By Ryan Songalia

Showtime's Steve Albert once remarked that they would need more cameras to keep track of Zab Judah due to his uncanny swiftness of hand and feet. Perhaps that's why, when he sunk to the canvas slowly in the tenth round of Saturday's clash with Lucas Matthysse of Argentina, the moment seemed to drag out longer.

"When I went down, I had a deep conversation with the Lord," said former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Judah, now 40-6 (27 KO). "It was fast for ya'll but it was long to me. It felt like we sat down for three minutes and I was like, 'C'mon baby, I've been doing everything right. Don't let me down now.' He said, 'Don't worry about it, just keep going.'

"This is what having faith can do. When you have faith in yourself you can do it."

Judah of Brooklyn, New York steadily rose in time to beat the count. He didn't clown with his hands low like he did against Carlos Baldomir, the last Argentine Judah faced. Instead Judah answered his opponent's urgent rush with heavy counter-punches that likely would have dropped Matthysse had he not entered the ring with a nine pound weight advantage after rehydration.

Judah showed heart, survived and won a split-decision victory on a one-point margin at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

As Zab peered out from behind sunglasses to conceal the cuts and swelling, he confronted the media with the charm, wittiness and articulation of a seasoned veteran of public appearances. At 33, he's making a good argument that he is now the mature professional that could maximize the potential of his remaining talent.

"I did ten hard weeks in training camp. When you put the hard work in this is what happens. Back in the past I was just going into the ring using my natural abilities. If I would have done that I would have been stopped in whatever round he dropped me in."

When one pro-Matthysse writer asked Judah in a subversive manner if clinching was his only way of surviving, Judah responded, "I'm pretty sure we could sign you up for a 12 round fight and let's see what you do in the later rounds." The crowd erupted in laughter.

Matthysse, now 27-1 (25 KO), remained adamant that he deserved the victory. Through advisor Sampson Lewkowicz, Matthysse said, "In Argentina I definitely would have won the fight. I'd love to have the rematch to make sure he beat me. I was in his hometown and I lost a decision.

"I was careful for the first 3 or 4 rounds. Anyway I won some of these rounds. I put pressure, did all my work. When he hugged me he almost kissed me."

Judah conceded that much, offering back: "Like he said before, if this fight was in Argentina we probably would have had a different outcome. But we're in the great land of America and this is how it goes.

"No disrespect to him but you can't win four or five rounds of a fight and say you won the whole fight."

Judah was highly complimentary of his opponent, calling him the strongest puncher he had ever faced. It wasn't without a tinge of cynicism, however. "I don't make no assumptions or anything but he was very strong. Stronger than any average normal fighter that I'd ever fought and I've been in with the best."

Judah also added, "The dude was punching like he had cinder blocks in his gloves." It was a hyperbolic statement not meant literally, but is timely considering that Antonio Margarito is fighting this coming Saturday.

When asked whether he felt a rematch was in order, Judah brushed off the thought and responded, "We have a couple of gorillas at the Brooklyn Zoo he can tangle with."

Despite Matthysse's unheralded reputation heading into Saturday, Judah feels that he has overcome a major hurdle in the division. "The other guys don't pose a threat like this guy do. [WBC champion] Devon Alexander and [WBO champion] Timothy Bradley, they're good fighters but those are boxers. They're gonna move around and try to go the distance. This dude was looking strictly for a knockout.

"Amir Khan is a very good puncher, throws fast combinations but he has his hands full with [Marcos] Maidana. That's no easy fight."

The win elevated Judah to the number two ranking with the WBO and IBF ranking organizations. Since the IBF stripped Alexander for facing fellow undefeated champion Bradley, Judah will now face South African Kaizer Mabuza for the vacant title. Mabuza, 23-6-3 (14 KO), rose to the number one ranking after stopping former champion Kendall Holt in February. Mabuza is promoted by Branco Milenkovic.

Kathy Duva, who promotes Judah under the Main Events banner, says that they will "assess the possibilities" and wait for the IBF to arrange negotiations.

Though the crowd was spotted with more than twice the empty seats as when Tomasz Adamek fights there, the 4,127 in attendance was a tribute to the growing popularity of boxing events in Northern Jersey. Judah hopes that's enough drawing power to keep the fight out of South Africa.

"That's a long flight," laughed Judah, who realizes a decision this close wouldn't go his way in Johannesburg.

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to GMANews.TV. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia.