Boxing

 

Mosley and Judah: The Return

By Don Deane

24.07 - In two consecutive weekends we were treated to the returns of two great former champions. Love him or hate him, Zab Judah is a great fighter, and Shane Mosley is a pound for pounder. The selection of opponents and the conditions of both fighters in the ring provide an excellent contrast as both fighters proved to be wonderful foils for each other.

Zab Judah took the crafty approach to the comeback. People were expecting Judah to come back a shot fighter after being stomped and suspended. He chose wisely and picked a fighter who is at best a fringe contender. Omar Weis has a very awkward style, but is caught with his hands down way too often. He moves a lot, but not effectively, and tends to bounce. Weis has a great chin and can take punishment and will fall into the opponent's role quite easily. All these characteristics were great for Judah. He has the patience to deal with an awkward style, and the speed and power to make a guy pay for having his hands down. Judah also has the stamina to carry out a beating over 10 or 12 rounds if a guy is content to chase him around the ring. The trick is timing. Omar Weis acquitted himself well against Ray Oliveira and Hector Camacho Jr. and those two fights made his stock rise enough to make him look like a tough fight. Judah took advantage of this recent success and top ten ranking to shoot himself back up the charts. Judah isn't ready for another go with Tszyu, but he proved he is still the number 2 man at 140.

On the other end of the spectrum we have Shane Mosley. He didn't make an attempt to find an average fighter on a hot streak. He went courageously back at his conqueror…and got whooped. Shane looked timid and overly defensive. He was moving to the right early in the fight just to make it hard for Forrest to throw the right hand. That isn't a bad tactic if you have already established yourself as the better fighter. If a fighter comes out of the gate and tries to avoid the other mans power punch, it doesn't help him score points and it could contribute to losing early rounds. After Mosley got behind early, he did nothing to try to catch back up. He failed to use his explosive combinations or his trademark formula of speed and accuracy. He could not handle the jab or height of Forrest and fell into clinches because of lack of options. Forrest is definitely the better fighter of the two, but he probably would not handle Mosley as easily if Mosley was a natural welter and not a natural lightweight.

Ironically, Even though Judah won and Mosley lost, they both are in about the same position in their respective divisions. They both are the number 2 men at their weights. And both are impeded by roadblocks that are almost impassable. What happens now is the cool part. I personally would love to see Mosley and Judah fight each other. Mosley probably would win, but if Judah got a few more fights under his belt, he probably would give Mosley a hell of a fight. The only way that would happen is if Judah bypassed Tszyu and jumped to 147. He could clean out Antonio Margarito or Ricardo Mayorga pretty easily, though he wants no part of Vernon Forrest. But with the talk of Mosley moving up to 154 and Forrest trying to unify the division, the chance of a Forrest-Tszyu match-up for all the gold at 147 is the most intriguing thing. That would leave Mosley chasing the De la Hoya-Vargas winner, along with Winky Wright. It would also leave Judah with a wide open chance to take everything at 140 before moving up to 147 for another shot at Tszyu or a go with Forrest.

In the meantime we will probably see Mosley take a little time and then come back hopefully late 2002/early 2003 against a top 10 guy or maybe Mayorga or Piccirillo for a title. If he goes to 154, I think a good choice to get used to the weight would be Bronco McKart or JC Candelo. McKart is the bigger name, but Mosley is big enough that trouncing Candelo wouldn't hurt him. Then he might go after the De La Hoya-Vargas winner. The nice part about 154 is it is loaded both with superstars and up and comers. Wayne Alexander, Kofi Jantuah, Tokunbo Olajide and Kassim Ouma are all going to be great fighters and that division is going to be nuts.

For Judah, I would like to see him fight Ricky Hatton. Also, Diobelys Hurtado would be a great opponent. Hurtado gave Tszyu a lot of problems when they fought, and his counterpunching style would really test Judah. If he chooses the route to Tszyu, a tune up with Randall Bailey or Ben Tackie would give him a shot at a fighter with similar styles as Tszyu. But whatever happens, having Mosley and Judah back in the ring is a plus for boxing fans worldwide.

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