06.09.07 – By Sasha “Kozlov” Baranov: As former world lightweight and welterweight boxing champion Zab Judah (34-5, 25 KOs) prepares for Friday’s 10-round bout with Edwin Vazquez (22-10-2, 8KOs), Judah recently stated in an interview with Lyle Fitzsimmons, from the Sports Network internet site, “it would be the dream fight for me… (to fight Oscar de la Hoya) he’s a guy I pretty much know I can beat.” Perhaps Judah was only thinking out loud, because there’s no doubt that a fight with De la Hoya would mean big money for Judah, but it would seem highly doubtful..
With Judah coming off an 11th round stoppage loss to Miguel Cotto in June 2007, I don’t see this as a viable option for De la Hoya, mainly because Oscar prefers to fight champions with untarnished career records.
Even worse, Judah, 29, has lost three out of his last five bouts, losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Carlos Baldomir and Miguel Cotto. There’s no shame in losing to any of them, I’d freely admit, but it’s not the kind of record that would probably appeal to someone like De la Hoya or even one of the current welterweight champions for that matter. A win over Vazquez on Friday, likely won’t change De la Hoya’s mind any.
For that to happen, Judah will have to beat someone much better, someone like Kermit Cintron or Shane Mosley. That would be a good start for Judah. Judah’s dilemma, however, is that time is working against him in his career. He’s getting older and the fighters in the welterweight class are both younger and almost as fast as him at this stage.
In scanning the top fighters in the welterweight division – Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron – I find it hard to conceive of Judah beating any of them. A couple of years ago, that wasn’t the case, but the welterweight division has improved considerably since the time Judah last held the WBA/WBC and IBF welterweight titles. I think Judah would be a good opponent for them, mainly because he looks good in the early rounds, but he’d likely fade badly in the later rounds and lose by knockout to each of them.
So why then would De la Hoya, 34, want to waste his time by fighting Judah? Of course, that’s not to say that I think De la Hoya would beat Judah, mind you, because I don’t think he could, but why would De la Hoya want to even bother, given Judah’s recent history in the boxing ring? Suffice it to say, it’s probably not likely that De la Hoya would bother to fight Judah any time soon unless Judah somehow wins one of the welterweight titles.
Sadly, I don’t see Judah beating any of the current welterweight champions or landing a bout with any of them. Ideally, Judah should consider moving down to super lightweight – his old weight class – where his lack of size won’t be a problem for him. I could easily see him beating three of the current champions, Junior Witter, Gavin Rees, and Paulie Malignaggi, although I think Ricardo Torres would be too strong for him and would likely knock Judah out. However, this weight class is much less popular than the welterweight division, which is perhaps the biggest reason why Judah persists in fighting in this weight class despite his less than impressive results in recent outings. I think he’d be far better off by making the move down because he’d likely be able to win a belt and hold onto it for a year or two without any problems.
Perhaps a victory over Vazquez will open some doors fpr a bout with De la Hoya for Judah, but I think it’s more likely that for that to happen, Judah is going to have to beat someone more substantial, either an up and coming welterweight like Andre Berto or, if possible, one of the champions.