When Floyd Mayweather made the move to the Welterweight division in late 2005 people began eyeing all of his future endeavors inside of the ring. At 140 pounds Mayweather had a brief three-fight stint that included victories over the likes of DeMarcus ?Chop chop? Corley, Puerto Rican prospect Henry Bruseles, and Arturo Gatti, whom he bludgeoned over six one-sided rounds to claim the WBC championship of the world in Atlantic City. It was a fun little ride but everyone wanted more from Floyd.
It just so happened that around that time Brooklyn?s Zab ?Super? Judah was the unified Welterweight champion of the world, having laid claim to the IBF, WBA, and WBC titles with quite possibly his most impressive victory in stopping hometown favorite Cory Spinks in the 9th round at the Savvis Center in St. Louis in early 2005. Judah was ultra-confident, flashy, and had serious power in his left hand that made him a threat to anyone near his weight class.
Some never imagined that the two men would ever meet because even though they turned professional just one month apart in the Fall of 1996, Judah began campaigning at 140 pounds while Floyd called the Jr. Lightweight limit home. With Floyd?s rise up in weight it only became natural that the two men were the center of discussion yet there was an interesting sub-plot surrounding the two fighters.
There once was a time that the two men were good buddies. Maybe not the closest of friends but certainly chummy enough to hit up the Las Vegas club scene together and roll around town side by side. Mayweather was even kind enough to get Judah access inside the Top Rank gym in Las Vegas despite Judah being affiliated with a rival promoter in Don King. Mayweather and Judah certainly made for quite the tandem as far as stable mates are concerned but that also seems to be where their relationship would momentarily fall off track.
In April of 2004 Mayweather had been preparing for his fight with Corley and Judah had been training alongside him in preparation for a bout of his own against Rafael Pineda. By all accounts one day at the gym Judah had been overly rough with Lightweight prospect Wes Ferguson, who was managed by Mayweather. Floyd didn?t seem to say much at the time but Judah?s handling of his fighter was something that certainly didn?t go unnoticed and seemed to cause friction in their relationship.
A few days later Mayweather came to the gym and noticed Judah alongside their mutual friend Hasim Rahman. The affable heavyweight seemed to pick up on the tension in the air and claims to have initiated a sparring contest between the two men. Mayweather notes that he had beaten Judah badly in four pick up games of basketball earlier in the week and that Zab?s pride was already suffering. After a brief discussion Mayweather and Judah would find themselves in the ring getting ready for a battle of their own.
After a slightly pedestrian first round in which the two fighters felt one another out, Mayweather claims to have really turned up the heat in the second after taking in some trash talk from Judah. It is said that Mayweather put some serious hurt on Judah over the next few rounds to the point that Roger Mayweather, Floyd?s trainer, and Yoel Judah, Zab?s father and trainer, both called for a halt to the action.
Judah?s ego was hurt and his friendship with Floyd was certainly not the same. This lead to somewhat of an online baiting game between the two men in 2005 and the public began clamoring for the two men to fight. Mayweather?s campaign at 140 pounds was fine work but a move up to 147 pounds only heightened the anticipation of a possible Judah encounter. Mayweather?s November technical knockout over former champion Sharmba Mitchell was a workmanlike stoppage and the ball was suddenly in Judah?s court. There were agreements for the two fighters to meet on April 8th if Judah could successfully defend his belts against Carlos Baldomir but very few could have imagined what would have transpired next.
In January Judah would return to New York for what was presumed to be a routine defense of his hardware against rugged but limited Carlos Baldomir. Hailing from Argentina and sporting a pedestrian record and a very crude style, Baldomir decided to play the role of the spoiler against Judah at the theatre in Madison Square Garden. Baldomir shook off a slow start and poured on the pressure against a retreating Judah in capturing a unanimous decision by scores of 115-112, 115-113, and 114-113. Judah was left in disbelief and a potential clash with Mayweather was presumed to be dead.
