Last chance saloon for Zab Judah

The story of Zab Judah is a much storied one.

Some will point to ill discipline stating that his name will forever be synonymous with wasted talent and they won’t be far from the truth.

A southpaw blessed with speed and power, he was ranked in the top 40 junior welterweights of all time so you would be hard pressed to figure out where Zab went wrong but when it did go wrong it did so spectacularly. Who can forget Kostya Tszyu making him walk on jelly legs in a second round knockout? Or the shock loss to Carlos Baldomir? Or nearly starting a riot and subsequently being banned following the bout with Floyd Mayweather?

Judah has suffered many lows in his career especially after moving up to the welterweight division where he was on the receiving end of some brutal beatings like in the Cotto fight and the Clottey fight and why not? He was usually the smaller man in these fights so now he has decided to go back down to 140 will we see the resurgence of ‘Super’ Zab Judah?

Zab hasn’t made 140 pounds since 2003 and although he insists he can, his latest comeback will be at 143 pounds to provide a ‘pillow of comfort’, but if he can get down to 140 a wealth of fights await him. They may not all be winnable but they are there. The division is one of the livest at the moment with the likes of Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana all looking for fights but not seemingly able to find one despite staring each other in the face.

At 32 he would be the elder statesman of the division but his experience would count for a lot. He would back at home in his strongest division knowing that each of the top fighters at that weight have not faced anywhere near the level of competition he has. Of course there is still the problem of Zab being a four round fighter, gassing out for the mid to late rounds but one would hope that back down at 140 pounds he would feel comfortable enough to over come this.

On July 16th when Zab faces Jose Armando Santa Cruz in New Jersey the boxing world will be watching, it will be our clearest indication of where Zab is, he will need to shine and then prove he can make 140 if he is to be taken serious. Maybe then he can erase the black mark that stains his career and make further strides to fulfilling the potential that saw him so highly touted early in his career.

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