By Chris Robinson
During a recent stop by the H.I.T. Factory Gym right off of the Strip in Las Vegas, IBF junior welterweight champion Zab 'Super' Judah could be found engaging in some brisk sparring sessions with unbeaten lightweight prospect Wanzell Ellison from Newark, New Jersey. Judah is gearing up for another pivotal fight in his career, a July 23rd meeting with Amir Khan at the Mandalay Bay, and he is primed and focused with a little over a month remaining.
While the spirited effort between each man during sparring wasn't a surprise, nor was the trash talking that took place between their camps in between and during rounds, there was something that caught my eye on this particular day. Reigning WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. made a surprise visit to the gym while the HBO cameras were rolling and could be seen offering Judah heaps of encouragement.
<--- Slideshow: Nonito Donaire and Zab Judah connecting while in Las Vegas
I had never known the two fighters to be that chummy, even though Judah, who hails from Brooklyn, has been living in Vegas for a few years now and Donaire himself recently purchased a condo just blocks away from Zab's gym. It's always interesting observing the dynamics that take place whenever two champions in boxing are close and the 33-year old Judah and 28-year old Donaire are certainly charismatic in their own unique ways.
After Judah's work with Ellison I asked Donaire how he and Zab first crossed paths and what exactly it was that drew him to his fellow Scorpio.
"I met him a few months ago at one of the fights," Donaire told me. "Just the respect level, I didn't expect that. I mean, you've seen him in the ring and you meet him in person and he's a good guy. He has that respect for me and I think because of that we've become friends."
Donaire later took some time to offer up Judah some advice in his upcoming challenge against Khan, including to point out that he should never lean straight back after punching against the lanky British star. Judah is a an underdog heading into the fight but if you ask Donaire he will tell you that everything lies in his Zab's hands.
"From the way he looks now, he looks really good. I think his experience itself is way beyond Khan's but Khan is talented. I think that Zab, when he's at 100%, I don't think there are a lot of people out there who can match him," Donaire said candidly.
Donaire has currently been sidelined because of a well-documented litigation that is taking place between promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy over his services, and in that time he has been able to focus more on his photography hobby, aptly titled 'Flash Photography'. Over the past few months Donaire has been ringside with his camera capturing the likes of Robert Guerrero, Saul Alvarez, Brandon Rios and several others, with the quality of his work definitely being apparent.
I asked Donaire if he planned on shooting Zab's forthcoming fight from ringside but that only seems to be part of his plans for his newfound friend.
"Actually he said I would probably follow him from the locker room and be there for everything."
