ZAB JUDAH: A CAREER MAULED BY MISMANAGEMENT

Everyone knows Judah is an immature hot head who constantly makes excuses and loses big fights. The question is, are all these loses really his fault? I used to think yes, but I now see Judah differently. He's actually a waste of talent who didn't waste his talent. His management team did when they let him move to 140lbs too early and 147lbs at all. After his jump to welter, Judah's maturity peaked with the Spinks win. Right after that he went right into fighting guys who were much bigger, stronger and more durable than he was. This all put more emphasis on his main weakness, a lack of durability. What would have happened if that maturity happened at 135lbs and didn't precede a string of losses? Is it Judah's fault he couldn't chop down guys twice his size in a division he had no business in? I say no. The guy was a very talented fighter but he was not superman. Judah comes into a 147lb fight against a guy of Clottey's toughness and strength caliber weighing in at a mere 143lbs. He's consistently at a disadvantage at the opening bell.

In truth Judah's career possibly could have been one of much greater succeess had he stayed at 135 for an extended period of time. It's a weight I'm sure he wouldn't have had to kill himself to make. Fighter's like Coralles and Castillo would have pushed him to the limit and maybe he loses those fights but who knows, because had he been there still winning maybe his confidence gets him through those guys (although I doubt it more so with Castillo than with Coralles seeing as how Castillo was a welter campaigning as a lightweight.) Eventually he could have made the move to 140 later in his career but I see absolutely no reason he ever should have moved to 147. I criticized that move from day one when it was first announced that he was doing so. Other guys like Floyd and Cotto who both have wins over Judah both filled out better at 147 than he did or ever will and therefore take punishment better than him at that weight.

Still, who are we to say Judah isn't tough enough? We laugh at the thought of him facing a guy like Margarito. The fact is, if you look at it, Judah is one of the few boxer's today way in over his head and constantly getting criticized about his failures. He is in my opinion a lightweight campaigning at welterweight and his losses are coming as expected. His career has been completely mismanaged as he's been making low purses the last 2 or 3 years. I'm not saying that Judah didn't have his flaws and wouldn't have lost ever, but at 135 his deficiencies are less evident and he gets away with a lot more stuff all while fighting guys on a more level playing field. Boxing has weight classes but they must be used to a fighter's advantage, "team Judah" uses it to their disadvantage.

If Judah is all style and no substance, yet holds his own at 147, how well would he have done at a more fair playing field of 135? How does Judah-who hasn't had his confidence shattered by loses and beatings-do against the likes of Barera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquaio? I don't know, but I do know this, all those fights would have better for us and better for Judah because he wouldn't have lost because he was so much smaller. He'd have gotten a fair shake and we could have more fairly judged his place in the boxing world while better enjoying the talent that had so many excited when he first came on the scene. A talent that too often gets missed because it's getting smothered by guys who just walk through it. So go ahead and criticize Judah for mentally caving against Floyd, giving up against Cotto, or lying to quit against Clottey, but first ask how well you think you'd do if you were fighting guys 2 weight classes higher than you, maybe then you can appreciate and understand that Judah's biggest failure is following his management team.

Lb 4 Lb

 

So you are saying that Zab's losses are because he's naturally smaller than his opponents?:notallthere:

He could have won in all of those fights, maybe not the PBF fight but he was winning the first four rounds.

 

yeah and then he was overpowered which happens to SMALLER fighters... you stupid or something??? :notallthere:

 

Mismanagement? I'm not so sure about that. If you ask me, he's had one tremendous opportunity after another.

 

Zab Judah was never at 135. What exactly are you talking about in reference to that? For all the shit Zab gets lets not forget that he has won mulitple titles in 2 divisions and in one of those divisions was undisputed champion. He was a 5 time world champion and has accomplished more then most guys who are in the hall of fame have. His career wasn't mismanaged. Judah just never had the mental preparation to be a great fighter. His chin was always suspect, and as he got older he became a 4 round fighter. He is who he is. A talented former champion, but I don't see his career going any different with other management. Judah's attitude, and physical flaws would have always been there to be exposed.

 

Yeah, he's in the wrong weight class is what I'm saying. He should be at 135 is what I'm saying. How well would MAB or JMM do at welter? They'd get stopped and beaten about as much as Judah has been.

Wow, did you guys even read the whole thing. It's like you're using my point to argue with me.

 

Maybe I should have clarified that the only Zab fight that he was at a significant disadvantage was the Clottey fight. He was more than competitive.

I think Zab would have been walked down and stopped or beaten by anyone in any weight division who could apply pressure and take his shots.

 

The 135 thing was something I wasn't sure about, I googled it but couldn't find the answer. Judah's successes don't change my view. Even his best championship win against Spinks was against a guy who never presented a physical challenge. It was merely a skilled boxing match.

Most guys who fight at 147lbs sweat down to that weight, Judah actually stated during an interview for an different welter fight that during training he had to eat up to make 147 and here he is fighting Clottey coming in weighing 143. People love to just flat out criticize Judah but I'm just looking at it differently. What if he had done what so many other fighters did and sweated down and campaigned at 135? There is little doubt he would have had a much better career.

 

True but at a better weight class who's to say how well they'll take his shots and how much harder it would be for him to take theirs. Name me another welter who doesn't sweat down to make weight and I'll shut up.

 

Floyd Mayweather

 

marred?

judah fought @139lbs in the amateurs. he probably hasn't weighed 135lbs in 15 years.

 

He walks around at 154. Try again.

