Zab Judah - Was He A Possible Elite Level Fighter?

Zab Judah, I think we would all agree had fantastic talent, heck you could possibly say one of the most talented guys to have come out of America in a fair few years. He had an astounding Amateur record of 110-5 and a three time Golden Gloves champion however, with Zab Judah came a mentality that in my opinion seriously held him back in the professional ranks.

There is a saying "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" for me everytime the tough truly got going, Judah broke down mentally.

He started off his career looking flashy, fast and so in control of his opponents, showing incredible lateral movement and ridiculously fast hands and used it to great effect with his fast straight lefts, uppercuts in his counterpunching work.

Judah won the IBF World title against Bergman with a dominant display having his man down in the first round and showcasing his speed and power stopping him in the 4th round and a star in America was truly born. He then defended against a fighter we all know and respect a fair amount (Even if we do think he's a bit of a prat) in Junior Witter, handing Witter his first loss and resoundinlgy in an easy decision making Judah look like a real top level fighter. He then defended his IBF title a fair few more times against respectable opposition knocking fighters out with ease and looking very stylish in the process.

Then came the Kosta Tszyu fight where Judah won the first round then caught a big right and did the infamous "Chicken Dance" while attempting to standing up. No shame in losing to Kosta who at the time I believe was classed as the main man in the LWW division. I personally feel this fight had a mental effect on Judah and made him a little worried about being caught with big shots. He then rebuilt and fought a suprisingly close decision against Demarcus Corley, in which he showcased his vast array of skill, throwing to the head and body however the fight overall was a very cagey fight that was fought on the outside and became very close with Judah winning a Split Decision.

Defended his title against Rangel obliterating him in one round, however next came a fight against a top level fighter at Welterweight that wasn't scared of getting on the inside and mixing it up and putting Zab into the type of situation that exposed his mental fragility, with Judah at times backing up and seemingly scared to throw the punches when it mattered. Corley made Judah's psycological advantages show and beat him to a UD, in my opinion this is the beginning of the fights that Judah should have won but didn't due to mental flaws.

Judah tried to rebuild yet again and fought huge underdog Rafael Pinada. Judah seemingly had little respect for Pineda but began losing rounds and being pushed back and put into a shell by a man that was far more limited in terms of his skill level, Judah eventually began to show the array of skill that he had and huge speed advantage but was pushed onto the ropes and did not like the fight being fought so physically he managed to escape with a SD win to a man that he should have been far better than on the night. He then began with impressive wins and redeemed the loss against Spinks with a strong knockout over him in the ninth, winning three belts up at 147, however the fight was fought more on tactics and boxing ability rather than Spinks imposing himself and perhaps having more respect for Judah's power coming in as he had perhaps filled himself into his body at 147.

However here came a torrid time for Judah losing 3 fights in a row against 3 fighters that showed Judah's flaws again and they were all fights that Judah could have seemingly won.

Juan Carlos Baldomir - Judah was a 10-1 favourite to win the fight and Baldomir was generally considered nothing more than a tune-up for Zab however Baldomir made his intention to win very early on and kept applying pressure early. As the fight wore on it was clear that Judah had a huge handspeed and skill set advantage but was doing very little to win the fight, merely potshotting at times and cowering under the presure that Baldomir was putting him under. Baldomir made the fight as physical as possible and at the toughest points in the fight Judah failed to show his superior skill and in turn ended up losing a close fight which Judah, really should have won rather easily.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. This fight almost never actually happened due to the loss over Baldomir however it went ahead as planned and Judah seemed very intent at the beginning of the fight, on my card taking 3 out of the first 4 rounds and seemingly shaking Mayweather up with a straight left hand. Judah was fighting a side on - long range battle that was fought purely on speed and reflexes. After the first 4 rounds however Mayweather adapted a more brawling and marauding tactic and walking in much more square on and Judah didn't like this at all going more and more into a shell and throwing far less punches in fear of receiving them. The few times he did throw he had rather good success on Mayweather due to Mayweather standing more square on, but the attacks became more and more infrequent and eventually turned into almost non-existant attacks and virtually became Mayweather just walking in and doing as he pleased. In my opinion Judah actually had a very good chance of winning this battle however he just didn't want the fight to become tough.

