Zab Judah Wilts Under Pressure From Now Unified Titlist Amir Khan. Is Tim Bradley Next?

The time was 2:47 of the fifth round at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada this past Saturday night on HBO’s Championship Boxing when Zab “Super” Judah of Brooklyn, New York 41-7 (28 KO’s), perhaps wanting nothing more to do with the quick accurate Amir “King” Khan of Great Britain 26-1 (18 KO’s), went down claiming a low blow from a legal belt line shot. Judah would remain on the canvass while he allowed referee Vic Drakulic to count to ten before Zab would rise to his feet, consequently surrendering his IBF title to Khan who adds it to his existing WBA championship belt. The finishing blow, a right uppercut, which may or may not have had enough power to achieve the actual knockdown, perhaps ended up in the solar plexus area due to the fact that Judah was crouching down to avoid all the incoming blows landing to the head, blows which would have Zab’s face bloodied as early as the second round.

In appearing to look for a way out of a fight that Judah was being shut out in up until the stoppage, his post fight response was strange to say the least. Judah claimed, “I don’t make any excuses but that was a low shot. I went down and the referee was counting. I figured he was counting for a low blow-the eight count to get myself together. But when I heard him say nine, ten, it’s over, I said what do you mean it’s over. It’s a low blow.” Even though the replay would show otherwise, and that in fact the blow landed on the waistline, this remark makes no sense, especially coming from a 15 veteran of the professional ranks. Unless the referee informs you that you have five minutes to recover, then you must rise to your feet before the conclusion of any count, a count which Vic Drakulic initiated almost immediately upon the blow’s impact, or you are to be declared the loser.

The reality was that Zab felt vulnerable and that is why he decided to fold. For even if the punch may have skimmed down low and then came up, or even have happened to have displaced Zab’ foul protector, causing him some discomfort, the actual force of the punch was delivered on the belt line, and therefore could have in no way debilitated Zab illegally. “I don’t think it was a low blow. It was a clean shot and the referee was there,” stated Khan. “In my eyes it was a clean shot, just above the belt. Zab took the shot. It was a very hard shot and we’d been working on the shot throughout our camp. It happened naturally, I fired the uppercut and it worked for me.”

In writing a pre-fight article on this bout, there were two essential fight factors or vulnerabilities that I alluded to, both of which were pivotal in a couple of Zab’ previous championship losses. One loss, a defeat at the hands of Cory Spinks in their first meeting, was the result of Spinks landing quick accurate combinations, mostly due to Cory getting off his punches first when he threw them, and the other key factor, culminating in a loss to Miguel Cotto, would be the consistent pressure and landing of hard digging shots to the head and body administered by Cotto during the course of their fight, which would cause Judah to fold by round 11.

It was a result of perhaps both these two elements that would lead to Judah’ eventual downfall against Khan, as Amir would start to find the mark early on, getting off with quick accuratestraight punches which would stifle Judah’ rhythm and prevent him from launching any semblance of a counter attack, while perhaps Khan delivered his blows with some deceptive power on them to keep Zab at a safe distance. By fights end, “King” Khan would connect at a 3-1 ratio, 60 punches landed in total for Amir, versus 20 punches finding the mark for Judah. By initiating the action, the now unified champion of Pakistani decent would put the Brooklyn native on his heels as well as cause Zab to duck underneath for refuge from the intermittent onslaughts, rather than duck in a crouching fashion to perhaps counter Khan with his signature uppercuts. This is the exact tactic which Zab’ frustrated trainer, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, would implore Zab to utilize as Khan made his way in, as between rounds you could here Pernell say, “bring em up,” referring to the uppercut.

In the sport of boxing, the way to beat a counter puncher is to throw in combination with accuracy, as well as move away or tie up thereafter to avoid return fire. Khan did that. If you are a counter puncher, which Zab Judah has been throughout his career, you cannot wait until the other fighter finishes delivering more than a few blows before you fire back, or you may find yourself at the mercy of your opponent. To be effective as a counter puncher, one must fire back within as little as perhaps 1-2, or 3 punches at most. Better yet, at the top levels of prizefighting a counter puncher should punch with an adversary to land in between incoming blows. Judah did not do that.

This fight from the beginning was more a mental test for Judah and rather a physical and strategical test for Khan. Khan would pass physically as well as strategically, and Zab showed once more that for all his skill, he doesn’t have the mental fortitude to hang in for a while when things aren’t going his way to perhaps make a necessary adjustment or two as the fight progresses. Don’t know where this leaves Zab, but after more than a couple of chances to cash in big, he will have to start over again as he relinquishes his IBF title without putting up much of a challenge at all. Either his new trainer Pernell Whitaker hasn’t spent enough time with Zab, given that their relationship is in the beginning stages, or Zab is incapable of perhaps making the necessary physical and or mental transformation that will bring him to the very top of his chosen sport given the type of fighter he has been over the years. In the other corner, trainer Freddie Roach felt Khan’ performance was flawless. “Amir followed the game plan very well,” he said. “He used the jab and took Zab’s power away from him. He won every round. He fought the perfect fight.”

So is Timothy Bradley next? Bradley, the originally scheduled opponent for Khan on this date, initially pulled out of the fight due to a supposed financial disagreement between his management team, specifically Cameron Dunkin, and his promoter Gary Shaw. Then there were statements made to the effect that if Bradley lost to Khan, he would then not be in a position to take on perhaps either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather. Khan has his own opinion of why Bradley pulled out. Amir feels Timothy is scared to face him and has stated so on more than one occasion. I don’t believe that to be the case however, but rather that Bradley’ contract with Gary Shaw is about to expire and it appears Timothy is looking to sign with either Top Rank or Golden Boy. I don’t know what the end result will be as far as promoters and what not, but what I do know is that fight fans would love nothing more than to see Ring Magazine’s number 1 ranked WBC/WBO title holder Timothy Bradley mix it up with Amir Khan for the undisputed junior welterweight championship of the world. Let’s hope that happens sooner than later.