Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Judah gets a second chance

The last time the spotlight shone on Zab Judah in Las Vegas, it wasn't a pretty sight.

Defeated by Kostya Tszyu in a fight that was stopped in the second round by referee Jay Nady, Judah went berserk. He threatened Nady by placing a fist to the referee's chin and later threw a stool into the ring, leading to the Nevada State Athletic Commission handing him a $75,000 fine and six-month suspension.

That fight -- Nov. 3, 2001, at the MGM -- did more than tarnish Judah's image and reputation, it cost him his world championship at 140 pounds.

Saturday at Mandalay Bay he gets a shot at redemption if not Tszyu, as Judah will take on undisputed welterweight champion Cory Spinks as part of a Don King promoted card that also features heavyweights Wladimir Klitschko and Lamon Brewster.

"Everyone has trials and tribulations and that was a learning experience for me," Judah said of his loss to Tszyu and postfight tantrum. "I've put it behind me and moved on."

Judah, 26, is 30-1 with 22 knockouts and is a minus 160 betting favorite in the sports book at Mandalay Bay.

But he was also a 3-1 favorite when he fought Tszyu for the undisputed junior welterweight championship three years ago.

"It gives me a chance to regain something," Judah said not only of fighting Spinks but of fighting in Las Vegas with odds on the bout.

Spinks, 26, is 32-2 with 10 KOs and is a plus 140 underdog despite holding all three major titles at 147 pounds.

"Cory's no pushover," Judah conceded. "He's a person with good skills. Both of us got our hands full for a hard fight."

Judah yearned for a rematch with Tszyu but none was forthcoming, in part because of the champion's lingering shoulder injury and in part because Judah no longer felt he could make 140 pounds.

"I'm getting older, I'm getting bigger," he said. "I'd been 140 pounds since I was 15, but my body won't allow me to do 140 any more.

"I wouldn't want to (take a fight at 140) and be weak.

"Now it's actually a dream come true (in that) I can let it all out and not just train to lose weight."

Judah, who is coming off a one-round knockout victory against Jamie Rangel in New York last December, was beaten by Tszyu in a fight in which he mistakenly predicted "would be easy" before he stepped into the ring.

But Tszyu took command of the match when he landed a powerful right late in the opening round, and he picked up where he left off at the outset of Round 2 and knocked Judah down with a left. As Nady was escorting Tszyu to a neutral corner, Judah got up before staggering and falling back down -- face first -- to the mat.

Nady then stopped the fight, much to Judah's chagrin.

"He never gave me a chance," Judah complained at the postfight news conference.

Tszyu never gave him another one, either.

"At this point right now I think Kostya Tszyu is out of my system," Judah said. "You can only do so much. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting (for a rematch) but it's not going to happen.

"I'm over it."

At 147 pounds, Judah will be facing a naturally bigger man in Spinks. And while Spinks has only a few knockouts to his credit, Judah's chin comes into question not only because Tszyu had him down but so did Jan Bergman and Terronn Millett in earlier fights.

"No one's really seen the full potential of Zab Judah, but this time they will," he said. "I feel like I'm stepping up and fighting the best available fighter, Cory Spinks.

"We're two excellent boxers with good speed and great defense. I'm expecting this fight to go down in history as one of the best welterweight fights ever.

"It's a good fight for both of us. It's time for both of us to get the credit we deserve."

And time, perhaps, for Judah to be seen in a better light?

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