Miguel Cotto Again another fight that I believe that Zab Judah should have won, he had Cotto rocked a few times early, however the typical pattern ensued when Cotto began putting the pressure on Judah didn't want to know and the punches coming from Judah became more scarce even though Cotto was open for the straight left that Judah is so good at throwing. Cotto ended up knocking the fight out of Judah with Judah coming forward and feigning the aggression when Cotto was taking a breather. Other things worth noting in this fight was when the lowblows happened, Cotto low blowed Judah twice however Judah made the absolute most of them and I'm not too sure he was truly hurt by them, I personally think he was looking for a way out as the fight was becoming increasinlgy harder, to me the acting was rather poor from him and I don't believe that he was hurt by them.

He then rebuilt but then fought Joshua Clottey, another fighter that he was picked to beat however the fight took the usual Judah route of Judah dominating early on and then began shipping punches and received a cut from a clash of heads, Judah didn't like the cut and complained about it. The fight ended up being stopped when Judah claimed he could no longer see out of his eye, believing he was up on the scorecards the fight was stopped, however he ended up losing on a technical decision. Judah again losing because of backing out of a fight.

His last fight against Amir Khan was a fight in which he bagn losing from the outset with Khan throwing combinations that were too fast for Judah to deal with and then a punch that was relatively borderline and wasn't really low hit Judah and Judah gave up on the floor seemingly. Claiming he never heard the referee counting Judah decided to not get up then deserved an oscar with the way he acted as though he didn't realise it was scored a knockdown.

In my conclusion, the fights Judah lost wasn't down to technical skill it was more down to cowering away and failing to throw back when the going got tough which was a mentality problem and if he didn't have the problems with taking punches and pushing himself to his limits then I believe he could have been a truly elite level fighter and maybe be remembered as a great. I am in no way calling Judah a coward as a mental problem in my view is the same as physical limitations, however just a what could have been for a fantastically skilled fighter.

So do you believe that Judah could have been up there with the best, or do you have another reason, perhaps he wasn't quite as good as I have let on? What's your view of him?

First off, great article Alex.

I think a few similarities can be drawn between Judah and Hector Camacho, not just because they were both flashy southpaws with almost unbelievable hand speed. Neither's ability can be questioned, but their appetite for the sport can be. Judah, mentally, lost a huge chunk of himself that night against Tszyu. Some will claim (and I can understand why, by the way) that his more patchy form in the aftermath of that fight was simply down to him facing better opposition more regularly, but I'm not so sure. As you've alluded to Alex, there is a marked difference between the Judah of post-2001 and before it. The punches he had been throwing in fours and fives before where now coming in ones and twos, and he fought uncharacteristically cagey battles on the biggest stage time and again. Much like the world saw with Camacho after Rosario had him hanging on for dear life, he just didn't like it up him.

Carrying the mental scars of Tyszu or not, Judah still had no business losing to the likes of Spinks and Baldomir, and even in his recent 'revival' which was halted by Khan, we saw signs of the same old mental frailties - he looked ready to burst in to tears when the referee judged that he'd been knocked down against Mabuza, and then of course we had the image of him mentally checking out of the Khan fight before blaming it on a phantom low blow.

In terms of talent and ability, Judah could have been anything he wanted I reckon, and that includes being an elite level fighter for this era. But as with any sport, the mental aspect can't be ignored and, all things considered, he was simply lacking in that regard.

Not sure Judah ever stood a realistic chance of beating Mayweather, very well and good saying he was winning after four rounds but he was never going to be able to cope with the change in tact from Mayweather. The loss to Baldomir is what hurts him most, losing fights that you really shouldn't show he wasn't all there, looking back he himself threw that fight away rather than losing to the better man. The Cotto fight was close but it was inevitable that he would be stopped sooner or later, he simply doesn't like the roughness of the sport nor does he have the chin for it.

Judah is overrated he lost far too many of his big fights.

Waingro wrote:Judah is overrated he lost far too many of his big fights.

So just spent an hour writing that to be brought back down to earth with that mind shattering conclusion.

Waingro must be pretty clear in his view, Alex, he hasn't even qualified it with "IMO".