Mosley fought in the ams at 140 and started his career at 135. As for not weighing that in 15 years, I never said he should go there now, (although I think he should try) I said he should have spent the bulk of his career there. Nearly every other fighter sweats down for an advantage, Judah doesn't. I point this out as a possible reason for his failures and nobody even acknowledges it.

 

going to lightweight allowed mosley to pick up a title but it didn't do much for him career-wise. basically it stagnated his career. all of the guys who could have brought him money and recognition at lightweight avoided him.

I blame judahs failures on the fact that he isn't very good.

 

Had Judah been train by someone other than his father..he would've had a better CAREER....IMHO...

 

Have you heard of boxrec.com? Zab started his career at 142.

 

Have you read the other posts? That has already been addressed by Maverick and myself. Don't look for mistakes in meaningless facts just make a better argument if you can.

 

And that may very well be the case, I'm not disputing that and probably lean more towards it myself. But my point is Judah has been using the weight class system as a disadvantage for years while others use it to their advantage. At 135 he could have won fights off of talent alone perhaps.

 

How's about this then. At 135, Zab would have been drained to make weight, making his already shaky chin even more vulnerable. He would have been brutally stopped on multiple occasions and would have now been retired for a few years.

 

That's a possiblity but I doubt it. Sweating down to 135 may not have been that difficult for him, if 143 was the best he could do trying to make 147.

 

Yeah, but he had a long time to train, physically, for the Clottey fight...perhaps he was a bit over-trained.

The Mosley fight was scheduled for late May and he fought Clottey in August...he could still train physically after he cut up his arm.

 

Any of the other welters who normally sweat themselves down to make 147, have you ever heard of them training so hard they came in at 143? Had that happened I'm sure they would have been over-trained to the point where they would be drained during the fight.

I've always had this belief that Judah was not a good candidate for this weight class. I would have made this thread today whether Judah had weighed in for this fight at a comfortable 147. However the fact that he came in at 143 makes my argument so much easier IMO.

 

This was the lightest he's been since '04 and he moved to welter after he got sparked by Tszyu in their unification, so there weren't a whole lot of opportunities there at the time.

Spinks and Mayweather were both pretty light welterweights, as well, though I think Mayweather adjusted and put the weight on better.

 

Exactly, although it wouldn´t have hurt, if he had gotten an actual trainer. Maybe a great trainer could have utilized his natural ability better, but under the wing of his father he never learned how to be an effective fighter.

 

That's true, and been obvious for a long time.

Yoel basically just shadowboxes in the corner between rounds.

 

Judah should of dumped his father years ago.Its admirable how loyal Zab is to o family but in this case,he was loyal to a fault.

 

Judah should definitively fights at 140 lbs, he was much much smaller and weaker than Clottey. BTW, no surprise that a lot of amateur boxers drops weight when they go pro, weigh in in the amateur are done the same day of the fight, making it much more harder to cut weight "properly".

 

I'm no expert but would hardly say it was mismanagement. I remember at the time Judah fought Junior Witter alot of people closely following the sport of boxing thought that Judah had it all and was destined to go to the top and stay there for a while. What we learned from Judah is that physically he is one of the most gifted guys out but psycologically, he just isn't fit to be a champion. Zab Judah lacks composure and just plain common sense everytime he gets in a real big fight.

It showed against Tsyzu, Judah looked amatuerish the way he was swinging wild and out of control. It was a suprise to me the way he got flattened but really almost anyone who goes against a top teir fighter with a big punch swinging like their in a bar fight is going to get put down early. I shouldn't have been suprised.

Against Mayweather, I remember noticing how Judah actually had superior handspeed and strength which he should have been able to use to come out victorious but his lack of compsure and common sense in the ring caused him to get figured out and beaten. Floyd won that fight by being more intelligent and more composed and had the ability to adjust to beat the physically superior Judah.

Against Cotto the oppertunity to do some serious damage (and possibly win) was there and everyone including HBO's Manny Steward saw it very clearly how open Miguel Cotto is to the left uppercut (ironically the punch that Margarito used to break him down). Judah had faster hands and stopped Cotto in his tracks with and Good counter left uppercut early in the first round but something in Judah's head failed to Register how effective that punch was and he hardley threw it or much of anything the rest of the fight. Again, it appeared that physically Judah had all the tools to be very competetive in this fight but something is his head blocked him from fighting in a way that was effective just like in all his previous big fights.

In conclusion I don't think that Zab Judah was mismanaged, he had the expereience and the tools to belong in the big fights and it was brave of him to step up and take these challenges but the true story of the failures in Zab's carrier is proof of just how important the mental aspect of the fight game is. If your lacking in the mental catagory, no amount of physical skills can save you when you get to the eliete level in tough divsions.

 

Sure he's had plenty of oppurtunities but how much money has he made on all of those oppurtunities? King has absolutely raped him. Didn't Zab only get like 6 figures for the Mayweather fight and owed a lot of it to King or something?

There's a difference between a trainer and a cornerman although usually most fighters use the same guy in both capacities. Imagine a fighter who had a great trainer and a great cornerman/strategist.

 

Imagine Zab actually having a game plan in the ring.

Yoel doesn't give him kind of instruction. I've never seen them in the gym, maybe it's different there, but on fight night Judah seems to have no wrinkles at all in the way he fights...round to round and fight to fight.

There's a reason why he's so easy to figure out and why he's usually on the wrong side of things half way into a fight against elite fighters.

 

I'm pretty sure PBF got 5 million and Zab 1 Million and that's before the 350,000 PPV sales which was a success. That's part of the reason Zab continues to get fights.