Any Zab Judah fans here? Abit of an appreciation post. Held the Light Welterweight and Welterweight Championships. The last man to be Undisputed Welterweight Champion. When he fought Mayweather, was up there for best pound for pound boxer in the world. Lost a lot of fights when stepping up but still a great welterweight for me.
Super talented guy that doesn't get the credit that he deserves as a fighter. He was bashed for his 2nd round KO loss against Tzyu and a lot of folks were writing him off after losing to Spinks in there first fight. I was in the crowd the night he came into St Louis and beat Corey for the WW title of the world. Over 20k in the crowd that night and all of them loud and against him. He knew he would likely need a KO to beat Corey who was in his prime and slick as hell. He redeemed himself that night and proved that he was not just a super talented fighter but a true fighter in every sense of the word. That was a bigtime win to comeback like he did after such an embarrassing loss against Tzyu.
Very well said. I think his issue was that he fought with too much emotion. If you look at his fight vs. Mayweather, where he was winning the early rounds, and Garcia (particularly after the pre-fight press conferences), you can see that he allowed his emotions to get the better of him.
Loved Zab. He never truly lived up to his potential but he had some great moments. I guess the pinnacle of his career was defeating Cory Spinks by KO and avenging a previous defeat for the title. I will always remember him best for his fight against Mayweather, which I thought he dominated the first half until becoming unglued, but he looked as strong against a prime Mayweather as I have seen anyone look. His fight with Miguel vCotto was also a good one, though he did lose rather brutally. Raw talent wise , Zab was as good as anyone
I am ....someone made a post awhile back asking “ who are your favorite good ..not great fighters “? Mine are Zab Judah ,Bennie Briscoe , Roger Mayweather, and Arturo Gatti
You were in the crowd...I was at home screaming my lungs out ...my mother looking at me like I was crazy lol
As athletic and physically gifted as any fighter I’ve ever seen....his father was a kickboxer...he probably could’ve been good at that too
He had that hip hop swagger about him that made you like him or dislike him....they used a “ thug “ over in the modern forum ....which made me wonder
I can’t help but wonder how he would have done with a trainer like Freddie Roach ...someone in his corner giving him good instructions ...instead of his dad going. “ Boom Boom Boom ...Bing Bing Bing “
A gifted athlete , he fought a classic underated fight in his prime with one of toughest fighters in the game. "Irish" Mickey Ward. Ward was befuddled with his speed, but Judah could not hurt him. In the mid rounds Ward landed a crushing body shot and nearly koed Judah. Judah basically ran , got back to his corner and told his dad that he thought Ward broke his Ribs. His dad having none of the quit, told his son to use his other ribs then, and go out and fight. And so he did, showing guts, courage and stamina and then went out and boxed masterfully for the win. Funny, he always said Ward was his toughest fight, not Mayweather. If the Judah that had fought Ward was in the ring with Floyd, I say he wins it.
Very good fighter and fun to watch. He beat a lot of good fighters, lost to the elite in his prime-ish (Kostya & Floyd). The expectations were pretty sky high when he turned pro ("Hes a power punching pernell whitaker!"), but he had a very good if not odd at times career.
An overrated Tyson follower who had no more class and heart than his hero did. A 4 rd fighter at best. A comic footnote in boxing history. If you think Zab was a great welter anyway, then We think Art Frias was on the pd for pd list of best of all times. Never let facts get in the way of a good story.