Last night proved it for me. People get excited when they hear the name Zab Judah because they think or hope to see the exciting Judah of old. That was when Judah was young and had a sense of immortality so he could afford to be reckless. Now, after having some major losses and defeats "some of them embarrassing" he has lost his sense of immortality and what you get is what we saw last night. An overly cautious, boring boxer who's real strength was his speed combined with his intensity which is now gone. I will not be excited to upon hearing of his upcoming fights like I used to be. This guy is mentally shot.
What was "the same" or Judah's peak? He was lackluster against Spinks in their first fight, let Baldomir steal their fight, and now this. He won maybe four rounds against Mayweather with a knockdown that wasn't counted. That was impressive. He was doing really well against Cotto before the stoppage. But he never really was consistent, and that's the reality. He did poorly last night, as usual. So he is the same-- the same as he always was/is.
I never thought of him like that to be honest. Im surprised Judah, having taken some of the beatings he has, is not as worse for wear as you'd imagine he would be by now.
You're ****ing blind if you think he's the same now as he always was. Zab was a great boxer, a coiled spring who presented serious head to head problems everyone 147 down, Floyd Mayweather included. The only remnants of his former self are his dad's yelling out BAM still audible from the side of the ring, mid-round, and that wonderful counter right hand uppercut. He had great athleticism in his prime and that is the primary reason why he has deteriorated so far now. Much like Roy Jones Jr., when the speed went, so did Judah's ability to win boxing matches. The artist formerly known as Zab Judah has not yet reached the nadir that Roy Jones' corpse has, but you can guarantee within two or three fights he will be horrifically erased by anyone from Khan, Bradley, Devon, Maidana, or Ortiz, when he is put in the ring with them. You would be well within your right to hate on a tempestuous brat like Judah, but it is only hating if you consider him, the shell of him that exists now, to be the same old Judah. He was once regarded as the more promising prospect than Floyd Mayweather, used to, as an amateur, hold his own with Pernell Whitaker. He controlled and channeled his aggression to give Floyd Mayweather some of, if not THE most difficult rounds of his career, and I would argue, had he not been low blown into oblivion by Miguel Cotto, might easily have seen the outcome of their fight go differently. He simply did not possess the necessary mental make-up to ever go down in the hallowed boxing halls of fame, but in his prime, which is not now, he was a very exciting fighter who was trouble for anyone, who was in at least the top 5 of any division he was fighting in, in terms of both speed and power. Hate all you want, but don't lie to yourself that the Zab that fought Mathysse is the same Zab who fought Cotto.
Im a fan of Judah and while he wasnt the EXACT same Judah that he used to be, obviously, he is still very fast and has got good movement and pop. He threw some buzzing shots this weekend and showed good defence and movement early on just like always. His weaknesses and flaws are the same as they have always been, just a bit amplified due to age and mentality at this point. I really, really hope that Zab can take back control of 140... but it will be an uphill battle every step of the way.
I'll buy that Trixie. I guess what I was saying was, there's no dominant, focused and relentless "prime" Judah outside of stopping Spinks, and his losses to PBF and Cotto. You're right, he WAS a better fighter in the past. But I'm saying the past wasn't that glorious to begin with, so from Spinks I/Baldomir, this "win" is a short trip.
Um, hasn't he always been like this? A level for four rounds, then drops a grade each round after? Or A to F in 1 round 10 years ago with Tszyu?
Sugar Ray Leonard calls it the "coat of invincibility." Once a fighter loses it there is no guarantee that they will ever get it back.
You act as if he was great at one time... he never was much at all.. his track record proves it. He was overhyped due to his speed and some highlight reel KO's... Judah always has been just a b to C+ level fighter.
and in other news; Dinosaurs extinct for at least five years claim experts, new climate change probe expected.
Zab has always been an A level TALENT...but, never quite an A level FIGHTER. That being said, he looked far from shot this weekend. He was in there with a younger, hungry, KO artist who outweighed him by almost 10 lbs, and he held his own. But, if Mattheysse got the nod...I would not have complained.
