On July 23rd, ferocious and explosive Amir Khan (Record: 25-1) will take on Yankee south paw and seasoned veteran Zab Judah (41-6) for a unification bout that will place the light welterweight champions against each other for a 12 round showdown in Las Vegas. Khan is the current WBA Champ while Judah holds the IBF belt. Khan is the younger of the two fighters and is favored to win while Judah, who has fights against Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, and Argentinian power-puncher Lucas Matthysse, will be coming in as more than a stepping-stone and somewhere between underdog and contender.
King Khan has his sights set on eventually fighting (and beating) Floyd Mayweather in 2012. In a recent interview with BBC, Khan said he wants to fight the retired champ at Wembley stadium in England in 2012. Khan hopes to take on Erik Morales and Kell Brook (British Welterweight Champ) before boxing the unbeaten Mayweather. Khan was hoping to fight the other title holder in the light-welterweight division, Timothy Bradley, but he settled for the Judah bout after negotiations fell through with Bradley’s camp. At the moment Khan will need to focus on Judah, who is on a 5-fight win streak and is by no means a weak or unworthy opponent for the rising British star.
With poor decisions recently turning into commonplace in boxing (Lucas Matthysse vs. Devon Alexander, Paul Williams vs. Erislandy Lara), it is in the interest of both fighters to make a solid statement and dominate, leaving nothing up to the judge’s imagination. Even though the fight will be taking place in Las Vegas, which can be considered neutral territory to both fighters, it will be seen as “home soil” for Judah. This will make things tougher on the young British fighter who will have to land a few more punches and leave a substantial mark if he wants to win a unanimous decision. Khan’s, who has great respect and faith in his trainer Freddie Roach, has insisted that he has a concrete game plan that he is going to implement for the bout with the Brooklyn native Judah.
This is a big fight for both boxers and hopefully an exciting one for boxing fans, who are often left scratching their heads after “all-hype” fights that are setup for money-making purposes as opposed to crowd pleasing and competitive entertainment. If fans are fortunate enough to be spared head butts (lefty vs. righty combinations often lead to head butting) and poor score-card decisions, there is no reason why this fight can’t be a thriller like Khan vs. Maidana (2010). For Khan, a victory could mean the beginning of a legitimate legacy while a victory for Judah can mean the icing on the cake of a respectable boxing career. On July 23rd, one boxer will leave Las Vegas a unified champion with two title belts.
As a UK boxing fan this scares me. Khan is our champ and we are losing World title fights quicker than Rupert Murdoch is losing newspapers. Judah is more dangerous than Maidana and has the power of a Prescott. Khan will have to box better than he has boxed before and has at least acknowledged this.
I think it will go beyond the sixth round and am hoping for a unanimous decision for Khan or he stops Judah late on. My worry is that Judah, with all of his experience takes Khan’s belt and Khan has to find another way towards a Mayweather fight… It’s a hard one to call and, after some damp squibs this year in terms of contests from the UK, perhaps the best we can hope for is a really explosive fight.