By Ryan Songalia
Kery Davis - HBO's vice president of sports programming - best summed up Saturday night's junior welterweight showdown between Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
It's about opportunities, he said. Two fighters on the outside looking in at one of the sport's most exciting division. An impressive victory sends either catapulting into a big fight, while the other has to reassess his career as a whole.
Few fighters have had as many opportunities as Brooklyn, New York's Zab Judah, 39-6 (27 KO), who will face Buenos Aires, Argentina's Lucas Matthysse, 27-0 (25 KO) in the twelve round main event. Judah has been in there with a who's who of his generation's biggest stars, including Miguel Cotto, Kostya Tszyu and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
He just hasn't beaten many of them.
It always seems as if we're holding out hope for the endlessly gifted Judah to fulfill his potential and shed the "underachiever" role he has come to define.
Now 33, Judah is staring down a hungry pro five years his junior looking to make a name for himself in Matthysse on an event promoted by Main Events, Golden Boy Promotions and Super Judah Promotions.
"I can remember myself being at the same position he was coming up," says Judah, who will make his return to HBO on Boxing After Dark (HBO, 11:15 PM EST). "I was a little cockier and wilder, but I understand what he's going through right now."
"It's a great opportunity because there is no doubt that my next fight will be a world title fight," says Matthysse, who is fighting for just the third time in America.
Matthysse has had limited experience against known opposition, having stopped former champion Vivian Harris in four rounds in his highest profile bout earlier this year. Recognizing the significance of this, his toughest test to date, Matthysse trained outside of his home country for the first time, relocating to Oxnard, California where he worked alongside countryman and middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
Matthysse claims that tips from the super-quick Martinez will help compensate for the vast hand and foot speed advantage Judah will hold over him.
Judah has a history with Argentinian fighters. Back in 2006, Judah had a fight with Mayweather Jr. all but finished heading into his match with Carlos Baldomir before dropping an upset decision in The Garden.
"Lucas is stronger than me and has the power to hurt Zab at any point during the fight," Baldomir said in a press release issued by Golden Boy. "I think he will eventually knock him out if he takes control of fight from the first round."
Judah is intent on ensuring that history does not repeat itself.
"I don't want to think about any future fights," says Judah. "We put 150% focus on Lucas Matthysse. He's coming in with an unblemished record. I think he's a good fighter, he's got good speed and power, and is aggressive."
Overall, Judah, who is riding a three-fight win streak since losing to Joshua Clottey in 2008, is sounding more like the mature fighter he needs to be in order to make the most of what is left of his talents and ability.
In many ways his life parallels that of fellow Brooklynite Mike Tyson, who will be walking him to the ring on Saturday. Though Zab hasn’t done a long stretch in jail or battled substance abuse publicly. But Judah did have to make up his mind - just as Tyson did - what he wanted to do with his life. For Tyson, he seems to have found solace in life without fighting, finding religion and peace of mind in simple pleasures.
Judah also found God, but had to come to terms with his life as an athlete. Boxing demands so much of the participants, and Judah finally seems ready to give commensurate effort.
"With age comes wisdom, smarts and intelligence. If you're doing the same thing as last year, you're not progressing. That would show no growth and life is all about growing. "
That's not to say that Judah doesn't still ooze confidence and maybe a little cockiness.
When asked whether he felt Matthysse’s record was manufactured through hometown matchmaking, Judah laughed and said, “Some questions are self-explanatory.”
Responded Matthysse: “Tell Zab Judah that on Saturday that we'll find out if I just fought dead bodies. I'll make him eat his words and kick his ass.”
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.
