By Chris Robinson
The July 23rd Amir Khan-Zab Judah fight is slowly turning into a bitter grudge match, with each man braggadociosly attacking the other in the media as well as from their personal Twitter accounts online. The 24-year old Khan, once defeated in his twenty-six fights as a pro, will be in dangerous waters as he goes up against Judah, one of the more lethal-punching southpaws in the game, yet the British star has come out of the gates as a clear favorite.
Taking place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the same location as Khan's thrilling victory over Marcos Maidana this past December, the fight is one of this summer's biggest attractions and has been garnering all kinds of opinions from boxing insiders. Never wanting to leave anyone out, I reached out to HBO analyst Larry Merchant for our weekly column to get his take on the bout.
If you remember correctly, Merchant has often been critical of Judah in the past yet still can't completely write the Brooklyn fighter off as his back is again to the wall against one of the sport's rising champions. Merchant knows all too well how the sport of boxing can play out and the 33-year old Judah has his share of upside as he relishes his underdog role yet again.
In his own words, this is what Merchant had to say about the fight, his thoughts on Khan rebounding from his September 2008 knockout loss to Breidis Prescott, Judah's evolution as a fighter, and much more...
The go-to guy...
"Given the fact that Bradley wasn't interested in fighting Khan, that Khan apparently wasn't interested in fighting a rematch with Maidana, I guess Judah became the go-to guy. Judah has reinvented himself back as a junior welterweight. And all you need to know about him in his new reinvention is that he's being co-trained by Pernell Whitaker."
Judah looking to lay a trap...
"It seems that he's become a more cautious fighter trying to extend his career, going in against a younger, probably quicker guy. We'll see if that works. Maybe he hopes to lay a trap and land a few punches that change the fight. Because he has decent punching power at that weight. But you have to give him credit for, with his back to the wall, getting to this point. But I don't know whether he's good enough to beat one of the best fighters in that division."
Whether he felt Khan could rebound from his loss to Breidis Prescott...
"I didn't know. I know that he was young. That sometimes young fighters can get caught. They don't show enough respect for the proper merit of being ready that should be called for any professional opponent. I remember Oscar De La Hoya getting knocked down a couple of times after he came out of the Olympics. So, you don't know, but I am very impressed with Khan's determination to be as good as he can be."
Khan's desire to be as good as he can be...
"He's a big attraction in Britain. I'm not quite sure why he wanted to advance his career in the U.S. But he's obviously not that big of an attraction. Maybe it has something to do with his British promoters. I'm not really sure. But he's a guy who's trained by Freddie Roach and has sparred a lot of rounds with Manny Pacquiao. When Roach has trained Pacquiao in the Philippines, Khan goes to the Philippines and trains. For a kid who is making a lot of money, and has been successful as a professional, that says something about his desire to be as good as he can be. It's an interesting matchup and usually the younger, faster guy can beat the older but usually doesn't mean always."
Staging the fight in Las Vegas as opposed to Atlantic City...
"Khan had the fight with Maidana and it was one of the fights of the year. Whether it would draw as many fans as it would have in Judah's territory, maybe not, I don't know. But he's obviously in the position to determine whether it was more important fight on more neutral ground than it would be to make a few extra bucks. So he's in the position to dictate some of the terms of the fight."
Another opportunity for Judah...
"I have to admit I've never been a big enthusiast of Judah. I've never covered all of his biggest fights. I wasn't surprised when he lost to Kostya Tszyu the way he did and a few others. But he did boxing a big favor when he beat Spinks for the welterweight title and got rid of that stinker. So I've certainly applaud him for that fight. But I don't recall the other fights he's been, or the tough fights he's been in, that has as much favored him. We all recall how he dealt with Mayweather but here he is and he has another opportunity."
