The judah's (article)

This Father Approves of His Sons' Penchant for Fighting By MITCH ABRAMSON Published: January 28, 2005 arlier this month, two brothers engaged in a risky game of sibling rivalry. "Go get him, Zab," the father yelled. "Get serious here. It's time to go to work." Over the next three rounds, Zab Judah, one of the best welterweights in the world, and Daniel Judah, one of the best light heavyweights in the world, beat each other to a lavender pulp. Their father and trainer, Yo'el, rooted them on. "That's right, Zab, we're coming back with all the belts," he said. "Hey, Daniel, don't let him hit you like that." Most parents would cringe at the idea of two brothers' fighting, but the Judahs operate on a different plane from the rest of us, as illustrated by the banter that followed their session. "Yo, you have a lot of power," Daniel said. "You got like a 10-foot reach," Zab said. The Judahs are an anomaly in boxing: They live together, train together, fight together and make money together. "We do everything together," Zab said. "We're all best of friends." And beginning on Feb. 5, when Zab travels to St. Louis to fight Cory Spinks, the Judahs will try to make history together. If Zab beats Spinks, whose father, Leon Spinks, is a former heavyweight champion, he will become the undisputed welterweight champion. Last November, Daniel received a verbal assurance from Glencoffe Johnson that they will fight sometime this year. Johnson, a former titlist, is considered the top light heavyweight in the world, and Daniel (20-0-3, 10 KO's) fought him to a draw in 2003. Another Judah brother, Joseph, is competing in the New York City Golden Gloves, which is under way, and is a favorite in the 152-pound Open division. Yet one more brother, Josiah, 1-0 as a pro, is fighting on Zab's undercard in St. Louis. It is conceivable that 2005 could yield one world champion, in Zab, one "people's champion," in Daniel, and an amateur champion, in Joseph, for the Judah family. "If that happens, I'll do a triple back-flip," Yo'el said in a telephone interview from Hollywood, Fla., where Zab is training. "I'll jump high in the sky. I'll be the happiest father on earth." The Judahs are not the first fighting family in boxing, but they certainly are the gaudiest. The middleweight Fritzie Zivic had four fighting brothers in the 1930's and 40's, as did the welterweight Gaspar Ortega in the 1950's, but neither, obviously, appeared in a rap video, as Zab has, and neither were trained by their fathers. Some father-son boxing relationships end in divorce because of a failure to strike an emotional balance. Floyd Mayweather Jr., a lightweight champion, fired his father, Floyd Sr., as his trainer because of a disagreement, then evicted him from his home and repossessed his car. There is no such acrimony among the Judahs. Zab still does the dishes and takes out the garbage at Yo'el's seven-bedroom home in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Daniel cleans the living room and sets the table, and Joseph vacuums and takes care of the laundry. Yo'el raised nine children alone on a construction worker's salary and from money he earned kick-boxing. In 1981, while he was away at a fight in California, the Bureau of Child Welfare placed three of the children, including Daniel, in foster homes. Yo'el spent the next two years petitioning the court system to get them back. He has been watching them like a hawk ever since. Yo'el manages Zab (32-2, 23 KO's) and Daniel's careers and employs Joseph, 19, at a construction company he owns. "It wasn't easy raising them," Yo'el said. "My whole thing is O.K., you have a problem? What's the solution? Solve it! You have rent, phone bills, light bills, mortgage payments. You have to find a way to get it done. What's the solution?" When Kostya Tszyu stopped Zab in a 2001 junior welterweight unification match, many thought that Zab's career had crested. Zab has uncanny quickness and power, but his concentration drifted during fights, and lesser opponents had been able to knock him down. Against Tszyu, he lowered his defenses for a moment and was flattened by a straight right hand. When he rose, his legs were fluttering and he fell back down, prompting the referee to stop the fight. After it was over, Zab attacked the referee in the ring. He was suspended for six months and fined $75,000. Sensing it was time for a change, Yo'el sought the services of Don King and persuaded him to buy out Zab's contract with Main Events, a promotional company from New Jersey. "Don could take us to higher ground," Yo'el said. "Main Events took us as far as we could go. They weren't going to take us to the next era." King immediately went to work restoring Zab's luster. He got him a World Boxing Organization title fight with DeMarcus Corley in 2003 and landed him a welterweight unification bout with Spinks in 2004. Despite hurting Spinks in the 12th round, Zab lost a unanimous decision. "I feel blessed to be in this situation," Zab said. "Not many people get to fight for a third time for the undisputed championship of the world. I'm 10 times better than I was for the first fight. You're going to see a different fighter. I plan on being much busier." Now Yo'el is trying to guide Daniel to a blockbuster fight with Johnson. The only hurdle that remains, according to Yo'el, is a promotional contract Daniel signed with Warrior's Boxing, a medium-sized outfit that Yo'el thinks has outlived its usefulness. "Our new year's resolution is for me and Zab to both be world champions," Daniel said. "You got to have patience in this game. You have to know when to fall back. Now is Zab's turn. He's doing his thing. Joseph is doing his thing. Soon it will be my turn."