Former champ and one-time pound-for-pound entrant Zab Judah made news recently as it was reported how the Brooklyn southpaw was “giving back” by working as a nurses assistant, treating patient suffering from dementia. Judah was said to feel both humbled and proud by his efforts.
But as good a Samaritan as “Super” Judah has proven to be, his fighting days may not yet be over. According to a post on Mike Tyson’s twitter page (Tyson and Zab being good friends), as well as a statement of intent from Judah himself: “Just because they can’t do it never let them tell you what you can’t do – 6X champion of the world,” he wrote – the comeback is on for January.
But can Judah, 43-9(30) make it back at top level? Last seen beating the 12-7 Jorge Luis Munguia in January of this year – this win coming after two straight defeats, to Danny Garcia (L UD) and Paulie Malignaggi (L UD) – Zab won okay but he didn’t look to be anything like the same force he once was. Now aged 40, the former super-lightweight and welterweight champ has kept himself in good shape, never ballooning in weight the way some fighters do during a layoff, and he remains hungry.
It will be interesting to see who Judah fights in January (BoxRec have him down as returning to action on the 27th of the month) and at what weight. As fans know, today’s welterweight division is crammed full of top talent and it would be some incredible feat by Zab if he were to realise his dream of becoming a six-time world champion by seeing off a Keith Thurman, an Errol Spence or even a Jeff Horn or, if he upsets Spence in January, Lamont Peterson.
Still, Judah is a big name and he has retained his fans. It is to be hoped that the veteran, who faced the absolute best during his great days, does not get hurt. It was back in 2012 when Zab last scored a significant win – his TKO over a 26-0 Vernon Paris – and he has been stopped three times in his nine defeats.
He will of course be facing two opponents in his return: his actual ring opponent and Father Time.