By Chris Williams: Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) light welterweight and welterweight champion Zab Judah (38-6, 26 KO’s) will be facing Jose Armando Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KO’) on July 16th at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. At one time, Judah was a fighter that regularly appeared on HBO in big fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Cory Spinks and Miguel Cotto. However, Judah’s luck has seemed to be running out in the past four years, as he’s suffered disappointing losses in most of his biggest fights since 2006, losing to Carlos Baldomir, Mayweather, Cotto and Joshua Clottey.

Judah’s only wins during the past four years have come against 2nd tier opposition. That should give you a pretty good idea who much Judah is struggling at welterweight. He does enough to lose, as he starts off well early in his fights, then fades and either gets knocked out or staggered and defeated. Yet despite the poor run of luck that Judah has had in the past four years, he’s stubbornly persisted in sticking it out in the welterweight division, serving as little an opponent for some of the top fighters.

On July 16th, Judah, 32, will be facing a skinny, wiry lightweight in the 31-year-old Santa Cruz. This alone should give Judah enough of a chance to pick up a victory. That’s good, because Judah certainly needs a win right about now to stay relevant in the welterweight or light welterweight divisions. But you have to put the fight into the right perspective. Judah’s facing a lightweight, a fighter that is two divisions below Judah in weight.

Given his size and power advantage over Santa Cruz, Judah should be able to beat him, but won’t exactly tell you much about what Judah has left. It will prove that Judah can beat a second tier lightweight, but it won’t show how Judah would do against a top welterweight or light welterweight. I don’t see any champion in either the light welterweight or the welterweight hat Judah would have a good chance at beating. I think he could have some luck against WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan, but just getting the fight with Khan would be the hardest battle of all. Judah, at the very least, can punch and that might automatically disqualify him for an opponent against Khan unless were to become Khan’s mandatory challenger or else Judah started looking shot all of a sudden.