By Thomas Gerbasi
“I'm going to give the world what they want to see. That's Zab Judah, the best that ever did it.” – Zab Judah, August 2000
Days before Zab Judah’s second IBF junior welterweight title defense against Terronn Millett in August of 2000, those words rung in my ears. Part brash, part fun, but oh, so serious, Judah had the world at his feet back in those days.
The undisputed heir to Mike Tyson’s throne as the King of Brooklyn, the 22-year old was unbeaten, a world champion, and the idea of him being maybe not the best that ever did it, but someone who was in that conversation wasn’t something to be scoffed at.
Ten years and a roller coaster ride of a career later, Judah is still fighting, still standing, and though he chuckles when you remind him of his quote from a decade ago, the 32-year old is firm in his belief that the final chapter on his career has yet to be written.
“That’s still the goal,” he told BoxingScene. “Those days I was a young kid, and I can say now I pretty much didn’t know what I was doing. (Laughs) I was just fighting off pure heart, skill, and God-given talent. These days I prepare myself mentally and physically and I feel that at this point in my career, I’m ready. I’ve been with the best, I’ve been in the game for a while, and I can’t say I’ve seen it all, but I’ve seen a whole bunch of different styles, and I’m ready.”
‘Ready’ is the operative word as he prepares for his big comeback bout on July 16th against former interim world champion Jose Armando Santa Cruz at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center. Ready for the fight, ready for the world, ready to finally show consistency in a career that has had so many teasing glimpses of greatness, but that hasn’t been steady enough for him to truly fulfill the promise he had coming up on the New York scene so many years ago.
And frankly, what it takes to get to that point is usually the type of stuff that can break a career – promotional issues, outside distractions, rash decisions in and out of the ring, and a lack of focus that can keep you from the big wins and turn easy wins into pitched battles or even defeats.
Judah has been through it all, and it didn’t begin with his high profile loss to Kostya Tszyu (and subsequent meltdown and suspension) in 2001, or even his loss to Cory Spinks in 2004, which he avenged in spectacular style less than a year later. When the cracks really began to show in Judah’s foundation was in the lead-up to his bout to Carlos Baldomir in January of 2006.
Unfocused (he even cornered his brother earlier in the night before getting his hands wrapped), Judah dropped a 12 round decision in his hometown that few shed tears over. Amazingly, he still got a shot at Floyd Mayweather three months later and arguably gave the pound for pound king his toughest fight to date. A year later he did the same thing in going to war with Miguel Cotto before getting halted in the 11th round, but in the time following that bout, things seemed to unravel for Judah, culminating in a ninth round technical decision loss to Joshua Clottey.
“I didn’t feel that I lost the fight, nobody thought I lost the fight, but I think I lost due to a lack of being in physical shape,” he said. “As far as skillwise, he couldn’t hang with me hand to hand, but I felt I wasn’t in condition. So I said why don’t Zab Judah listen to what the people have been saying, get in some shape and be the best Zab Judah that I can be and let’s see what happens.”
Fully relocated to Las Vegas, where he’s been training at the H.I.T. Factory, Judah sounds rejuvenated, and sometimes, that change of scenery and attitude is all it takes to inject some life into a veteran fighter’s career.
“My transition from New York to Vegas helped me a lot, I had a son too, and I just got my life on the right track and into the right perspective, so I feel like I’m ready for it now,” he said. “I work hard, I stay in the gym a lot, and this last year, I’ve really dedicated myself.”
In a great hook for his comeback, he’s also teamed up with the promoters who kicked off his first run in the pros – Main Events – and has even added an old Brooklyn face to the mix in Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
“Eddie brings a different type of mental focus to me,” said Judah. “He brings a different type of strategy, and he’s a new voice in the corner. My dad (Yoel) is still there, but it’s different. Always with change comes something good and I just think that with having another Brooklyn guy helping me to stick to my Brooklyn mentality, it’s a good thing.”
Judah isn’t getting any cupcake in his return either. Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KOs) has only legitimately lost once since getting halted by David Diaz in 2006 (his decision defeat against Joel Casamayor in 2007 was one of the worst decisions in recent years), and while his last appearance on the big stage was his six round blowout loss to Alfredo Pitalua in 2008, he has won two in a row and has to be hungry, knowing that a win over Judah puts him back in the spotlight.
“He’s a very durable fighter,” said Judah of Santa Cruz. “I know a lot of people don’t know much about Santa Cruz, but if I fought any Joe Blow and came back, the fans wouldn’t understand, so I took on a fighter like Santa Cruz, a guy that has had a good career and a couple mishaps and that is back at it now. He works hard, he’s on a two fight winning streak, he’s focused and he wants to be the best fighter he can be, just like myself, so I think it’s going to be a great fight.”
And with a win, Judah will have risen from the boxing dead again. All of a sudden, he’ll be a big name in a stacked junior welterweight division, and he can start rebuilding a resume that will get him near to where his supporters always thought he would be. But in a sign of his ever-growing maturity, Judah doesn’t even look past July 16th. And that’s a damn good sign.
“I can’t say where I’m gonna go after this fight,” he said. “Really, and this is a true statement, I’m very, very focused on looking great in this fight and giving the fans the best Zab Judah. I want to show the fans that when they come to a Zab Judah event that it is the best event that they should be at. With that being said, I will say that I know who the champions are – Devon Alexander, Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley – and my peripheral vision is on those guys. But right now, all my focus is on Jose Santa Cruz.”
