Zab Judah Makes a Case in Comeback TKO of Santa Cruz
Is this the Zab Judah that people have been hoping to see for years? Heading into his comeback fight against Jose Armando Santa Cruz on Friday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Judah had promised that he had matured and changed from the supremely talented but often arrogant and undisciplined fighter he had been in the past. However, fight fans had heard that before and were waiting for his fight against Santa Cruz to see how much truth there would be in his statements.
While it will take more than one fight versus a past-his-prime former titlist to tell too much, it’s safe to say that Judah’s latest comeback is at least off to the right start after his third round stoppage of Santa Cruz (28-5, 17 KOs) on Friday night. A national cable television audience in the United States had the chance to see a performance by Judah (39-6, 27 KOs) that was self-assured and mature and showed enough of his former self to serve notice that he is still a fighter to pay attention to as he hopes to gain one more title shot.
Judah had declared before the fight that he had committed himself to fighting at junior welterweight, something that was greeted with some skepticism considering that Judah had been having trouble making the welterweight limit of 147 pounds in his last few fights. However, he weighed in at 141 pounds before the bout, well under the catch weight of 143 pounds. More importantly, his toned physique backed up new trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad‘s claims that Judah had been working out hard and impressively leading up to the fight.
Whether Judah’s workout routine would have been enough to carry him into the later rounds remains to be seen. Judah was crisp and focused in the first two rounds, befuddling the former interim WBC lightweight champion with his speed and southpaw style. The beginning of the end came in the third round when Judah decked Santa Cruz with a signature, bone-rattling left uppercut as Santa Cruz was coming to throw a right. Santa Cruz barely made the count, but referee Benjy Esteves was forced to halt the fight moments later after Judah trapped Santa Cruz on the ropes and unloaded a blistering series of punches.
On the surface, the bout would seem to signify a return to form for Judah. He has always had some of the fastest hands in boxing and those skills were still evident on Friday night against Santa Cruz. Physically, Judah seemed closer to his peak performances in the early 2000s than he has been in quite some time. The extra strength and conditioning training he apparently did while in camp in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas served him well as he looked much younger than 32.
However, it’s tough to say exactly how much to take from Judah’s performance. After all, Santa Cruz was probably the perfect fighter to match up against Judah in his return to the ring from an eight-month layoff. Santa Cruz is a solid, tough fighter with decent skills but without a lot of savvy. He was always going to be content to plod ahead and fire repetitive punches from the same angles. For someone with quick hands who loves to counter-punch like Judah, Santa Cruz was a sitting target. Santa Cruz also doesn’t possess the greatest chin, as evidenced by the end of the fight and the fact that it was the fourth time in five losses that Santa Cruz had been stopped short of the distance.
The junior welterweight division is perhaps the most loaded division in boxing, making Judah’s decision to fight there somewhat curious. At the same time, most top fighters like Amir Khan, Devon Alexander or Marcos Maidana would likely see Judah as a “name” opponent who would draw attention from cable and PPV broadcasters without posing a significant threat. How much of a threat he winds up becoming will come down to the state of Judah’s mental toughness and not his physical talents.
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