Talking Boxing with ZAB "SUPER" JUDAH
"I'll fight anybody who wants to be the Undisputed Champion of the World at 147"
by
Coyote Duran
1/14 - Remember that scene in
Kangaroo Jack when Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson's characters thought they drove right into a kangaroo (I watched the movie with my kids. Sue me.) and killed it? Well, for a while, that kangaroo was a simile for the welterweight division. After the two morons threw a sweatjacket on the animal and posed for pictures with it (like anyone with common sense would do with a
dead animal), it suddenly came back to life, kicking and jumping. Just like the welterweight division now, all of a sudden.
With prominent ex-welter titlists Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley possibly returning to the fold and joining titlists like (WBO titlist) Antonio Margarito and (WBO Interim/NABF titlist) Kermit Cintron in their quest to be the best in a divsion where Undisputed World Champion and celebrated southpaw cutie Cory Spinks reigns supreme, there stands one man who they all must wait in line behind: Zab "Super" Judah.
Since losing the IBF junior welterweight strap to Kostya Tszyu in November of 2001, the 26-year old Brooklyn native has kept busy enough, defeating DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley along the way to gain the WBO 140 pound belt and eventually moving up to 147 and challenging the tricky Spinks for his championship, albeit unsuccessfully, in April of 2004. A little over a month later, Judah ventured into the ring again to gain a split decision against veteran Rafael Pineda, winning the minor WBO Intercontinental belt as a result.
Since then, Spinks has successfully defended against an outclassed Miguel Angel Gonzalez. So why Judah again? Why not? At the time, no one thought De La Hoya or Mosley would ever think of coming back to the welters. Since being bounced by (Former Ring Magazine World Welterweight Champion) Ricardo Mayorga, Vernon Forrest has been on a disabled list and Mayorga himself? Gone to middleweight and unceremoniously ushered out by former welter kingpin Felix Trinidad. Margarito? Possibly defending against Cintron in a future inaugural ESPN pay-per-view clash. So on February 5th, the Spinks-Judah dance continues.
SHOWTIME Championship Boxing will televise the undisputed welterweight world championship between Spinks and Judah at 9 p.m. ET/PT.* Don King Productions will present the event, which will take place at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The co-feature will be announced in the near future.
I caught up with Zab recently and he gave me the low-down on why he feels Spinks said "no" to Madison Square Garden, his take on Sharmba Mitchell and Kermit Cintron and why he needs to beat both Cory Spinks and Kostya Tszyu.
ZAB "SUPER" JUDAH
Coyote Duran: How was your holiday, Zab? Didja enjoy your New Year?
Zab Judah: My New Year's was excellent. Y' know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: Yeah, man! Fantastic! How's the training for Cory Spinks comin' along for you?
Zab Judah: Training's goin' good, y' know what I'm sayin'? Just a lot of anticipation, you know? Can't wait to get the fight. That's it.
Coyote Duran: How are you preparing for Spinks? Are you sparring with anyone in particular who can emulate his style in order to deal with him better this time around?
Zab Judah: No, I took on the same sparring partners that I did in the first fight. I'm not doin' anything different. I'm keepin' everything the same and just go in there and tear it up, y' know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: Do you think you'll perform any differently in order to win decisively against Spinks. It was pretty close last time. Do you have a different game plan that you plan on walking in with?
Zab Judah: In this fight, I'm comin' in with the same game plan I had in the first fight.
Coyote Duran: Got it. There was a minor controversy involving the particular fight venue. Spinks didn't want the fight to happen at The Garden, which I thought was peculiar because I thought anyone would love to fight at The Garden. What did his demand about not fighting in The Garden and instead wanting to fight in his hometown of St. Louis say to you about Spinks?
I guess he wanted to go out with a big bang, y' know? He wanted to go out in style at home  |
| Zab Judah |
Zab Judah: It says a lot. I mean, I guess he wanted to go out with a big bang, y' know? He wanted to go out in style at home. I don't knock that. It's not my "going out party" yet so I shouldn't have to "go out" in the Garden yet. For him, it's a "going out party" so I guess he's gonna "go out" in the hometown. It's like any Viet Nam vet. They would like to die in their own state.
Coyote Duran: If you preferred, would you try to go for the knockout?
Zab Judah: If I had a choice, would I try to go for a knockout?
Coyote Duran: Yeah, yeah. Would you want to end it sooner?
Zab Judah: I don't "try" to go for anything. I mean I make things happen, y' know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: Sure.
Zab Judah: I will knock him out. It's not even a question.
Coyote Duran: Should you win, would you be willing to give Cory Spinks a rematch since he's giving you your rematch?
Zab Judah: If I win, will I give him a rematch? Of course I'll give him a rematch! Why not? I think that this kind of beating that he's gonna take, I don't think that he's gonna want a rematch after this one. (Chuckles) You'll see.
