Moments ago at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, former unified Welterweight champion Zab ?Super? Judah scored an impressive 4th round stoppage over former champion Jose Armando Santa Cruz on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Judah came into the bout weighing 141 pounds and was able to put his name immediately back in the Jr. Welterweight mix by displaying his still apparent speed and power.
Judah trained for the contest at the Hit Factory Gym on the East side of Las Vegas and along with his father and trainer Yoel Judah his duties were also overseen by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. Anyone who was able to witness Judah in the gym can attest that the 32-year old is training with a newfound focus with the realization that he has little time to waist in his career.
Santa Cruz is known best for his days as a lightweight contender and the robbery he suffered against Cuban Joel Casamayor in November of 2007. Santa Cruz? length and range served him well at 135 pounds but against Judah he was outclassed from the get go. Judah won the first three rounds by working the Mexican?s body and staying at of harm?s way.
In the fourth Judah displayed his trademark quickness by catching Santa Cruz with a terrific left uppercut that registered a commanding knockdown. Judah pounced on his foe moments later and went to work, pummeling Santa Cruz against the ropes. Referee Benjy Estevez Jr. stopped the bout moments later and Judah again has serious life in his career.
With the win Judah moves to 39-6 with 27 knockouts and called out such champions as Devon Alexander, Amir Khan, and Timothy Bradley as opponents he would love to face next. While no longer the youthful upstart he was in the early part of the decade, Judah is still fully dedicated to his career and doesn?t figure to be an easy out for anyone.
Bob Arum talks Pacquiao-Mayweather deadline
Also in the telecast, Brian Kenny talked about the current drama surrounding the proposed November 13th bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. It was reported that Bob Arum stated that Mayweather had until midnight Pacific Time to sign on for the fight but ESPN?s Dan Rafael shed some light into the situation.
Rafael stated that while there is still a deadline in place that it doesn?t fully mean that Mayweather is out of the picture if he doesn?t get back to Arum with a response. Rafael noted that it simply means that Top Rank would no longer be exclusively bound to working with Mayweather towards making a fight for Pacquiao. They would look at other options, which include Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto at the moment, and that Mayweather would still have a chance to get in the mix if he gave a response within the coming days.
It was also revealed that Al Haymon, who negotiated for Mayweather, and Arum apparently agreed to a deal that would suit all parties but that the two men never worked exclusively with one another, instead going through HBO president Ross Greenburg.
The more each minute passes, however, it seems more unlikely that Mayweather will not opt to sign on to face Pacquiao this winter. In an interview with FightHype?s Percy Crawford, the 33-year old fighter?s Uncle Jeff Mayweather stated his belief that Mayweather is standing firm on his demands for random drug testing leading all the way up until the fight, a scenario that he claims Pacquiao never fully agreed to.
