Judah issues challenge to Oscar

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 9:50 a.m.

Undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah wants to meet Oscar De La Hoya in a megafight for supremacy at 147 pounds by the end of this year, he said Tuesday.

"A fight with me and the Golden Boy is the biggest, greatest fight out there for the welterweight division, and for boxing, period," Judah said at a training session at the MGM Grand.

"(Diego) Corrales and (Jose Luis) Castillo came out and gave boxing what it needed (Saturday), and hopefully a fight with De La Hoya would do the same -- hopefully this year."

Judah (33-2, 24 knockouts) will take on mandatory challenger Cosme Rivera (28-7-2) in the featured undercard bout of Saturday's HBO Pay-Per-View card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

In the main event, Felix "Tito" Trinidad (42-1, 35 KOs) and Winky Wright (48-3, 25 KOs) clash in a highly anticipated middleweight showdown.

A former world champ in multiple weight classes including 147, De La Hoya (37-4, 29 KOs) has fought at light middleweight or middleweight for the past four years but recently announced plans to return to welterweight, possibly for a bout this fall.

De La Hoya, who was stopped by Bernard Hopkins in a world middleweight title fight last September at the MGM, has not designated an opponent for his return to the ring.

Judah suggested De La Hoya might turn down his challenge in favor of an easier foe.

"De La Hoya doesn't want to fight me. He said he is going to come back to the welterweight division and become the undisputed champion," Judah said Tuesday. "Oscar is doing a great thing. He is looking for something. I think he was looking for Cory Spinks but now that I am the champion, let's wait and see."

Judah is coming off a ninth-round stoppage of Spinks for the unified welterweight title this past February in St. Louis.

Judah said Saturday's fight against Rivera can be seen as risky and potentially dangerous -- for Rivera, that is.

"He's putting himself in a position where he doesn't know what he's in for," Judah said. "If I had one thing to say to him, it would be watch out what people tell you. ... He is going to be asking his guys after the fight Saturday night, why did you guys do this to me, why didn't you protect me? You knew who I was going in there with. Why did you let me do it?"

Oddsmakers concur, having established Judah as an 11-1 favorite in the fight, according to the betting line at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas.

At just over 6 feet tall Rivera, of Los Angeles, has an advantage in height against Judah, 5-7, but a much less impressive resume.

"Those guys that he has fought aren't like me," Judah said.

Possible fights against other leading welterweights such as Antonio Margarito or "Sugar" Shane Mosley don't capture Judah's imagination the way a matchup with De La Hoya does.

Margarito and Mosley both won handily on a card at Caesars Palace last month. Margarito stopped Kermit Cintron and Mosley outpointed David Estrada in fights that left Judah underwhelmed.

"Margarito fought an overhyped fighter and did what he had to do," Judah said. "With all the big fights Mosley has been in, he should have just walked that guy down."

Judah called a fight against Mosley "a possibility, but it wouldn't be for big money."

"After I take care of Cosme, then I will pursue De La Hoya to see if we can get it on," he said.

As attractive as a Judah-De La Hoya matchup sounds, it would not approach Saturday's Corrales-Castillo instant classic in terms of sheer brutality, Judah said.

"I don't think I'd ever engage in that kind of battle," Judah said. "I think Corrales wanted to put himself in that position, to show his toughness, and he got it -- a toe-to-toe, bang-up match with Castillo.

"If that's what it takes to be in a fight of the year, then I don't think I'll ever be in a fight of the year. I don't have to prove I'm tough. I know I'm tough -- I'm from Brownsville, Brooklyn."