"Is pretty boy looking ahead?"

**Gandalf** · 04-05-2006 09:44 AM

By Don Stradley

When Zab Judah lost the world welterweight championship to Carlos Baldomir last January, it looked like his dream match with Floyd Mayweather was in jeopardy. According to Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler, there was no reason for the fight to happen, since Judah was no longer the champion. But when Baldomir skipped paying his IBF sanctioning fees, the tin title stayed with Judah. Since HBO had a date to fill, and Mayweather has an embarrassing hunger for alphabet belts, a fight was resurrected.

“He is the best in the East and I am the best in the West,” Mayweather said. “Now we are going to see who the best of the best really is.” That sounds good, although we don’t expect Mayweather to be troubled by Judah any more than he was by DeMarcus Corley. But just as Judah, 28, was looking past Baldomir to fight Mayweather, there’s talk that Mayweather, 29, might be looking past Judah to fight Oscar De La Hoya next winter. But if you think that will affect the outcome, you probably believe Marvin Hagler really has a lucrative film career in Italy.

It’s hard to imagine a fight between Mayweather, 35-0 (24), and Judah, 34-3 (25), being any different than the impromptu sparring session they had last year when Mayweather allegedly dominated the action. The only fighter who could beat Mayweather is someone so strong and fearless that he walks through Mayweather’s offense and punches through his defense, the way a young Roberto Duran might have done. But Judah isn’t the guy. Baldomir staggered Judah more than once, and the Argentine had nothing in his gloves but applesauce.

Southpaw Judah’s best weapon is his straight left, which can play havoc on journeymen, but when things don’t go his way, he tends to showboat and waste rounds. Granted, he’ll be more focused for Mayweather than he was for Baldomir (which has been Bob Arum and Mayweather’s way of selling this showdown), but that will only buy him a few rounds before Mayweather bops him on his unreliable chin. Still, Judah is putting on a good show of confidence.

“I have waited my whole life for a fight like this,” said Judah. “This will be an extravaganza.”

HBO certainly hopes so. This fight should give the network another chance to gauge Mayweather’s value as a pay-per-view attraction. The HBO Web site amusingly bills Mayweather as “Boxing’s biggest superstar,” which is wishful thinking on their part.

The good news for promoters Arum and Don King is that advance ticket sales for Judah-Mayweather were impressive. Those at the Thomas and Mack Center on April 8 will see a reasonably entertaining fight, with Judah going down swinging by the 10th.