For Zab Judah, Saturday night was supposed to showcase to the world that he had regained championship form; it was supposed to be a night that stamped Judah as a legitimate contender in boxing’s deepest division. But as his fight with Lucas Matthysse entered its latter stages, it was clear that “Super” Judah was going to have to grind this one out — not only for a win, but for his relevancy in the sport.
The Brooklyn native didn’t look as sharp as in his two past fights with Ubaldo Hernandez and Jose Armando Santa Cruz, fights that led many to believe there was a new, old Zab Judah on the boxing scene. Although racking up 10 point rounds early, mostly behind effective jab-work, Judah failed to find the same rhythm that he found in his recent bouts.
He had a hard time uncovering and creating openings that would allow him to throw the power punches many at ringside thought would end the fight in the mid to late rounds. In fact, Judah ended up throwing just 138 power punches to his counterpart’s 418.
For much of the fight, Zab kept his left-arm coiled and tucked at his side, waiting patiently for the right time to throw his signature left uppercut. Those times were few and far between, as “Super” Judah was left with no other choice but to continue scoring with snapping jabs.
Perhaps he was thrown off by the fact that Matthysse was actually boxing him, as opposed to looking for the fistic home run. Although Judah’s Argentinian counterpart threw plenty of ill-intentioned straight rights at him, many believed that would be the only thing Matthysse was going to do, throw punches in bunches and try to stop Zab. That wasn’t the case, however, as Matthyse moved around the ring, content with landing crackling body punches to Judah’s midsection whenever the opportunity presented itself.
If Judah was a bit surprised by Matthysse’s strategy, credit Gabriel Sarmiento for that. Sarmiento, who serves as the primary trainer of Sergio Martinez, was in Matthysse’s corner for the fight. While Luis “Cuty” Barrera holds the title as Matthysse’s head trainer, it was Sarmiento barking out the orders when the Argentinian returned to the stool during the one minute intermissions. He encouraged more movement and boxing, and assured his fighter that the body punches were going to pay off.
Matthysse’s plan from the get-go was to wear down Judah with a steady stream of body punches — he said so himself in the pre-fight press conference. On Saturday, Matthysse executed his strategy to the best of his ability and it was clear that Judah was fading during the later rounds.
The heavy-handed Argentinian stuck to his commitment to wail away at Judah’s body, a commitment that seemed to have paid off in round ten when Matthysse hurt Judah with a straight right then followed up with one more, dropping Judah.
Down to one-knee, Judah rose to his feet to beat the ten count, and within a matter of seconds, landed a few of his own power punches to momentarily stop Matthysse in his tracks.
Judah ate a few more straight rights, and absorbed some more punishment to the body before the final bell sounded, but all of Matthysse’s efforts in the second half of the fight were not enough to capture the victory in Newark. One judge saw the bout in the Argentine’s favor, scoring it 114-113 for Matthysse while two judges agreed on the score 114-113 for Judah, awarding the Brooklyn-bred fighter the split decision victory.
After the fight, Judah admitted that being on the receiving end of Matthysse’s punches was no walk in the park.
“He is the strongest fighter I’ve ever fought,” Judah said during the post-fight press conference. “The dude was punching like he had cinder blocks in his gloves.”
While Judah insisted that he was pleased with his performance and the successful training camp that enabled him to battle the full thirty-six minutes with Matthysse, he did acknowledge that this fight was not his best.
“Everybody boos and says whatever because they are so used to seeing me dominate guys for so long,” Judah said at the post fight press conference. “Can I have a bad day one time? I’m only human.”
The Judah hype train may have left the station prematurely. A performance like Saturday night’s against any of the A-List 140 pounders would undoubtedly have resulted in a loss for “Super” Judah. Amir Khan, Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana, and Timothy Bradley all would have bested Zab on this night.
But while this performance didn’t turn any heads, it doesn’t mean his next one won’t. With another IBF title eliminator likely on the horizon versus Kaizer Mabuza, Judah will once again have the opportunity to convince the boxing world that he is back in championship form.
Whether his next fight is against Mabuza or not; whether it is Newark, New York, or South Africa, one thing is for certain: the 2010 version of Zab Judah will be fully prepared to fight. The days of two-week training camps are long gone. This version of Judah is more mature and humble; more focused and more determined. The new, old Zab will give it one hundred and ten percent.
And at the end of the day, that’s all we can ask of boxers, right?
Photo By Claudia Bocanegra
