by David P. Greisman
After twice returning from disappointing losses to rebuild his career, Zab Judah sat in a comfortable position prior to entering the ring to face mandatory challenger Carlos “Tata” Baldomir in a defense of his WBC welterweight championship. He was the owner of three-fourths of his division’s title belts, taken from former beltholder Cory Spinks in an impressive revenge stoppage nearly a year ago; a megafight with pound-for-pound denizen Floyd Mayweather Jr. loomed on the horizon, megabucks promised to Judah, who had often taken short money or fought on undercards; and he was performing in Madison Square Garden in front of a hometown crowd, against a slower opponent that nearly everyone expected for him to beat decisively.
Yet like two-thirds of the title characters from the fairytale “The Three Little Pigs,” Judah’s house and all of his prizes and pride were blown over into an ugly heap, all because of a lack of intelligent planning and foresight, and a betrayal by an overconfidence in his – and this seems apt – chinny chin chin.
Considering Judah’s recent tendency of blowing overmatched foes out of the water and off of their feet, and taking into account Baldomir’s ability to gain momentum as bouts progress, Judah and his father/trainer Yoel planned to stop the Argentine early.
But it seemed that the preparation for the actual fight ended there, with the remainder of their mental energies going toward playing unnecessary mind games. For some reason, Judah felt it wise to psyche Baldomir out, attempting to unnerve him when the two accidentally ran into each other elsewhere in the building, trying to ice him by delaying his exit from the locker room while Baldomir waited in the ring and aggressively slapping him on the thigh instead of touching gloves.
When the match finally got underway, Judah’s punch output was much lower than expected, and although he was winning the first half of the fight, he did so by incurring little damage on Baldomir, and the second half, by default, was approaching, its arrival delivering a dramatic act in the theatre of the unexpected.
Everything changed in the seventh round.
Baldomir landed a right, the one shot that found its target all night, and Judah did an involuntary dance, the kind of shuffle unseen since Kostya Tszyu stopped the Brooklynite in 2001. At first, it appeared that Judah may have just been off balance, but then he began a series of attempts at double-leg takedowns, causing referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to warn that a point would be taken if the holding continued.
Judah was in trouble, essentially running away, turning his back on multiple occasions, desperately hoping to make it out of the round. It was a tremendous surprise, as Baldomir, with just 12 knockouts in his 41 victories, was not regarded as having much power, but as a consequence, all three judges scored the round 10-8 for the challenger, and the momentum had turned.
Even with the doctor checking Judah’s health before the eighth round could begin, little was done to right the now-former champion’s path, and there was a seeming lack of desperation in the between-rounds instruction, as well as in Judah’s actions. Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when, in post-fight interviews, Yoel Judah maintained a strong belief that his son should have won the decision, yet another example of fathers failing as trainers when the going gets tough.
After Jimmy Lennon read the scorecards, Zab Judah sat in a precarious position, trying to maintain a proper, mature perspective, but instead he remained in the problematic old form that had returned on this one night to prevent the planned April megafight (and accompanying megabucks) with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Yet while saying he had no excuses, Judah presented plenty, pointing fingers at promoter Don King and the amount of promotional work – interviews and appearances – that he had been required to do for his hometown coronation. It’s the same problem that has afflicted plenty of other pugilists, but Judah must realize that although he may occasionally be recognized in New York City, the publicity was still necessary to sell the tickets to pay for his purse, and as a champion, he still should have had the wherewithal to continue to train.
Conversely, Baldomir had reportedly left his family for five months to prepare for the ultimate moment in his life, and he reaped the rewards for it.
Like the characters from the fairytale “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” Baldomir worked while Judah played, and when the time came, it was the winner who was prepared, triumphant in part because the loser was so unaware.
The 10 Count
1. On the televised undercard, O’Neil Bell pulled off a perceived upset in stopping Jean-Marc Mormeck to unify three of the cruiserweight titles. Taking heavy leather in order to dish it out, Bell proved that it is not who is in better shape that matters – Mormeck’s build is impressive – but stamina, with the Frenchman beginning to tire in the fifth round while Bell stayed active, wearing down his opponent until he was too exhausted to rise from the canvas.
Bell impressed during the fight, making adjustments mid-bout, sticking and moving to prevent getting trapped on the ropes, and did the same after it was over, answering Jim Gray’s questions in a well-spoken manner and mentioning that mandatory Steve Cunningham would be next. Cunningham had stepped aside so that the Bell-Mormeck unification could proceed, and now Bell is doing the honorable thing, and the longer he stays in the weight class facing top contenders, the sooner the cruiserweights will be seen as more than the division between light heavyweight and heavyweight.
