Yoel Judah eyes Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khan and others as future foes for his son Zab

Yoel Judah can be a hard guy to miss. Extremely vocal and slightly brash by nature, the Brooklyn native has a way of standing out no matter where you find him. So it was of no surprise last week that the trainer’s voice and mannerisms were striking even in the confines of the hectic hustle and bustle that is the Hit Factory Gym in East Las Vegas. The eldest member of the Judah boxing family, Yoel was a three-time world champion kick boxer himself while immersing his sons in the sweet science at an early age. The most decorated member from the clan is Zab Judah, former Jr. Welterweight and Welterweight champion of the world, and Yoel revealed that despite previous setbacks the tandem is getting ready to make moves this summer. “Everything is going great,” Yoel stated. “Me and my son Zab and I are training and we are getting ready for July 16th up in Jersey. We’ve been in a couple big pay per view fights that he should have won but things happen.” Yoel noted that the plan is for Zab to work his way back to 140 pounds and that immediate targets include IBF and WBC champion Devon Alexander and former champion Juan Urango. After that Yoel hopes to lure Manny Pacquiao into a lucrative catch weight clash later in the year. In his honest assessment of the Filipino star Yoel concedes that Pacquiao has come far and in some ways is eerily similar to his son. “He’s a superstar,” Yoel said of Pacquiao. “He did great. I still don’t understand why he won’t take that test but then I do understand why he won’t take it. We are looking to fight him towards the end of the year. Two hard-hitting southpaws, they are both fast, they are quick but feel we have the remedy to end the streak of Manny Pacquiao.” In referring to ‘the test’ Judah is talking about the fallout between Pacquiao and undefeated Floyd Mayweather over a proposed Olympic style drug testing scenario presented earlier this year. Talks between the two fighters’ camps fell apart at the negotiating tables and each man moved on to other foes with still much uncertainty surrounding their respective futures. Judah personally doesn’t ever see the fight happening. “Floyd is good,” Judah conceded. “Floyd came back and shocked a lot of people by beating Shane Mosley the way he did. The ultimate fight would be him and Manny Pacquiao but he is dictating to Pacquiao and Pacquiao is not listening to that. He’s trying to call the shots but Pacquiao isn’t listening and I don’t see that fight ever happening.” Zab fought Mayweather in April of 2006 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas but ended up losing a clear decision. While the record books will show a loss for Zab that doesn’t take away the fact that he started fast and had as much early round success against Floyd as any other fighter. “Oh yeah, we had him beat,” Yoel boasted. “I hope one day we can get that fight again. I hope one day Floyd could say ‘Yeah I want to give Zab another shot’. It would be a bad mistake but I would hope he would do it. Ambitions of Pacquiao and Mayweather are certainly lofty but as we’ve learned not everything in the boxing world comes about as one would hope. If the Judahs are able to land a lucrative clash with one of the two best fighters in the world Yoel reveals that they have no problem facing one of Britain's biggest stars. “We have Amir Khan on our calendar,” Yoel noted. “I don’t know if it will be in the next two fights but Amir Khan is there. If we don’t get Pacquiao we will get Amir Khan.” Yoel also noted that WBO Jr. Welterweight king Timothy Bradley is another fighter whose name in on their radar but also pointed out that the main focus for now in July 16th. Judah closed out by putting his focus on another bout, this month’s clash between WBA Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward and challenger Allan Green. “I think Andre Ward is one of the slickest fighters out here today. Allan Green is a very good puncher but Andre Ward is deceiving, he is a very slick fighter. He has good speed, good power and I think he wins on decision against Allan Green.”