Zab Judah speaks like a preacher these days. He has to believe, even if few in the gambling congregation do anymore. The proverbial last stand sometimes brings out the prophet in a man. Against Amir Khan Saturday night at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay, that’s where Judah finds himself.
“Zab Judah will be the winner; Zab Judah will be the winner,’’ he said in a conference-call refrain. “I promise you.’’
Promise has always been the issue with Judah. It’s been unfulfilled throughout a series of misadventures ever since his unmistakable talent launched him so rapidly that stardom must have seemed like an entitlement. It never is, of course. Losses to Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Carlos Baldomir and Cory Spinks are lessons that fast hands and agile feet won’t win if not accompanied by maturity.
Maturity is about the only thing slow to develop in Judah (41-6, 28 KOs), now 33 and a Christian living in Sin City. Doubt lingers about whether enough of it is there even now. That accounts for the 5-to-1 odds favoring Khan (25-1, 17 KOs) in the junior-welterweight bout for two pieces of the 140-pound title.
Other than a gritty and poised performance in 2007 against a Cotto then at his best, Judah has never shown anything that says he can contain his emotions — maintain his composure — at the moment of inevitable adversity in a big fight.
That label was affixed to his reputation in 2001 against Tszyu, who looked as if he were about to be overwhelmed by the swift Judah in the first round. In the second, Judah’s confidence got the best of him. He mocked Tszyu by shaking his hips. Judah dropped his hands. Then, Tszyu dropped him with a right. Judah stumbled around, picked up and threw his stool like an angry bar patron at last call and futilely went after referee Jay Nady. Ten-year-old images are unfair perhaps. But in the age of YouTube, they endure. Judah has been stumbling through his career ever since.
A mini-riot erupted during the 2006 bout against Mayweather, who looked across the ring and apparently didn’t see a security guard. Mayweather was the only one to display any poise, which in hindsight looks like a huge upset after his reported and repeated altercations with rent-a-cops. Mayweather moved into a neutral corner and calmly waited out the storm. For Judah, there was a six-month suspension and a $75,000 fine.
Days of suspension, fines and rage are behind him, he swears.
“I’m more focused on my career and my family,’’ Judah said. “I’m at a great place in life right now.’’
Changes in lifestyle, he says, are complemented by a more purposeful approach to business. A boyhood hero, retired defensive wizard Pernell Whitaker, is his trainer instead of his dad, Yoel. Fathers as trainers have always been problematic. Emotions get confused and in the way. With Whitaker, that dangerous potential is gone. Whitaker says Judah has become a more scientific boxer, which means more deliberate skill and less of the undisciplined emotion.
There’s also Victor Conte, whose infamous past includes Balco, Barry Bonds and performance enhancers. Conte has moved into boxing in an attempt to rebuild his reputation as a nutritionist and conditioning coach. Neither the family physician nor my auto mechanic has any idea what hypoxic training is. If Conte’s new-world methods had anything to do with Nonito Donaire’s stunning, second-round stoppage of Fernando Montiel last February, however, Khan has reason to worry.
Judah believes that Khan, the World Boxing Association’s champion, will enter the ring Saturday with a strategy based on what he saw in his many meltdowns.
“The old Judah,’’ said the International Boxing Federation’s champ, who figures to test Khan’s questionable chin early and often with an uppercut. “But after the first round, I think we’ll come back to the corner and say: ‘Guys, I don’t think this is the Zab Judah we prepared for.’ ‘’
But it isn’t the first round. It never has been for Judah. It’s what happens later. I can’t help but wonder how Judah would have reacted last December if it had been him instead of Khan in a wicked 10th round. The poised Khan held on instead of panicking or overreacting in the face of a withering assault from Marcos Maidana. Maidana’s repeated punches left Khan looking as if he were precariously balanced on a tight rope. But he stayed upright and held on to win by decision.
I’m not sure Judah would have kept his wits about him. He never has.
Yet, he has a chance against Khan. Judah is called a live dog. That means he’s a cornered one. There are no more chances if he loses in one more an attempt to prove he has grown beyond his reputation and grown up into the fighter everybody thought he would be.
AZ market on the mend
The Arizona market, dormant for the last two years, is staging one of boxing’s biggest comebacks these days.
There are two cards in the state Friday — one (first bell/7:30 p.m.) staged by longtime and legendary promoter Don Chargin at Tucson’s Casino del Sol and the other (first bell/7:30 p.m.) by Michelle Rosado of Face II Face Events in Phoenix at Madison Events Center.
The Arizona State Boxing Commission, strapped by budget cuts and suddenly busier than ever, will only regulate the Phoenix card, which will feature young Phoenix fighters, including bantamweight Emilio Garcia (2-0-1).
Chargin’s card will be regulated by the Pascua Yaqui, which owns and operates Casino del Sol. Without the tribe’s regulation, the two probably would have been scheduled on different dates. The Commission doesn’t have the personnel to work two on the same night.
There are several reasons for the boxing resurrection in Arizona, which has been home to six cards during the last four months. Controversy over the state’s tough immigration bill, SB 1070, has lessened since last year.
The biggest factor, however, is simply in the documents needed by Mexican fighters. For a couple of years, Mexican nationals were forced to get work visas instead of a tourist visa. Work visas are harder and more expensive to acquire
About a year ago, the state determined that Mexicans could again fight in Arizona with a tourist visa. That re-opened the market in a border-state with a rich boxing tradition.
Chargin has always been fond of Arizona. Over the years, the Hall of Fame promoter has staged several cards at Casino del Sol’s spacious outdoor arena.
“My wife and I used to say that Casino del Sol was our favorite place,’’ said Chargin, who lost his beloved wife, Lorraine, in April 2010.
Chargin, who will feature unbeaten super-bantamweight Christopher Martin (22-0, 6 KOs) of San Diego against Mexican Jose Silveria (12-3, 4 KOs), isn’t surprised by the state’s comeback. There are too many boxing gyms throughout Phoenix and Tucson to keep it down for long. A lively gym culture ensures that a boxing market will always be there.
“They’ve tried and tried and tried to kill it, but they can’t,’’ Chargin said.
AZ NOTES, QUOTES
• There are initial talks for Phoenix super-middleweight Jesus Gonzales’ third fight in his hometown, probably in the fall. Gonzales’ promotional company, Fanbase, approached Fernando Vargas about fighting Gonzales. Vargas has talked about a comeback, but his initial price was too high. Darin Schmick of Fanbase said Vargas asked for $2.5 million and a percentage of the gate. Big money might have been Vargas’ way of saying he’s not serious about a comeback. Schmick said he is still willing to talk to Vargas about the proposed fight. But a deal probably means Vargas would have to subtract a few figures from the seven he wants
• Junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. is scheduled for his next bout in Parker, Ariz., at BlueWater Resort & Casino on a Sept. 17 card that will also feature Filipino Mercito Gesta. The date conflicts with Mayweather’s comeback against Victor Ortiz at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on Sept. 17. Promoters for the Parker card, Top Rank and Showdown, talked about moving the date. October 1 was a possibility. But the promoters stayed with Sept. 17, in part because of contractual obligations.
