Saturday night in New York was supposed to be a homecoming for one of New York's favorite sons, Zab 'Super' Judah. Boxing is the theater of the unexpected and every once in a while it also has a bit of karma, which is exactly what happened to Judah.
In the pre-fight interview Judah was made to look as though he has matured so much and how he is less flamboyant and has let go of his abrasive attitude, in essence becoming more fan friendly. Well, the beginning of the fight and the post-fight interview showed the boxing world that not really a whole lot has changed. In the opening stance of touching of the gloves in the center of the ring he deliberately hit Baldomir below the belt and it wasn't a touch. When the fight started it appeared as though Judah would once again have a walk in the park. It wasn't until the seventh round that Judah realized he was in a jungle and also in the fight of his life. Baldomir stole at least one round of the first six and clearly won from round seven through twelve, with round seven easily being a 10-8 round.
It was good to see poetic justice. Hitting Baldomir below the belt that way wasn't called for and just as Judah went to Cory Spinks hometown and pulled off the upset, karma came back to get him and leave him removed from his title belts as well. He may not have had an elaborate ring entrance but he appeared to be consumed with the fact that he was fighting at home, which after the fight was over he quickly alluded too. Although he quickly said no excuses, he personally attacked his promoter and then quickly said no excuses. Before this loss, Don King was the greatest promoter that ever lived, according to Judah. Now the Brooklyn southpaw has major issues with the promoter who allegedly forced him to help to promote the fight and he wasn't able to focus, but still no excuses.
To be honest, I don't even know how many times Judah said no excuses but I know he had a humbling experience in more ways than one. The only person that really felt Zab won was his father. Yoel Judah can yell it as loud as he can but I think he had a very hard time convincing anyone of that fact, including Don King who half-heartedly said that he thought Zab had won. Even Zab himself showed no signs of protest, because he too knew he didn't win or certainly knew he didn't even come close to his own expectations.
I applaud Judah for being man enough to at least give Baldomir credit for giving him a great fight. Who knows where Judah goes from here, no one knows, not even him, and maybe not even his promoter Don King. There was no rematch clause because Baldomir earned the right to fight Judah by becoming the mandatory number one contender eliminating that clause. The 3.5 million dollar contract he signed to fight Floyd Mayweather is void and chances are that fight will never happen.
Judah's stock plummeted Saturday night, but he isn't the first fighter to make horrible decisions that they will live to regret. Terry Norris did exactly what Judah did, when instead of taking guaranteed money to fight Oscar de la Hoya he fought Keith Mullins and lost and the De la Hoya fight never happened. Shane Mosley allowed his pride to take over when he too was supposed to fight Oscar de la Hoya a third time for a guaranteed $10 million, instead he went on to fight Winky Wright twice for 1/3 of what he could have made in one fight with Oscar, and ended up with back to back loses.
Judah is a talented fighter and still has some fights out there that can be very entertaining and he may very well rise to the top again. Chances are he will never see that kind of money on a contract that has his name on it. He can't blame King; he can't blame anyone but himself. Well, Zab said it best, "no excuses."
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