judah's a spaceman who looks like a lost little boy most of the time, but it's impossible not to like what he can do in the ring. one of the great 'what if' stories of boxing.
a couple questions for i.b if zab loses this fight but gives lucas all he can handle... is he still washed up career wise? if zab wins this fight..but preforms poorly...who does he fight next? if zab wins this fight by erly k.o...does he give you the confidence in him to beat the big 4? (bradley,alexander,madiana,kahn) the same goes for lucas. your highly regarded wisdom is needed. thanx
mattyse interview links: this guy appears not to be set up for Zab, at all... http://www.boxinginsider.com/headlines/lucas-matthysse-i-have-no-doubt-i-will-come-out-victorious/ http://www.boxinginsider.com/biofiles/the-biofile-get-2-know-lucas-matthysse/
no doubt.....went a little overboard with the prediction thing but anytime Zab is up to fight i know he has the ability and talent but i just dont know who i will see in that fight. I think when Zab is full of confidence he is a problem for anyone but i think his confidence is easily shaken when the opponent doesnt back down or let him have his way...he tends to shell up when he feels the opponent doesnt respect him. the early round you see a Zab Judah that's extrememly focused because he wants to garner that respect from the opponent...however as the fight wears on he tends to fade when the opponent doesnt give him that respect and contiues to be in his grill. Baldo, CLottey, Floyd, Cotto....these fighters stayed in his grill and i think ultimately he tends to break down when he cant establish his dominance. If Matt shows any timidness he will lose.
If it's a great fight that's closely contested and Judah just doesn't come out on top...it will be hard for him to rebound, with boxing being a business and all - and some people will point to this result and say "He's washed up" but it won't actually mean that IMO. A close loss to Matthysse would be no more embarrassing than the loss to Baldomir. He is getting a little old to keep mounting comebacks, though... He is after big fights, and a lackluster win might hurt him here even more than a close loss. He is fighting on HBO and doesn't want to take any more backward steps. He wants to become marketable, which means priority #1 is that he has to entertain on Saturday night. No possible result from Judah-Matthysse will make the winner cease to be an underdog against the best in the division. An impressive win (like an early KO, or a bloody several-round beatdown) does make a statement that the victor is hot on the heels of the elite, and should probably set up an eliminator type of encounter with someone on the second tier at 140 - like Ortiz, Guzman etc.