and Mosley, let me mention this: Oscar hasn’t fought at 147-pounds in almost four years. His last battle at welterweight was against Arturo Gatti in March of 2001. Shane hasn’t fought at welterweight since the summer of 2002 against Vernon Forrest. If my calculations are correct, that’s almost three years. So, that is a total of almost seven years between the two.

There is a huge probability that both fighters might have lost a step or two. Also, keep in mind that that the Roy Jones rule is applicable in this case. We all saw what happened to him after he went back down in weight, so we (the public) shouldn’t jump to conclusion and assume that either fighter would be effective at 147-pounds. I have come to the realization that no fighter is immune to getting knocked out.

And the most important reason why Zab matches well with all the other welterweights is, because he is physically situated perfectly at 147-pounds. As opposed to Cory Spinks, Cintron, and Margarito, he doesn’t have to kill himself to make weight. Also, he carries the weight well. In the Spinks fight, if you paid attention, you saw Cory fade down the stretch. Zab looked as if he could have gone another twelve. As for Antonio Margarito, well, we all know that he is a legitimate junior middleweight; therefore, he kills himself to make weight, allowing for a Cory Spinks type scenario to go down. The same goes for Kermit Cintron; his walk around weight is 165-pounds. Last time I checked in the boxing books, that’s a super middleweight not a welterweight. That’s eighteen pounds to shed before every fight. How long can he continue to do this? I can assure you that losing a substantial amount of weight in such an abrupt timeframe will take its toll and cause bodily harm.

Now for the smaller guys moving up in weight like the Miguel Cotto’s, the Kostya Tszyu’s, and the Vivian Harris’s. The jury will remain out on them until proven differently, meaning when they debut at a new weight to fight. All three fighters are currently light welterweights. Moving up to welterweight means a gain of an additional seven pounds. To the regular person seven pounds doesn’t seem like a lot, but in boxing, seven pounds could mean the difference between winning and losing and in some drastic cases, your career. Every time a fighter moves up in weight, you have to ask yourself three questions: 1.) Will the fighter be able to carry the same or more speed at the higher weight class? 2.) Will the fighter have the same or more power in their punches at the higher weight class? 3.) Can the fighter absorb a significant amount of punishment from a bigger and stronger opponent without being affected significantly? The advantage clearly goes to Zab.

The way things are looking, Zab is in the driver’s seat. He has an I.B.F. mandatory against Mexico’s Cosme Rivera, May 14, on the under-card of the Wright-Trinidad fight. A victorious outcome would have some mega-fights pending, which to us boxing fans is a great thing. With that said, we should see a more consistent Zab Judah on a regular basis. When you have everything to lose, you won’t be so quick to give away what’s yours.

Both setbacks suffered at the hands of Kostya Tszyu and Cory Spinks in the first fight provided us with what we have today. It was a blessing in disguise. He had to see what he lost as well as the opportunities he blew to realize that he was the center of blame. Vice-versa, switch the tables around; had he suffered the setbacks as champion, for one he probably would have held the shortest reign as champion, two he might not have gotten a chance at redemption, and three I would be writing an article on what a waste of talent he is. But we all know that’s not the case. With what he went through, he was grateful for the second chance and capitalized on it. Now that he realizes everyone is coming for what he’s got, (belts) he should feel obligated to bring his “A” game day in and day out. That is if he cares about his legacy and reign as champion. Considering what a proud Brooklynite he is, I would have to say he does.

If you ask me to answer the question at hand, I’d say that Zab could be extremely “Super” as champion. Because this time he is more equipped for success. However, the only person that can ultimately answer this question is Zab himself. On the live telecast of Friday Night Fights, (02/18/05) he was the special guest commentator with Brian Kenney. Zab is quoted as saying that the biggest threat to him was none other than himself. That’s a strong statement coming from someone trying to claim tenure as a champion. I feel that Zab Judah will be champion for as long as “he” wants. Although time will eventually tell, I feel that Zab’s “Super-ness” will last a lot longer than fifteen minutes. “If you know what I am saying?”

Please tune in next time as I provide more eminent insight. Until then be safe and be well. Thank you for your time.

Jason Gonzalez can be reached at bklynqueenzmpire@aol.com