judah: mayweather....Preview

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by the boxing times staff

In a showdown between two of the top athletes in the sport, former three-time world champion Floyd "Pretty Boy" Floyd steps up in weight to face Zab Judah for the IBF welterweight title, on Saturday, April 8th, from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. HBO PPV will host the action set for 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

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Backstory: Mayweather is the former WBC super featherweight, lightweight and junior lightweight king stepping up to the 147-pound division to take on supposedly the best welter in the world the irrepressible Zab Judah. Originally billed as a mega-fight there was a noticeable curveball in the dirt, when Judah unceremoniously lost in his last bout to a huge underdog from Argentina Carlos Baldomir. Judah dropped both of his WBC and WBA belts but mysteriously he held on to his IBF crown. However, promoters being promoters well, they need to put the meat in the seat, so Judah and Mayweather finally square off on pay-per-view.
Floyd Mayweather (35-0, 24 KO's) Grand Rapids, Michigan. 29-years-old, 5'8", 145 ?pounds, trainer of record Roger Mayweather, manager James Prince.

Style: Mayweather is a rapid-fire combination artist that simply can overpower most mortals with a chainsaw attack of blistering hooks, crosses, uppercuts, bolo punches, overhand and lead right hands. He is probably the most athletic boxer in the profession and he has a rare combination of lateral movement, foot speed and hand speed. He was the entire package at 140 but is now fighting at the 147-pound limit and there is a slight drop off in power output.

Significant Bouts: This past November in Portland, Oregon, Mayweather easily handled former world champion Sharmba Mitchell, by scoring a one-sided sixth round TKO. Mayweather stepped up in weight and dropped the former WBA junior welterweight king in the 3rd and 6th round, before referee Richard Steele wisely halted the contest at the 2:06 mark. Ten months ago in Atlantic City, Mayweather dominated Arturo "Thunder" Gatti with laser-like left hooks and rocketing right hands from the opening bell to capture the WBC 140-pound belt by scoring a sixth round TKO. Gatti was never in the fight and Mayweather ruled the action from the outset with blistering hand speed and ruthless accuracy.

Mayweather first captured the WBC 130-pound title back in 1998, when he scored an 8th round TKO over Genaro Hernandez. Mayweather would go on to post victories over Angel Manfredy (TKO 2), Carlos Alberto Ramon Rios (UD 12), Justin Juuko (KO 9), Carlos Gerena (TKO 7), Gregorio Vargas (UD12), Diego Corrales (TKO 10), Carlos Hernandez (UD 12), and Jesus Chavez (TKO 9). In April 2002, Mayweather won the WBC lightweight belt by scoring a convincing 12 round unanimous decision Jose Luis Castillo. Mayweather defended the 135-pound belt three times scoring wins over Jose Luis Castillo in a rematch (UD 12), Victoriano Sosa (UD 12) and Phillip N'dou (TKO 7). In January 2005, Mayweather recorded a 8th round TKO over Henry Bruseles, to capture a WBC junior welterweight title eliminator and set the stage for his victory over Gatti and his third world championship.

Strength: Mayweather possibly has the fastest hands in the sport. He can get off with both hands and in the process also embarrass you with his speed. Factor in lateral movement, the ability to feint and then strike before leaving you in the dust. Mayweather's precision punching takes its effect and grinds people down over the distance if he doesn't stop you early.

Weakness: Well, there is always overconfidence. Mayweather tends to be very cocky and since he has been lionized for so long and his uncle Roger Mayweather is the quasi-trainer of record, there is an air of invincibility that seems to surround the training camp. At 5'8" and with small hands for a boxer it will be interesting to see how Mayweather reacts to moving up in weight. He looked invincible at 135, excellent at 140; however and the jury is still out at 147.

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Zab Judah (34-3, 25 KO's) Brooklyn, New York. 28-years-old, 5'7", 146 ?pounds, trained by his father Yoel Judah.
Style: Judah is a boxer-puncher with blazing speed and has the ability to effortlessly throw rapid-fire combinations. He can set the pace or also effectively counter. Judah is a gifted athlete and with his southpaw stance, he creates openings to land shots and then take a half step in either direction to make opponents miss. He has surprising power and with the exception of his 10th round technical knockout over Reggie Green, back in January 2001, most of his KO's and TKO's have come in the first four rounds. He simply jumps on guys and overwhelms them with his dominating speed. If his opponent has power, Judah will elect to box and move and attempt to win it on the scorecards.

Significant Bouts: The wheels came off the wagon last January, when Judah simply came in flat, didn't train correctly and was outhustled for his WBC and WBA belts by the unheralded Carlos Manuel Baldomir over 12 rounds. Call it hubris, conceit, arrogance or just plain overconfidence. Those are all excuses for the simple fact that some boxers are their own worst enemy. Baldomir rocked and almost dropped the champion in the 7th, and went on to pound out the victory despite suffering a brutal cut over his right eye from an accidental head butt in the eleventh round. The mandatory challenger Baldomir simply outhustled the lackluster Judah with stiff left jabs and cracking overhand rights throughout the bout.