2. When Mormeck was introduced to the audience, both he and viewers learned the results of voting to decide on a nickname, with the winning choice being “The Marksman.” I had voted for “The Wrecker,” but as promised in a December column, with the loss I will now refer to him as “French Toast.”
3. According to the New York Daily News, HBO has dropped Roy Jones Jr. as color commentator for their “World Championship Boxing” broadcasts, allowing the network to find a replacement that will have the dedication to prepare for the shows, while simultaneously removing any distractions in Jones’ training for his eventual pay-per-you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me with Bernard Hopkins. While some fans and observers are mentioning Max Kellerman as a possible replacement, I believe that he would be better suited as a more major contributor to HBO’s new boxing series premiering later this year, and I have what I believe is a unique suggestion: Wayne McCullough. With the former bantamweight titlist now hopefully retired, and considering his experience writing for a couple boxing outlets, he would fit the mold of providing fighter expertise, although he does lack the name recognition of a Jones or a George Foreman.
4. Reports are that Armando Barak, the doctor in Jose Luis Castillo’s camp who attempted to tamper with the scales at the October weigh-in for Corrales-Castillo II, has lost his license. This is good news, although curiosity remains as to whether Barak will find employment by taking advantage of human vanity and helping other people lie about their weights.
5. In Germany, heavyweight prospect Ruslan Chagaev knocked journeyman Rob Calloway out in two rounds. This, amazingly, may have been better for Calloway’s career than had his cancelled bout with James Toney gone ahead, as otherwise his countrymen would have seen him embarrassed over a lengthier distance. It’s still rather comical to read Calloway’s press release accusing Toney of avoiding him, especially considering, what with Toney facing Hasim Rahman in March, that any boxer would choose the chance to become heavyweight champion over the chance to stay busy against a heavyweight tomato can.
6. Last week, Dan Rafael reported that Gianluca Branco is being considered as a possible opponent for junior welterweight Miguel Cotto’s March 4 title defense. It is an interesting proposition, considering that Branco was originally to face Cotto last September, but a training injury allowed late replacement Ricardo Torres to step in, resulting in one of 2005’s best fights, a bout that saw Cotto rocked, hurt and floored, but triumphant in the end.
7. The Contender Update: According to Nielsen Media Research, boxing reality show The Contender had more product placement than any other show on television, with some poor soul counting 7,514 occurrences during the show’s fifteen-episode first season run on NBC. On average, the numbers boiled down to 500.9 individual instances of product placement per episode, While apparel and sporting-goods dealer Everlast made up a good sum of the total, The Contender was also overrun by other blatant sponsorship plugs, including, to this scribe’s amusement, trainer Tommy Gallagher once yelling to the contestants during a challenge, “Don’t scratch them Toyotas!”
While it seems clear that the plague of advertisement helped foot the bills for what was deemed the most expensive reality show ever, one must wonder if those skyrocketing costs came from the construction of the gymnasium and the inclusion of guest celebrities and personalities, and whether the product placement and the budget will be anywhere near the same when the show begins its second season, now on cable network ESPN.
8. John Ruiz has petitioned the WBA for a rematch with new heavyweight titlist Nicolay Valuev. Should his attempt prove unsuccessful, I recommend that Ruiz audition for a part in a remake of semi-obscure 1958 movie, “The Thing That Couldn’t Die.”
9. Every once in a while, a boxer will retire at just about the right time. On this occasion, it is Justin Juuko, the former junior lightweight contender perhaps best known for being knocked out by Miguel Cotto, Diego Corrales and Floyd Mayweather Jr. With just two fights since 2004, both stoppage losses, Juuko can ride off into the sunset without getting hurt by unnecessarily subjecting himself to being punished by prospects just for the sake of a paycheck.
10. Zab Judah’s loss to Carlos Baldomir leaves the WBA and IBF titles vacant, as Baldomir chose not to pay extra sanctioning fees. While Baldomir did indeed beat the man at 147, the fracturing of the unified belts leaves the sanctioning bodies the leeway to hold contests for their championships between others who may not otherwise deserve a shot, and keeping those that should get more attention – such as WBO beltholder Antonio Margarito – from getting the opportunity to receive the spotlight, as well as appreciation.