Zab Judah: I’m Not Too Old, and I’m Not Yet Done

by David P. Greisman

Zab Judah is 36 years old now, no longer the young fighter who had made a young commentator named Max Kellerman so excited.

But while he’s been fighting as a pro for nearly half of his life — debuting a month before his 19th birthday — the former 140-pound titleholder and 147-pound champion says he shouldn’t be considered so old that his career could soon be coming to a close.

“As far as the age, my age is great,” Judah said on a Nov. 26 media conference call, part of the marketing effort for his Dec. 7 bout with Paulie Malignaggi at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Judah is 42-8 with 29 knockouts and 1 no contest; Malignaggi is 32-5 (7 KOs).

“When you say old, what do you mean by old?” Judah said. “Old by what, longevity? I’ve been in the game since I was 18 years old. I’ve been world champion multiple times in different weight classes, so is that what you mean by old? As far as age goes, I’m far from old. Some of the best of the best of the world today are older than me.”

He specifically mentioned Floyd Mayweather, who at 36 is eight months older than Judah and who remains, as Judah called him, “one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.”

He also mentioned Juan Manuel Marquez, who at 39 years old knocked Manny Pacquiao out with a single punch last year, and who is now 40 and coming off a split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley; and Bernard Hopkins, the 48-year-old wonder who won another world title at light heavyweight this year with a win over Tavoris Cloud and then defended that belt against Karo Murat.

Judah has had many chances in his years in this sport, and though he’s fallen short those eight times — losing to Kostya Tszyu, Cory Spinks, Carlos Baldomir, Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Amir Khan and, most recently, Danny Garcia — he keeps getting more opportunities.

“This is nowhere near my last fight,” Judah said of the Malignaggi bout. “This is the beginning of a turn of a new leaf.”

Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or on Amazon U.K. at http://amzn.to/11mYGZI . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com