Let’s hope Paul Williams hasn’t read ESPN.com’s recap of the Joshua Clottey – Zab Judah fight. What does it say? That despite Judah’s loss he might be next in line for the recently lionized welterweight champ Antonio Margarito.

It seems that Clottey tore his bicep in the fifth round of that fight. That’s right, the Ghanian TORE HIS BICEP and still managed to be more powerful and look better than Judah. Zab’s claim of not being able to continue because of purported lost vision looks a lot more cowardly now.

No matter, despite his ridiculous display he still might get the coveted big money fight against Margarito. How many lives does this guy have? How many chances can he get? How can someone keep getting rewarded for be so unsuccessful?

Judah stands no chance of beating Margarito. He hasn’t beaten anyone of note in three years! Nevertheless he gives the fight an American, a recognizable name, and someone with a fan base. The fight would take place on November 1 and presumably be broadcast on HBO and not a pay-per-view. Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t mind seeing Margarito destroy Judah.

But the question still remains, who could Margarito have chosen? Clearly Margarito doesn’t want #3 Paul Williams yet. So who else could it be? A quick look a boxrec.com’s top welterweights gives few answers.

Here are those unavailable b/c a prior engagement:
2. Shane Mosley; 6. Andre Berto; 7. Jackson Bonsu.

Also unavailable:
4. Miguel Cotto; 5. Joshua Clottey.

Unattractive:
10. Kermit Cintron (Margarito KOd him in April) 12. Jesus Soto Karass (Is a Margarito sparring partner and shares the same trainer).

The remainders:
8. Sebastian Andres Lujan (Margarito TKOd him in 2005 but he looked good against Jose Luis Castillo on Wednesday)
9. Isaac Hlatswayo
11. Motoki Sasaki
13. Said Ouiali
14. Zab Judah
15. Alfonso Gomez

Given the need for a recognizable name the choice is essentially between Zab and The Contender alum Alfonso Gomez. I gotta admit that I’d rather see Judah.

Post from: EveryJoe

Zab Judah Loses Fight But May Win the War

Last night on HBO welterweight Zab Judah added yet another disgraceful end to his litany of dubiousness. After impressively standing toe to toe with powerful Ghanian Joshua Clottey for eight rounds a cut was opened over Judah’s right eye in the ninth.

How that cut manifested itself became an object of contention. Multiple replays indicated that the cut was opened by a Clottey uppercut. Nevertheless the referee judged it to be caused by a head butt. While being examined by the ref Judah appeared to get the “how many fingers do I have up?” question wrong.

I’m no doctor and I can’t attest to Judah’s vision problems but the cut didn’t appear to be particularly debilitating.

It certainly seemed that Judah thought he was ahead on the cards and when given the head-butt out he decided to quit. Post-fight Judah raised his arms as if he had won, denied that a punch caused the cut despite clear evidence to the contrary, admitted that he thought he was ahead on the cards, and crowned himself the people’s champ.

The most damning evidence for Super Judah came next when HBO announcer Max Kellerman interviewed the ringside doctor. In his recap of the situation he said that Zab told him he couldn’t see. After removing the blood the doctor judged that Zab could fight but Judah still insisted that he could not see.

The doctor didn’t outright say that Zab was lying but his tone was so incredulous that Kellerman asked him “It sounds like you don’t believe him?” We don’t believe Judah either.

Which is a shame. He is as talented an American welterweight as we’ve seen in the last fifteen years and he looked especially determined in the first eight rounds last night.

How many more chances is Zab going to get? Probably a few more even though he is only 2-4 (with one no contest) over the last three years.

The Clottey bout showed that he remains a popular draw and is still a good, if not great, fighter. It’s doubtful that he’ll be headlining a pay-per-view as he was supposed to with Shane Mosley but this won’t be his last HBO appearance.

We can’t wait to see what sort of controversial ending he can make happen next time.

Photo Source: http://www.newscom.com/

Post from: EveryJoe

Zab Judah. Controversial Ending. You Don’t Say.

Last night a message appeared on my Comcast cable box. It read: You still have time to order this Saturday’s exciting welterweight pay-per-view event “Sugar” Shane Mosley vs. Zab “Super” Judah. I wonder what would happen if you did order the May 31 fight that was officially canceled almost three weeks ago because of Zab Judah’s unfortunate incident with a shower and the resulting fifty stitches Zab had installed in his right arm?

Would you get a Zab Judah highlights montage showcasing the choking Jay Nady incident, the Roger Mayweather corner clearing brawl, the dizzying Kosta Tszyu knockdown? Or maybe you would get a clandestine video of what really happened in the infamous Las Vegas glass shower. ESPN’s Dan Rafael reports on his ESPN Insider blog that Judah did indeed put his jabbing arm threw glass only it didn’t occur because of an unfortunate slip.

No. Rafael’s sources told him that the 30-year-old Judah threw a temper tantrum in the Las Vegas Top Rank gym, got angry with his dad, and put his arm through the steam room shower door. The practical result is that now Zab will fight Ring Magazine’s #7 welterweight Joshua Clottey on August 2 on HBO instead of Ring Mag’s #2 Sugar Shane. Judah ranks #6.

Judah’s latest mishap cost him approximately $400,000 given the purse difference between the two fights. Through his multiple suspension and many career fines his uncontrollable temper has drained at least a conservative $1.5M from his accounts. If he defeats Clottey Judah will probably get another chance at Mosley once again proving his inimitable ability to bounce back.

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Zab Judah and the Shower, The Real Story Emerges