Zab Judah: Once A Contender, Now A Pretender

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

The Zab Judah and Matthew Hatton  match, once scheduled for Sept 19 on the Mayweather-Marquez under card, has been scrapped.

Judah—who is ranked No. 8 by The Ring magazine and is now a Mayweather Promotions fighter—has intentionally put himself behind the eight ball once again by demanding that the fight be fought at the Jr. Welterweight limit of 140 pounds.

If this was Judah's roundabout way of saying he didn't want to fight Hatton; it certainly worked for him.

The younger Hatton brother has never fought at Jr. welter, and made it known that he had no intentions of starting now; he said "no dice" to Judah.

Speaking of dice, if rumors circulating through various website's have any validity whatsoever, then it would seem that Judah is living the life, partying in Vegas 24/7, and hasn't spent one moment in the gym.

The website www.boxrec.com, which is usually a little ahead of itself when listing upcoming fights—but has proven to be a decent source for boxing information—has Judah listed to fight Antonio Diaz 46 - 5 - 1 at the MGM Grand in Vegas on the Sept 19 date.

In my mind, Judah's friend and fellow pugilist Floyd Mayweather Jr. was in many ways giving Judah a fresh start. He also provided Judah with a big favor by setting him up with the younger and much lesser skilled Hatton, who he was sure to have beaten.

Should Judah have won, it could have been a potential spring-board toward a bigger payday fight with older brother Ricky Hatton.

I'm usually a guy who calls 'em like I see's 'em, and what I see here is a man grasping at straws, and still going down fast.

Maybe it's simply that Judah doesn't want to fight.

Or maybe he is suffering from a case of that contagious illness known as the grandiosity flu; it's the same virus that Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins are plagued with.

It's a debilitating disease which causes the sufferer to feel like he should be paid $10 million just for stepping through the ropes, no matter who the opponent may be.

Judah may be delusional and think he is still a "big money" fighter. He can think again; losses to Baldimir, Mayweather, Cotto, and Clottey, have put him near gatekeeper status, to say the least.

He hasn't had a decent win since beating Cory Spinks in '05, and let's just say the names of the bums that he's beaten since that time are not headed for any alphabet top 10 list any time soon.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Judah, but if he doesn't care, then why should his fans?

This writer once predicted that Judah would be the man to dethrone Mayweather, but as it turned out, the-slick-south-paw-with-the-lightning-like-hand-speed lacked the self discipline to be an elite fighter then... and now.

I'm afraid the window of opportunity has forever slammed shut on the 31-year-old Brooklyn NY native..

However, all is not lost. Judah may still get a chance to fight on the September card against Diaz, who is a Mexican American welterweight slugger that hails from Coachella, California.

I have written numerous past articles in which I go into eloquent detail concerning my admiration for Mexican fighters. Their toughness and self discipline is unmatched in the sport of boxing, in my opinion.

Diaz is no acception.

His fight record includes wins over some very solid fighters: names like Mickey Ward, Ivan Robinson, and Emmanuel Augustus. This speaks volumes regarding his conditioning and resilience inside the squared circle.

My advice to Judah: he better get his ass in the gym if he expects to be ready by the 19th of next month to face this guy, who you can bet, will be more than ready to step up and add Judah to his list of wins.

If not, then Judah may as well do himself, his fans, and his friend and promoter Mayweather a huge favor and hang 'em up for good.

And believe in whatever may lie, In those things that money can buy
Though true love could have been a contender
Are you there? Say a prayer for the Pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender—Jackson Browne

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