Zab Judah vs. Michael Clark on October 2nd

By Jim Dower: Unable to land a fight with one of the bigger talents in the light welterweight division, former International Boxing Federation light welterweight and undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah (39-6, 27 KO’s) will have to be content to face little known 37-year-old Michael Clark (40-5-1, 18 KO’s) on October 2nd, at the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. According to reports, his promoter Kathy Duva attempted to line up fights for Judah against Juan Urango, Victor Cayo, Paulie Malignaggi, Lucas Matthysse, Julio Diaz, Kendall Holt and Joel Casamayor but got no takers. Judah needs a tune-up fight before he goes after one of the big names in the light welterweight division.

However, Judah may have looked too impressive in his last fight, a 3rd round TKO of Jose Armando Santa Cruz, for his own good. Judah destroyed Santa Cruz with a huge left uppercut in the 3rd, and showed massive power and speed all the way through the fight. Now that Judah is fighting at light welterweight, he looks much faster and stronger compared to when he was campaigning as a welterweight. Currently, Judah is ranked #5 WBA, #6 IBF and #11 WBC. He’s probably not going to get a shot at one of the champions anytime soon, though, because Judah may be seen as someone who is too dangerous to fight.

WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan would likely have huge problems with Judah’s hand speed and power, and I can’t see that fight happening. IBF/WBC light welterweight champion Devon Alexander looked horrid in his “win” over Andriy Kotelnik recently, and he too would likely not be eager to take on a big puncher like Judah. WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley might go for a fight with Judah in the future, but only if he gets by Alexander in January.

Bradley could find himself with tons of opportunities if he beats Alexander, so it’s not a given that even Bradley would go for a fight against Judah anytime soon. One thing that works against Judah, besides his impressive skills, is his age. At 32, Judah is getting up there in age and if he has to wait more than a year before he gets a title shot, he could find himself losing more of his skills. As it is, he’s waited an awfully long time to move back down from the welterweight division, where he has been mostly struggling in the past four years. The money has been better for Judah at welterweight, which is why he chose to stay at that weight even after started having problems against the better fighters.

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