Judah captured his first world title back in February 2002, when he scored a classic fourth round knockout over Jan Piet Bergman, to earn the vacant IBF junior welterweight crown. Judah easily defended his crown five times following the win posting victories over Junior Witter (UD 12), Terron Millett (TKO 4), Hector Quiroz (TKO 8), Reggie Green (TKO 10) and Allan Vester (KO 3). Just when it appeared as if Judah was unbeatable he suffered the worst defeat of his career, that is of course if you aren't counting the Baldomir fiasco. In November 2001, Judah's night ended with the taste of ashes and leather. The WBA/WBC king Kostya Tszyu scored a stunning second round TKO over the Judah to win the unified 140-pound world championship at the 2:59 mark. With one-second remaining the round, Tszyu nailed Judah with a clean right hand to the chin. The IBF champ Judah hit the deck flat on his back but popped back on his feet only to stagger sideways and then collapse to the canvas for the second time. Veteran referee Jay Nady waved off the world title bout at the count of four despite Judah's vigorous protest. Within moments of the conclusion of the fight, seconds, handlers, and security personnel filled the ring. Nevertheless, despite being held back by his cornermen, Judah managed to force his way back across the ring and stick his left glove under the referee's throat. In the ensuing chaos as officials attempted to clear the ring, Judah threw his stool at the referee. Following a heavy fine and suspension Judah was back in action and 16 months later he won the lightly regarded WBO light welterweight belt by scoring a controversial victory over DeMarcus Corley. He defended the belt only once by scoring a first round KO over Jaime Rangel.

In April 2004, unified welterweight champion Cory Spinks successfully defended his new WBC crown by scoring a hard-fought 12 round unanimous decision over former world titleholder Judah. The officials had Spinks winning by a comfortable margin but inside the ropes it was a different story, as the multi-talented Judah put the heat to the son of the former heavyweight champion of the world. After controlling the action over the first four rounds, Spinks struggled to regain his rhythm later in the fight, as Judah's quick left hands began to find their target. Both men hit the deck late but when they went to the scorecards Spinks had secured his first unified title defense since upsetting Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC crown. It was a difference story ten months later, as Judah upset the champion Spinks. The 8 to 5 underdog challenger took care of unfinished business by capturing the undisputed welterweight world championship and scoring a stunning ninth round TKO over the St. Louis hometown hero Cory Spinks. Judah hurt the champion with a blazing straight left cross to the chin at the end of the seventh round and continued to keep Spinks on the business end of his punches for the remainder of the evening. The challenger caught Spinks on the ropes late in the 9th and battered him to the deck with a volley of whistling head shots. Spinks beat the count but Judah continued to land hammering blows that sent the champion careening defenseless across the ring and into the ropes before referee Armando Garcia finally halted the contest at 2:49 of the ninth round. Spinks was still upright but almost out on his feet.

Strength: Judah has speed to burn and some of the fastest hands in sport next to Floyd Mayweather Jr. He can pull the trigger on blinding combinations that allow him to fire four, five, and six-shot volleys, reload and blast away with another flurry. That said, Judah has power in both hands and while he might not drop you with one punch, he can make opponents feel like they are in the ring with a buzz saw. Judah also has excellent reflexes and has the ability feint, move and counter with ruthless precision. He is always in great condition and a supremely confident fighter.

Weakness: Blessed with so many physical attributes, Judah can also get careless and overconfident. He is one of the most arrogant fighters in the sport and because of it he can end up on the business end of his opponent's leather. Judah tends to drop his hands, showboat and lose his concentration. Judah doesn't have the best chin and Bergman, Millett, Tszyu and Spinks all dropped him. His attitude and bravado can get him into trouble and ultimately that has led to all three of his losses. Despite his physical skill there's a lot of punk in Judah. We were more than ready to chalk up the stool swinging incident and striking a referee after the loss to Tszyu to immaturity. It was more than five years ago and despite being an ugly incident we figured it was long over. However, in his fight with Baldomir this past January, he ripped the challenger with a sharp right hand to the side of his trucks during the pre-fight instructions from referee Arthur Mercante Jr. The old man would have probably given Judah the thumb but the junior partner of the firm didn't even take away a point. It is that lack of discipline, disdain and false bravado that has come back to bite Mr. Judah squarely in the backside throughout his career.

Prediction: We believe that Mayweather is the superior fighter. However, he has been tagged on occasion by looping shots and those are the type of punches that are certainly in the southpaw Judah's arsenal. This is a speed battle and we look for Mayweather to have a slight edge with faster hands, not by much but just a little faster. Judah's chin can also get him in trouble when he drops his hands, as seen in the Bergman, Millett, Tszyu and Spinks bouts. We look for Judah to load up a little more after the early going as he tries to catch up with Mayweather. However, lateral movement, sharp combinations and overall skill should prove to be the difference as Floyd Mayweather Jr. posts a 12 round decision over Zab Judah.