Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
There was the time he flung a stool across the ring after losing to Kostya Tszyu, and the yearlong suspension he earned after a low blow against Floyd Mayweather Jr. resulted in a near-melee. Or the time he snookered reporters by having his father take his place on a conference call before a fight against Miguel Cotto, unbeknownst to anybody, even the promoters.
“Life is about growing up. As you get older, you mature,” Judah said recently. “I’ve been to the highest of highs, I’ve been to the lowest of lows.”
Now he’s trying to climb back to the top.
After spending most of the past two years away from boxing, Judah has returned to the sport with a more mature outlook. He reunited with longtime promoter Main Events, dotes on his son Zab Jr., and is back at junior welterweight with designs on winning yet another world title.
He fights unbeaten Lucas Matthysse on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where a victory could set up a lucrative title shot next year.
“At this point in my life, I just choose to walk a different path,” Judah said. “I’m doing everything by the book, I’m doing everything I was asked to do in the past and didn’t do. I’m walking the right path in my life.”
The 33-year-old from Brooklyn oozes talent, nobody can dispute that. He went 110-5 as an amateur before turning professional in a small Miami convention center in 1996. He won 19 times over the next two years, then captured an interim world title with a fourth-round knockout.
He was still just 21 years old.
Judah kept winning, even against future champions like Junior Witter, until he tried to unify the 140-pound title against Tszyu on Nov. 3, 2001. Judah won the first round and was leading the second when the former Soviet amateur star caught him in the closing seconds. Judah sprang to his feet but was so wobbly that referee Jay Nady waved it off.
Judah tore around the ring, tossing a stool toward the center and shoving a gloved fist in Nady’s neck. The incident earned a $75,000 fine and six-month suspension by Nevada regulators.
After that, Judah won a rematch against Cory Spinks to become undisputed welterweight champion in 2005. But following just one defense, he was stunned by Carlos Baldomir in what most observers called the biggest upset of 2006, and the decline began. He lost to Mayweather next, then to Cotto, and to Joshua Clottey in 2008.
It was time for a break.
Judah (39-6, 27 KOs) enjoyed the time away from boxing, spending it with his son, doing all the things that he put off during his meteoric rise. But the itch to fight was still there, along with the knowledge that the last few years had not been kind to his record or his legacy.
“We are bringing back a renewed and revived world champion with Zab Judah,” said Kathy Duva of Main Events. “We know he is capable of what he’s expected to be. When he decides to turn it on, he’s a force to be reckoned with.”
He’s once again harnessing that talent, winning his last two fights by knockout in less than five rounds combined. There was talk of an immediate title shot, but Judah instead will fight Matthysse with the promise of a high-profile matchup next year.
“Lucas Matthysse is a young, up and coming fighter. He’s knocked out a lot of fighters early,” Judah said, “but when you start comparing those guys that he’s knocked out to a Zab Judah, it’s a different comparison.”
That isn’t just hyperbole.
While Judah has fought some of the best in the world, Matthysse (27-0, 25 KOs) has rarely fought outside of Argentina. Matthysse understands that and speaks almost reverentially of Judah. But he also promises not to allow that respect to get in his way.
“He’s one of boxing’s best kept secrets, in our opinion,” said David Itskowitch of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Matthysse. “We feel he’s going to heed the opportunity and take it to Zab and take the fight.”
After everything he’s been through, Judah doesn’t sound like someone who will allow that to happen.
“Everyone knows that it’s just a matter of time before I’m looking at one of the titles or all of the titles,” he said. “Sometimes I do get selfish, and I want all of the titles. I’m back to one of my selfish moments.”
By Dave Skretta
