Clottey vs. Judah Fight For Vacant IBF title On Saturday

judah4643353.jpgBy Sean Mcdaniel: Former WBA/WBC/IBF welterweight champion Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) and Joshua Clottey (34-2, 20 KOs) will meet up on Saturday night for the vacant IBF welterweight title up for grabs at the Palms Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The title was left vacant after Antonio Margarito gave it up soon after winning it with a 6th round TKO over Kermit Cintron in April. Rather than having to defend the title against Clottey, whom he beat previously by a 12-round unanimous decision in December 2006, Margarito opted to give up the title and instead fight Miguel Cotto for his WBA welterweight title.

On paper, this would seem like a fight that Judah can’t win. Although he’s perhaps a little faster than Clottey, he doesn’t have the rugged style of fighting that he possesses, nor does he have the chin needed to take the kind of big shots that Clottey will no doubt be dishing out against him throughout the fight. Both Clottey and Judah are roughly the same size, however, but that’s where similarities end. Clottey has excellent power in his left hook, which he often throws in blinding three and four-punch combinations within a fraction of a second.

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Judah vs. Clottey On August 2nd

judah24242424.jpgBy Jim Dower: In the latest boxing news, former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) will be meeting up with Joshua Clottey (34-2, 20 KOs) for the vacant IBF welterweight title on August 2nd. The title is currently held by Antonio Margarito, who recently stopped then champion Kermit Cintron in the 6th round on April 12th, to win his IBF welterweight title. Instead of keeping the title, however, Margarito has decided instead to give it up and challenger WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto on July 2th for his title at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas.

If Margarito had held onto the title, it would have meant that he would have had to fight his number one challenger Joshua Clottey, whom he previously beat in a tough 12-round unanimous decision in December 2006. Clottey, though perhaps not in the class of Cotto, would still be a very tough fight for Margarito given his speed and power, but it would also, naturally, bring in much less money for Margarito than he would fetch by taking on the undefeated Cotto. As for Judah, he recently injured his right arm, cutting it accidently while training for his May 31st bout with Shane Mosley.

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Sam-Skelton Off, Judah-Mosley Off, Castillo Retires

Sinan Samil Sam has to take a break in preparing for his European heavyweight championship bout against Matt Skelton due to a hand injury. The title fight that was originally scheduled for May 30th in Istanbul will be postponed for about for weeks.

“It’s a pity”, states Sam. “I’m fired up to fight Skelton and I know that all of Turkey wants to see this fight. But at the moment I can’t use my left hand and I cannot take any risk before this fight. I know that this is my last chance to make it to the top. And I definitely don’t want to blow it.”

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Judah vs. Mosley Canceled

judah55445.jpgBy Eric Thomas: In a bit of bad news, former light welterweight and welterweight champion Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) has reportedly suffered an injury to his right forearm, making it necessary to have 50 stitches applied to the wound, and because of that Judah’s May 31st bout with Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) has been cancelled for the time being. There’s no word at this time as to when the fight will be rescheduled, but there are already talks undergoing for plans for a future date for the fight to take place.

This is particularly bad news for both fighters, perhaps even more for the 30 year-old Judah, for he’s been going through a rough period in his career having lost three out of his last six fights to opponents Carlos Baldomir, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto. There’s nothing wrong with losing to those kinds of fights, but the fact remains that there’s been little to be happy about in Judah’s career since 2005 when he was the IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champion of the world. Since that time, Judah has experienced three losses to the aforementioned fighters, including a non contest with Ruben Galvin in April 2007. In his last two fights, Judah has defeated two little known fighters, Edwin Vazquez and Ryan Davis, both fights interesting to watch but clearly a step down for Judah in terms of career bouts.

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Mosley vs. Judah: Time Running Out For Both

By Scott Gilfoid: Former welterweight champions Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) and Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) go at it on May 31st at the Mandalay Bay Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both fighters have suffered losses to Miguel Cotto in the past year, and have found themselves in a position where they are each becoming irrelevant tin the welterweight division, especially Judah who has lost three out of his last six bouts. Cotto, 36, still appears to have a little left and could possibly give one of the welterweight champions some problems if he were to get a shot one of the titles.

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Judah vs. Mosley On May 31st

By Manuel Perez: In a move that comes to no surprise, former welterweight champions Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) and Zb Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) have reportedly come to an agreement for a bout to take place on May 31st, which will be shown HBO PPV. Neither of them currently have titles, but because of their combined popularity the bout will likely bring in a lot of fans interested in seeing this showdown.

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Judah-Mosley: Is Zab Making A Mistake In Taking This Fight?

mosley4634332.jpgBy Dan Ambrose: Though nothing as of yet has been officially confirmed in terms of signings for the perspective March 31st bout between former WBC/WBA/IBF welterweight champion Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) and former lightweight, welterweight and light middleweight champion Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs), apparently there has been a verbal agreement between the two fighters to meet, according to the latest boxing news.

Both fighters are seemingly at a sticking point in their careers, as neither Mosley or Judah appear to be in the running for a nearby chance at one of the welterweight champions. Of the two, Mosley, 36, appears to have a bit more left in the tank, perhaps good enough to beat International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Kermit Cintron or World Boxing Organization champion Paul Williams. Obviously, Cintron would be the easier task, since Williams is thought to be the best of the welterweights at this time, and would be a very tough fight for Mosley given Williams 6’2″ height and long wingspan. Judah, however, is a fighter out of his weight class.

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Judah Defeats Vazquez

judah22422224.jpgFormer WBA/WBC/IBF welterweight and IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah (35-5, 25 KOs) won a more difficult than expected 10-round unanimous decision over veteran Edwin Vazquez (22-11-2, 8 KOs) at the Hard Rock Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Friday night. Judah, 29, was cruising along in the first three rounds of the bout, peppering the slower and less-skilled 35-year old Vazquez with jabs, uppercuts and combinations. However, was cut over the left eye in the fourth round from a head-butt, which had a substantial effect on Judah’s offensive output, making him much more economical with his punches until late in the bout when Judah suddenly began firing on all cylinders again.

Though he was not in Judah’s class in terms of skills, Vazquez, who was fighting for only the eighth time in seven years, he did a remarkably good job at pressuring and landing punches on against Judah, especially up until round six when he was fighting at his best. However, Vazquez couldn’t stay competitive with Judah after the fight passed the sixth round, at which time Judah turned it up a notch with his offense, badly outclassing Vazquez for the remaining four rounds of the fight.

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