By Mark Vester
Out goes WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, in comes former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah.
After Antonio Margarito signed a contract to move forward with a mandatory defense against Paul Williams, WBA welterweight champ Miguel Cotto was left without a dance partner for his June 9 bout in New York's Madison Square Garden. Bob Arum of Top Rank, promoter of Margarito, claims that he did not give his fighter permission to face Williams. The issue between Margarito and Arum is headed to a courtroom near you.
Arum was able to land a great replacement in Zab Judah, a very talented fighter who arguably won the first four rounds of his 2006 meeting with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The bout will be televised by HBO Pay-Per-View.
First Cotto must win on March 3 when he meets WBA mandatory Oktay Urkal in Puerto Rico, on HBO. Judah will have a tuneup sometime after April 8, and must also win. Judah is still under a 1-year suspension that stems from the ring riot that took place during the tenth round of his bout with Mayweather on April 8, and is unable to apply for a license in the United States until after that date.
Judah had a fight set for April 27 against Israel "Pito" Cardona on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," but he was forced to pull out because the fight is too close to June 3. He will likely will fight on a Prize Fight Boxing card in Mississippi within the first two weeks of April.
Arum, promoter of Cotto, told boxing scribe Dan Rafael that a lot of people are telling him that Cotto's fight with Judah is bigger than the Margarito fight.
"Hopefully, everything will be signed and I look forward to the fight, assuming Cotto wins against Urkal on March 3 and Zab wins his fight," Bob Arum said. "Then we will have one of the really great events in Madison Square Garden history. There will be a lot of interest in the fight. A lot of people say the Judah fight is a bigger fight than the Margarito fight.
Rafael reports that Zab Judah, his father and trainer Yoel and his promoters Brian and Russ Young of Prize Fight Boxing met with Arum on Tuesday at the Top Rank office in Las Vegas and agreed to the terms of the fight.
Judah, sitting on the shelf after being suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, hit with a $250,000 fine and dumped by his promoter Don King. He told Rafael that he stuck it out and is finally back in the big picture.
"It was a big strain, but you know I stuck it out. I'm just cool," said Judah, also a former two-time junior welterweight titlist. "I just want to look to the future. I'm very happy about this fight. It's a blessing for me, a blessing and the answer to a prayer. I am the comeback kid. I feel like I'm a cat with nine lives and I'm back. I cannot wait."
