By Sean McDaniel: It’s sad to say but I don’t think IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KO’s) can win a decision against WBA Super World light welterweight champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17 KO’s) on July 23 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s not that Judah isn’t capable of winning a decision against Khan, it’s just that I think Khan is being built up and primed for a mega fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year.

And when you got big money lying ahead with fights like this, it’s very difficult for the less popular fighters to win a decision against guys that are being hyped in a major way that Khan is being by Golden Boy Promotions. Khan is backed by one of the biggest promotional companies in the U.S, and I think that’s going to make it difficult for Judah to win a decision if the fight is even slightly close.

I just hope that Judah brings his own judges to the ring on July 23 in the form of his fists because he’s probably going to need to take matters in his own hand to knock Khan out cold to get a win. If I’m Judah, I’d be practicing a lot on learning how to connect with really hard shots while being held around the neck or by one of arms the way that Khan likes to do with his opponents to shut down their offense. You got to have a good plan to counteract Khan’s holding around the neck or reaching around to climb over the back to sniffle the attacks.

There’s probably not much Judah can do about Khan’s habit of shoving his opponents really hard when they get in close other than to be vocal about it with the referee. If that does work, I’d suggest that Judah shove Khan back really hard, although I can see Judah being the one that gets penalized if he shoves in return rather than Khan. But he’s got to speak to the referee about it because Khan likes to use the hard shove when opponents get in close with him rather than using his foot work or inside fighting ability.

Let’s face it, Khan can’t fight on the inside because he has no skills in close. Judah will have a huge advantage over him if the two get close, but not if Khan is able to hold him around the neck and push down on him with both hands to force his head forward the way he did with Marcos Maidana.