Judah must destroy Khan to be in the running for the huge paying bouts

By Boxing News - 06/27/2011 - Comments

Image: Judah must destroy Khan to be in the running for the huge paying boutsBy Sean McDaniel: If IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KO’s) wants to be in the running for big paying fights against Manny Pacquiao and/or Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future, Judah has to take care of WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17 KO’s) next month on July 23 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Judah, 33, is the underdog in this fight, but that doesn’t mean a lot because Khan is a shaky fighter and isn’t someone you can really bet on without great risk unless he’s facing a weak puncher. Khan does well against guys that can’t punch but struggles when put in against punchers. Judah may have lost some of his hand speed from early years when he was one of the two top fighters in the light welterweight division, but he can still deliver a huge shot from time to time.

With Judah, he holds off with his power until he sees and opening and then he opens up with a huge shot that often ends in a knockout. Khan was knocked out by Breidis Prescott in 2008, and since then he’s faced only one fighter with any real power in Marcos Maidana and Khan almost lost that fight. He’s faced seven guys since the Prescott loss and only one of them had good power. Now Khan will be facing his second opponent since then with good power, and you can’t really predict what Khan will be able to do in this fight other than run.

His trainer Freddie Roach has been all over the board with his detailing what Khan would do in this fight. Roach started off by saying that Khan would stay away from Judah until the 5th due to his power, but has recently been saying that Khan will go right at Judah from the 1st round and try to take him out immediately. I tend to buy what Roach said the first time around. I can’t see Khan, with his weak chin, going right at Judah and trying to take him out. Khan would be too susceptible to getting tagged and carried out of the ring on a stretcher if he does what Roach says he’s going to do. Roach’s number #1 gravy train fighter Manny Pacquiao could go right at Judah and destroy him, but it would be foolish for Khan to attempt this because he doesn’t have Pacquiao’s chin.



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