Good article and chris' response probably sums up my views. An amazing talent who fell short because his head and heart didn't match what his body could do. Are there potential comparisons to be drawn with Khan?

superflyweight wrote:Waingro must be pretty clear in his view, Alex, he hasn't even qualified it with "IMO".

Good article and chris' response probably sums up my views. An amazing talent who fell short because his head and heart didn't match what his body could do. Are there potential comparisons to be drawn with Khan?

No not really. Khan has the athletic side of the equation, blessed with natural stamina and lighting hands. However, khan doesn't have the same skill level that Judah had. Judah looked like he could do more than khan can atm. However, Judah is know for taking the easy way out, Khan has not. Khan has taken punches upon punches by the hard hitting maidana and came back to rally late. Peterson had him under intense pressure at time but he didn't cave in, he tried to fight his way back into it.

Judah was washed up when Khan beat him

He did show more heart, but I do think that Khan has mental frailities that can get him in trouble and they're evident in his recent fights.

Waingro wrote:Judah was washed up when Khan beat him

agree 100%.

Brilliant article Alex.

As you said, Zab had it all except for one vital ingredient required for boxing. A fighter's heart. He was a front runner and literally threw it out when the going got tough.

Shame really as he could have been the one.

Was he a possible elite level fighter? No, for all of the reasons you've already alluded to. The mental side is just as important as the physical and he wilted when faced with a challenge. You can be great without being terribly flash or skilled but you cant be great without the heart and will to win.

What the question is though without these mental frailties do you think that he would have been an elite level fighter.

Think the point P_P is trying to make is that you can go about changing certain aspects of any fighters game and turn them into an elite fighter.

The Tyszu fight was the beggining of the end for him.

Which is a fair point, but as it was only one real thing that stopped Judah not for lack of ability and just a mentality of not wanting to push himself, if he had that desire and was willing to make the hard decisions then he would have been an elite level fighter in my view. Given that he mainly lost fights due to not wanting to push himself, it's a bit more of a unique case than most.

Still think he would lose the fights he did withe exception of Baldomir which to me doesn't suggest an elite level fighter.

He wasn't as agressive for me after Tyszu and ended up a little bit gun shy, he was a talent and had a great amatuer career. He may have ended an elite fighter but he doesn't have his head srewed on and never will, he also quit against Khan which is a no no for me.

Personally I think he would have wiped Cotto out easily.

You think the Judah of 2000 / 2001 would have lost to Spinks and Clottey, Ghosty?

Regarding Mayweather, he may well still have lost to him but that wouldn't disqualify him from elite status had he achieved what he was capable of beforehand.

Judah for all his wonderful speed would have lost to Mayweather, Tzuyu and Cotto still and were it so easy to beat Cotto then he still would have done even with his mentality being his only weakness. Reason I see him losing to Clottey Chris is simple, he never looked able to overcome a size differential whether it be Baldomir or Khan, he looks lost against a bigger fighter.

No, please Ghosty watch the Cotto fight again, he gave Cotto fits until Cotto began to impose himself and as soon as that happened Judah hardly threw a punch, I think it was Manny Steward that was asking why on earth he wasn't throwing the straight left hand, Cotto was wide open for it. If Judah wasn't worried about receiving punishment then he would have thrown it at him all night long and would have stopped the Cotto march forward.

He was still losing at that point Alex which makes it plain to see that Judah would never have wiped out Cotto easily, his mental fragility brought about the end sooner but he was still going to lose anyway.

Will have to agree to disagree on Clottey then, Ghosty. Think he'd have struggled to win more than a couple of rounds against the far busier and aggressive version of Judah, given how limited the man from Ghana is. His headbutts have been as much a factor as his boxing skills have been in making him a 'force' over the last decade.

I still think a rematch with Tszyu would have been interesting. It's not as if Tszyu was outclassed. Would make Tszyu a favourite given how the result of their first fight had began showing the cracks in Judah's psyche, but Tszyu winning on points would still be a real possibility.

No, not for me at all, he won the first round because he rocked Cotto, then he probably lost the second closely but he rocked Cotto again and everytmie he threw the straight left he had Cotto in trouble, stopped throwing it and Cotto took over.

So basically Judah is a four round fighter.