Athletes - Zab Judah

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	Athletes - Zab Judah

Zab (Super) Judah, (born October 27 1977), of Teaneck, New Jersey, is a professional boxer formerly Junior Welterweight 140 lb (63.5 kg) champion and undisputed champion in the Welterweight 147 lb (66.7 kg) division, and current IBF Welterweight Champion.

Claims to fame

Judah held his championship at 140 lb and was considered by many to be an authentic claimant to boxing's pound-for-pound title at that time. In November 2001 he met fellow titleholder Kostya Tszyu in a title unification fight and was knocked out in the second round. Judah got up from the knock-down only to fall again. This is humorously referred to as the "Chicken Dance" or the "Harlem Shake". In February 2005 he became undisputed Welterweight Champion by knocking out Cory Spinks.

Judah vs. Tszyu

Tszyu's knockout, and the subsequent melee in the ring, are well-known among boxing fans. Judah was considered to have won the first round of the fight convincingly but appeared hesitant to engage his opponent in the second round. With only seconds remaining in the second round, Tszyu connected a right-handed blow to Judah's chin, which forced him to retreat. Tszyu then struck again, knocking Judah down flat on his back with his head slamming hardly against the canvas. Attempting to beat the referee's count, Judah rose from the knockdown almost immediately, and unfortunately for him, a bit prematurely: almost as soon as he rose to his feet, his legs appeared to melt beneath him, and he stumbled awkwardly across the ring, falling once more.

Controversy and suspension

Following Judah's difficulties referee Jay Nady immediately halted the bout, as Judah rose again on unsteady legs, protesting the stoppage. As both camps flooded the ring, Judah continued to protest Nady's decision, with his outrage increasing to catastrophic proportions as the cameras rolled on. At one point, Judah pushed his gloved-fist into the throat of the much bigger Nady, and then returned to his corner, picked up the ring stool and threw it across the ring at Nady. None of Judah's post-bout fury appeared to be directed at his opponent.

As a consequence of his outburst at Nady, Judah was suspended from boxing. His stumbling attempt to beat Nady's count was converted into a six-second long compressed digital clip, which predictably spread like wildfire across the Internet on various boxing fan message boards. Dubbed "the Zab Dance", it has tarnished Judah's reputation ever since.

Judah's return to boxing

Since then, Zab Judah has returned to the ring and quietly worked his way back into the good graces of boxing's alliance of promoters, television networks and others. In 2004 he challenged reigning undisputed Welterweight Champion Cory Spinks but lost a narrow decision on the scorecards. The fight had none of the attendant controversy of Judah's previous title fight against Tszyu.

Then, in the rematch, in Spinks's hometown of St. Louis, Judah connected with several of his big left hooks, TKOing Spinks in the ninth round to become undisputed Welterweight Champion. He showed grace in victory, saying he did not want to hurt Spinks and that Spinks was a great fighter.

Judah's first title defense was a third round blowout of Cosme Rivera, Judah knocking Rivera down several times before the fight was stopped.

Judah was scheduled to defend his WBC title against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on April 8, 2006. However, that fight was put into jeopardy after Judah lost the WBC Welterweight title by unanimous decision to mandatory challenger Carlos Baldomir on January 7, 2006.

This loss may affect Zab for some time, he was a huge favorite going into the fight (and he was fighting at Madison Square Garden in front of a partisan hometown crowd), but did say after the fight he was doing too many interviews because of his promoter Don King, but nevertheless this is a major setback. The Mayweather and Judah camps eventually decided that the fight would still take place despite Zab's loss.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Zab Judah ]

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Athletes - Zab Judah

Claims to fame

Judah vs. Tszyu

Controversy and suspension

Judah's return to boxing

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