WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17KOs) and IBF champion Zab Judah (41-6, 28KOs) meet tonight at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in a classic crossroads fight pitting the young champion in Khan against the cagey veteran in Judah.
Titles and divisional importance aside, the match up also has all the makings of an exciting fight as Khan and Judah are two fighters both with power, speed and vulnerability.
Khan’s modus operandi is constant movement on the outside, jumping in for the odd combination and then darting back out again before his opponent can fire much back.
The danger with this approach as shown by his fight with Marcos Maidana is that it can tend to leave him vulnerable if either his opponent doesn’t respect his power or if he misses with his initial attack.
Maidana walked through many of Khan’s punches in the later rounds and more often than not when he did he was able to land, usually with an overhand right.
Judah doesn’t have either Maidana’s chin or walk through fire mentality, but does possess the ability to time Khan’s attacks if they become too repetitive.
Khan’s biggest threat in tonight’s fight then could be his own aggression rather than anything Judah can impose on him.
If he becomes frustrated working on the outside and stays within Judah’s range a little too long or doesn’t cover up in close, Judah potentially only needs one punch to end the fight.
Judah’s more patient approach in recent fights may be his undoing if Khan denies him the opportunity to land. If he can make Khan get sloppy the fight is his to lose.
So long as Khan maintains his composure throughout, his speed and movement should be enough to keep Judah on the losing side of a comfortable decision.
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Other than the stylistic differences there is also the track record of either fighter to consider.
Although not nearly as experienced as Judah, Khan has shown that he can come through a tough fight and win then it counts most.
Judah has tended to be hot and cold when it comes to big performances, and has frustrated as much as he has thrilled at the highest level.
He claims any mental weaknesses are behind him now that he has Pernell Whittaker on board as his trainer, although even in capturing his IBF belt from Kaizer Mabuza and before that against Lucas Matthysse, Judah failed to dominate as he did early in his career against fighters considered to be lesser opposition.
Khan’s recent run has included a fight of the year with Marcos Maidana and more recently a snoozer against Paul McCloskey, eventually ended after the then unbeaten Dungiven native suffered a cut above his eye.
One other potentially mitigating factor is how well Khan will be able to cope with Judah’s southpaw stance.
While Khan does spar with noted southpaw Manny Pacquiao regularly, the last one he fought (McCloskey) he struggled with more than expected.
The last southpaw he faced before that was Steffy Bull back in 2007 at lightweight, a domestic level fighter who he finished in three rounds.
While he might do well in sparring against Pacquiao, he has yet to face a world level southpaw in the ring and if the McCloskey fight is anything to go my, he could well struggle with Judah’s timing.
Overall on the face of it Khan seems the logical pick given his superior speed and movement, and so long as he plays it safe this should be the case. Judah will remain dangerous to the end though, and Khan will have needed to make adjustments during camp to cope with his southpaw stance and meticuolus counters.
The Pick: Amir Khan via decision
Wayne Jones, Pitt: “Judah all the way, Khan’s power isn’t the same at 140 and Judah will counter him easily”
