Zab Judah vs. Amir Khan: 5 Notes on the Fight

On July 23, 2011, rising British sensation Amir Khan will meet veteran star Zab Judah at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, to defend his WBA junior welterweight title against Judah's IBF version of the belt. Although many boxing observers would prefer to see Khan tested against undefeated 140-pound kingpin Timothy Bradley, his match up with Judah is still among the most anticipated bouts of the summer.

If a fight with Bradley couldn't be made, this tilt with Judah did make the most sense for Khan. Currently enjoying a career resurgence, Judah has worked his way up to six at 140 in the Ring rankings. For the casual fan, he is probably the most recognizable name in the jr. welterweight top 10. 

This fight is a classic match up between youth and experience. At 24, Amir Khan is just entering the prime of what could to be a legendary career. In his unanimous decision victory over the No. 3 ranked Marcos Maidana, Khan showed poise and heart during an extremely physical fight.

Since moving back down to the jr. welterweight division in 2010, Zab Judah has come across as a far more focused and mature individual than he was during the earlier years of his career. While Judah always had the power to punch with the welterweights, 140 pounds does seem like a more natural home for him. In his past three fights he has shown that at 33, he is not yet over the hill.

Even if this doesn't end up being a "Fight of the Year" candidate, the bout should be entertaining and likely regarded in the future as historically significant.

Zab Judah has always been regarded as among the most talented boxers of his generation. At times in his career he has been ranked in the pound-for-pound top 10.

In 2005, a showdown between Judah and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was one of the most eagerly anticipated matchups in the sport. Judah was then upset by Carlos Baldomir in January of 2006. A few months later, he fought Mayweather anyway, winning just a single round on one judge's scorecard and no more than four on any.

Judah then lost to Miguel Cotto by technical knockout in 2007 and to Joshua Clottey by technical decision in 2008. He was no longer relevant in the welterweight division and was thought by many to be finished as a main event level fighter. Many boxing fans and observers openly derided him as a Hype Train that had derailed.

Even before things started to go down hill with the loss to Baldomir, his first career loss by knockout to Kostya Tszyu was among the most famous of its decade, and Judah's reaction to it is one of boxing's all time in-ring temper tantrums. Judah has always had a large fan following, but there have always been at least as many fans who have seen him as a talented braggart who folds under pressure.

In 2010 he surprised many by moving back down to jr. welterweight. At the same time, he has presented a much different face to the world. He has talked candidly about his journey to grow up and handle himself like a true champion.

In November of 2010, he won a tough split decision over Lucas Martin Matthysse. This past March he seized the vacant IBF light welterweight belt by KOing Kaizer Mabuza in seven.

His fans have hailed him as fully returned to glory. The boxing world in general is still somewhat more undecided. But an upset over a young phenom like Amir Kahn puts him right back on the list of "A" level fighters.

Amir Khan is already a major star in his home country, hailed in the British media as "King Khan." He is trained by the most high profile trainer in the sport, Freddy Roach. Recent victories include an impressive 11th round TKO of Paul Malignaggi, his first fight before an American crowd, and a hard fought unanimous decision over Marcos Maidana.

At 24, the 33-year-old Zab Judah represents a smart fight for him right now. A win gives him two-thirds of the alphabet soup belts and it is probably the most high profile match he can make aside from Timothy Bradley.

Although he will be a clear favorite in the betting lines, the fight is not without risks for Khan. Even Judah's biggest detractors have to admit that he has a slick, tricky defensive style and knockout punching power. This might not go down as a signature fight for Khan, but he should be given credit for going after the biggest names and potential threats in his division.

At 5'10", Khan has the frame to move up and eventually become a multi-division champ. His future in the sport appears bright indeed. A victory notched against Zab Judah will keep his train chugging along.

In his pre-fight analysis of the Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana fight broadcast on Sky TV, former featherweight champ Barry McGuiggen emphasized that Khan would need to fight a technically perfect fight, using his length and footwork to keep the rugged Argentinian brawler at a distance.

For about seven rounds out of 12, Khan followed that plan well. Maidana would pressure Khan and the young Brit would remain cool, re-establish his jab and step deftly to the side like a matador taunting a bull. But at points throughout the fight, Khan seemed almost determined to allow himself to be drawn into  exactly the sort of battle of machismo that favored Maidana.

This made the fight much closer than it seemed like it needed to be, and caused Khan some legitimately anxious moments. At times Freddy Roach sounded frustrated in his corner between rounds. Khan took substantial punishment in Round 10.

He will need to be smarter against Judah. Even on the downside of his career, Judah has more speed than Maidana. He has always shown a strong ability to explode with punishing flurries the split-second an opening arises, moving in a flash from a defensive outside position to a furious attacking position on the inside. 

Against Maidana, Khan demonstrated that he can be goaded into bad decisions. Against a wily veteran like Judah, this could be dangerous.

Make no mistake: The smart money for this fight is on Amir Khan. But plenty of people will be picking Judah to pull off the shocker, and not all of them are motivated by nostalgia for the first Bush term. Judah has the tool kit to get the job done.

Ever since being knocked out in 54 seconds by Breidis Prescott in 2008, the big question mark on Khan has been his chin. He was hurt repeatedly by Maidana and stayed on his feet. Many have seen that as evidence that his chin is really fine.

I'm not convinced. I will concede that Khan showed courage under pressure and consistently re-established his jab and his control over the fight. But he also looked like a guy who is very strongly affected by it when he gets punched in the face. 

Judah should be able to hit him in the face. He has extremely quick hands, explosive foot speed, excellent head and shoulder movement, and over his career he has demonstrated a terrific ability to move inside on taller fighters.

Freddy Roach predicted last week that Khan would win every round. He's clearly confident in his fighter and believes he has the right game plan ready to go. But even he was quick to acknowledge that Zab Judah is a dangerous man.

It is no secret that the 5'10" Khan is going to want to keep the 5'7" Judah extended out at the end of his punches, turning him at angles and battering him from beyond Judah's own range. Judah is going to need to rely on head movement and quick feet to slip inside and punish Khan up close.

Khan's greatest weapons are his lightening quick, deadly accurate straight punches. His lateral movement is very smooth and when he gets into a good rhythm behind his jab he can look pretty tough to beat, especially for a shorter fighter.

Judah has his work cut out for him. But I'll remind people of the 12th round of his first battle with Cory Spinks. Spinks is a similar height to Khan and all he needed to do in the final round of that fight was stay away from Judah and cruise to an obvious decision win.

Instead Judah was able to force Spinks to engage him inside and he nearly managed to knock him out.

But Zab Judah has shown a bad habit over the years of dropping his hands. In that same Spinks fight it cost him a quick knockdown in the round 11. If he does it against Khan, he's getting lit up.