Coyote Duran: (Laughs) After campaigning as long as you had at junior welterweight and being a two-time titleholder, do you plan on sticking around and attempting to clean out the welterweight division after the Spinks fight?
Zab Judah: I'll fight anybody who wants to be the Undisputed Champion of the World at 147. They gotta come see me. De La Hoya's talkin' about he wanna fight (Arturo) Gatti and Kostya Tszyu and all them and they need the fights to make money. We'll see. He ain't gonna fight me but I'll make ya look bad! If I'm the champion and I got the belts and you fight me, I'm gonna make you look bad. I'm gonna dog you.
Coyote Duran: For a few years, the welterweight division was kind of stagnant. Kind of dead. With guys like (former Ring Magazine World Welterweight Champion) Vernon Forrest missing in action now and (former Ring Magazine World Welterweight Champion) Ricardo Mayorga going up in class after losing to Spinks and in limbo now, the welters became deader. But now that you've arrived at 147, things have started to change...
Zab Judah: (Cutting in) You gotta understand, man. Everywhere I go, I make it hot. When I was at 140 pounds, I make it hot over there, y' know what I'm sayin'? But now that I'm at 147, it was a weight class that was dead for a while, now it looks like this weight class is startin' to come back to life now.
Coyote Duran: Definitely.
Zab Judah: You got all kind of fighters comin' back. It's beginning to become the next big talked-about weight division in boxing. The same way it was at junior welterweight.
Coyote Duran: I agree. And that's actually what I my next thought was. It seems that 147 has become "The New 140" with guys like (Shane) Mosley comin' back down. Sharmba Mitchell comin' up to 147.
Zab Judah: Sharmba Mitchell is recycled goods. He's already dead. Somebody just keeps tryin' to recycle him back. Y' know, with the right fight, he'd be outta there for good.
Coyote Duran: I've spoken to Kermit Cintron recently and he said he'd KO Mitchell as well. In regards to Cintron, he also told me he's very interested in fighting you. Does he sound like an opponent you'd be interested in?
Zab Judah: If "Kermit the Frog" wanna fight, tell him to "Come On!" Ain't nothin' to it!
|
That's one of my goals: To avenge both of my losses. One is Cory Spinks, in which one dream is gonna come true, and then the next one is Kostya Tszyu |
| Zab Judah |
Coyote Duran: Yeah, it looks like this is turning into an exciting division once more. Let's talk about Kostya Tszyu. He's been talking about the possibility about coming to welter. Would you lobby for a rematch with him? And if so, assuming you win against Cory Spinks, would you give Tszyu a shot at the unified title?
Zab Judah: I'll give Kostya Tszyu a shot at the title in a heartbeat. Any time he comes to welterweight, he needs to get a shot at me. That's one of my goals: To avenge both of my losses. One is Cory Spinks, in which one dream is gonna come true, and then the next one is Kostya Tszyu, y' know what I'm sayin'?
Coyote Duran: When you let your hands go, you can pretty much give anyone trouble. Do you intend to let your hands go more often this time against Spinks?
Zab Judah: Definitely.
Coyote Duran: Who would you say are your favorite fighters to watch today, Zab?
Zab Judah: My favorite fighters I watch today? James Toney, (Floyd) Mayweather, and some of the little guys..(Thinking).....the little guy from Brazil? What's his name?
Coyote Duran: Acelino Freitas?
Zab Judah: Exactly. I like him and I like (Marco Antonio) Barrera. Them guys. The rest? The rest of them? They garbage.
Coyote Duran: A fun, curious question for you, Zab. Here's something I noticed before your fight with Tszyu that I was always curious about: In your pre-fight interview, you mentioned that your father, Yoel, and you worked together like Batman and Robin. You also mentioned that you were gonna come out in the fight like The Hulk. With those elements combined with your "Super Judah" personality, is it safe to say that you like comic books and superheroes?
Zab Judah: Do I like comic books?
Coyote Duran: Yeah!
Zab Judah: Naw. I'm not a comic book kind of guy. (Both laugh)
Coyote Duran: (Feeling like a dope) I just had to ask.
Zab Judah: I don't even read them.
Coyote Duran: Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans? This is your time now. Anything you want!
Zab Judah: 2005, all Zab Judah fans, if you wanna make a big investment, bet on Zab Judah koncking out Cory Spinks.
Coyote Duran: Thank you very much, Zab! I appreciate your time. Good luck, man!
Zab Judah: Thank you.
Talking Boxing.com would like to thank Zab Judah for sharing time to opine on his upcoming rematch with Cory Spinks. We would also like to thank the very accessible Ouie Fagan for arranging a great interview!
Coyote Duran can be contacted at coyoteduran@talkingboxing.com
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