Zab Judah makes short work of Jorge Luis Munguia in ring return

By James Slater - 01/22/2017 - Comments

Former champ and one-time pound-for-pound star Zab Judah returned to the ring last night in Trenton, New Jersey, when he fought for the first time since his 12-round decision loss to Paulie Malignaggi in December of 2013. Closing in on his 40th birthday, Judah still has something to offer.

At least he looked good last night in taking care of journeyman Jorge Luis Munguia of Honduras. Judah was way too fast, powerful and accurate for the 28-year-old, hurting him in the opening session and then dropping and stopping him at 1: 27 of the second-round. Southpaw Judah’s left hand got the job done. Now 43-9(30), Judah will certainly continue his comeback. Mungui, in being stopped for the third time in his career, falls to 12-8(4).

Judah, who weighed-in at 143 for last night’s bout, tried to get a comeback off the ground a while back, only for various problems to derail it. Now he is back and winning again (albeit against limited opposition in Munguia) how far can the Brooklyn man’s comeback go?

Judah has certainly kept himself in shape and has not piled on too much weight at all during his absence from the ring; when Judah has been in the gym, sparring and keeping himself sharp – “I feel like I am a very disciplined fighter,” Zab told ESPN.com. Judah can still make 140, certainly, and it’s probable his best shot at winning any major fight or fights would be to attempt to do so at 140, not 147.

Judah, if he can keep active and notch up a couple more wins, could then get in there with a contender. Obviously, Judah has no chance of landing a fight with the likes of Terence Crawford or Adrien Broner, but it is possible Zab could wind up fighting for a lesser title against a decent if not great fighter.

Judah cannot bring himself to hang ’em up, despite having been a pro for over 20 years and winning major titles at both 140 and 147. The odds are against Judah reigning again but he’s going to try.