Re: How the hell has Zab Judah fallen from grace so much ?
Judahs career started to crumble once he fired Lou Duva and Ronnie Shields from his corner and replaced them with his father in order to keep the money in the family. Duva and shileds were a good influence and kept him grounded in the ring. At one point he was even pile drived by a tall fighter (wilfredo negron) after ducking and getting his head caught between the guys knees. With a cut on the forehead, he didnt go crazy and throw a chair or start choking his opponent. He went back to his corner, got his instructions came back out and beat Negron senseless.
I think his first fight with his dad in the corner may have been David Sample. Judah knocks sample down and hits him while hes down. The second fight was Jan Bergman (Judah had to get off the canvas to win).. 3rd fight was Terron Millet (again had to get off the canvas to win), after that was the Kostya Tszyu fight... (no recap necessary)... The downward spiral only stopped briefly so he could beat Spinks in the rematch with a few secs to go. Throw in the few times he was robbed .. and his dad impersonated him on a teleconfrencing call and the picture of the circus is complete.
How much can you gain from coming back to your corner after getting your butt kicked and have to dodge punches from dear old dad.. While hes screams "BAM BAM BANG BOOM POW" like john witherspoon? In the movie A Bronx Tale, Robert Deniro's character told his son the saddest thing in life, is wasted talent. Sad indeed.
They want your @$$ beat because upsets make news. News brings about excitement, excitement brings about ratings. The objective is to bring you up to the tower and tear your @$$ down. And if you don't believe that, you're crazy.
Roy Jones, Jr. "What I've Learned," Esquire 2003
Bookmarks