But nothing is ever for certain in the sport of boxing and Judah?s promoter Don King and Mayweather?s promoter Bob Arum found a way to rework the contracts so that the fight could go on. Judah went from making a guaranteed $3 million to $1 million plus a percentage of profits and was simply happy to find himself immediately back in the spotlight following the Baldomir debacle.
It was announced that the fight would be taking place at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and the April 8th date didn?t change. The bout was being dubbed as ?Sworn enemies? due to the vocal theatrics that had been taking place between the two fighters and sponsors included Caesars Palace, Wynn Las Vegas, Corona Extra, and HBO Pay per view.
Following his loss to Carlos Baldomir Zab Judah?s career was in question and he knew he needed to redeem himself against Mayweather. Judah trained for the contest in South Florida near his promoter King?s offices and his chief sparring partners were Anthony and Lamont Peterson, who were just coming up at the time. Mayweather put in his work in Las Vegas, Nevada, his hometown, and the two men were priming themselves for a do or die battle.
During fight week the press conference and weigh in took place at Caesars Palace. Nothing outlandish happened despite the bitterness in the air as Judah had little interaction with the press. The weigh in was slightly raucous, however, as the Brooklyn fighter tried baiting Mayweather after they weighed in. Mayweather tipped the scales at 146 pounds while Judah came in at 145 ?. It was very clear that the time for talking was now over and everyone waited with anticipation for the fight the following evening.
The fight
The undercard for ‘Sworn enemies’ featured eight fights. Most noteworthy were interim WBC flyweight champion Jorge Arce stopping Rosendo Alvarez in the sixth, ?The Baby Bull? Juan Diaz pounding out a decision over Jose Miguel Cotto, and Wild card fighter Vanes Martirosyan stopping Tefo Seetso in the 3rd round in his eighth pro fight. By the time Mayweather and Judah were ready to approach the ring there were reportedly 15,170 people in attendance at the Thomas & Mack Center including several celebrities from the music industry.
The announcing crew for the HBO Pay per view contest consisted of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, and former Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who had been retired from the sport for nearly three years. Before the official ring walks Lampley asked Merchant for his thoughts on the bout.
?It?s simple,? Merchant claimed. ?Mayweather is an A plus fighter. Judah is a few grades below that. Plus he has a mouth full of 20 karat diamonds, but they are in a setting of glass. And in his fight vs. Baldomir he seemed to be clueless. As Mayweather put it, this is ?Flawless? against ?Jawless?.?
Moments later Kevin Edmonds belted out the national anthem and the moment was upon everyone. Mayweather made his way to the ring with 50 Cent?s ?I?ll Whip Your Head Boy? playing in the background. The Grand Rapids fighter was decked in a Red and white cloak with matching trunks and Lampley noted that it was ?Very odd to see the world?s best pound for pound fighter walk into the ring first?. Despite losing to Baldomir, Judah was still technically the IBF champion because only the WBC belt was on the table against Carlos.
As Floyd entered the ring he was typically relaxed and Lampley noted how he was one of the most relaxed fighters during high pressure situations. Merchant chimed in that what was most important to Mayweather would be showing that he could be a true pay per view star unlike fighters such as Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, and Shane Mosley, who despite all their great talent were never able to cross over to the mainstream audience. Moments later Judah began his trek to the squared circle with 50 Cent?s ?God gave me style? serving as the backdrop. Despite his obvious confidence Judah was heading into the bout as a heavy 5-1 underdog.
Michael Buffer told the crowd ?Let?s get ready to rumble? and the intensity in the building picked up a notch. Richard Steele was serving as the referee for the bout and the judges were Glen Hamada, Dave Moretti, and Jerry Roth. Steele gave the two fighters instructions in the center of the ring and the two fighters touched gloves. Seconds before the first bell sounded Merchant asked ?How do you attack a great boxer like Mayweather? Will Judah just try to put pressure on him, not give him room, or will he try to box him and hope to land a big punch??…(Click for PAGE 2)
To look at pre-fight images of Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah please click on the collage below?
