09.04.06 – By Lee Hayes, PHOTOS: DAVID WARR / Don King Productions – Bullies have been around in the sport of boxing since the very first day men started exchanging blows. It’s natural for a man that likes to hurt or harm others to drift towards a “legal” way to beat the living hell out of another. In fact, not only is it natural, but bullies have always had a place in boxing, and they often attract huge followings. Aggressors like John L. Sullivan, “Sailor” Tom Sharkey and Stanley Ketchel were notorious for fist fights and punching any man that looked at them with the whatever they conceived to be an insult. Every generation of boxing has had them. From Jack Sharkey and Rocky Graziano, all the way up to Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Roberto Duran and Mike Tyson.
Intimidation gives a boxer a huge psychological advantage over his opponent. Sending fear in to another fighters mind is just as devastating as a perfect body blow or a concussion to the brain. It can freeze an opponent, like many of Mike Tyson’s opposition through out his career. And it can cause the man across the ring from the bully to stay mainly on defense, for fear of his life. Much like most of the men that faced George Foreman in the first round of his run as top enforcer in the heavyweight division. Sometimes a fight can be won before the bell is even rung. No, even before the contracts are signed. Floyd Patterson was so convinced that Sonny Liston was going to beat him that he carried along a disguise in order to leave the ring incognito. Just the grimace out of the corner of “Iron” Mike Tyson right before the bell signifying the start of the first round in any of his early fights, seemed to turn his opponents in to flesh statues. Veritable punching bags, with no hope of a victory.
Bullies have always had their share of successes in the ring. Bullies have always had their share of success in all facets of the world. Corporate, athletics, all the way back to the days of the Neanderthal, aggression has reaped its rewards. But, for every bully that has forced himself to the top of the heap, there are thousands of thoughtful, “regular” folk that dream about seeing them get their just desserts. Nothing is as invigorating as watching a real jerk get a serious beating. I remember in school, there would always be some half evolved troglodyte that wanted to spit in another kids face, or start a fight over nothing on the school ground. They usually terrified the entire grade. But almost in every case I can think of, the school yard bully would go one kid too far. Pick on that one kid that may have appeared peaceful, but in the words of former President Teddy Roosevelt “walk(ed) soft”, but carried a “big stick”. Nothing was more satisfying then, or now to this day, as seeing the bully get the beating he so deserved. Especially at the hands of a better man.
Last night Floyd Mayweather would have made Roosevelt proud. Mayweather, who has always teetered on the line of being a bully and being the good guy has finally matured. Although he never truly was a full fledged “bully” in the true sense, the way a Tyson or Foreman were. He always seemed to be so cocky that his personality and aggressive manor gave the impression of one. The lead up to his fight with Zab Judah was foreshadowing the new, more mature Floyd. A “Pretty Boy” that everyone should be able to appreciate. With the type of pound for pound talent he has, it always seemed like such a waste to see him acting like such a spoiled prima donna. His skills, charm and handsome features made us spellbound as to why he hadn’t transcended the sport in the mainstream, and had to make one wonder why he would intentionally crash his own sure fire cash cow. This was different. Floyd has simply stopped acting like a boy and started finally behaving like a man. Sure, he still trash talks a little, but so did Ali and Ray Leonard.
Leading up to the fight billed as “Sworn Enemies”, it was evident that a new Mayweather had arisen. He regularly paid Judah much respect, and whenever he was encountered with huge criticisms about Zab’s qualifications for the fight, he pointed out that he did not think Zab should have been taken as lightly as he was. He was right in that sense. Judah has always possessed world class skills. He simply has never possessed world class…well, class. None the less, the trash talking spoiled fistic genius, that used to enrage boxing writers and fans with his rants and verbal abuse seemed to have evolved. Yeah, he’ll probably slip back here and there, as did Leonard and Ali now and then, but all indications are that Mayweather has grown up, and the rest of the pugilists, from 135lbs to 160 had better pay attention. Without the hissy fits and regular self induced distractions, such as Floyd’s former legal problems getting in the way, Mayweather is going to be handing out a few things instead of meaningless insults. Lollipops and ass whuppins’ are the new products on the menu, and he’s all out of lollipops. We as boxing fans are the benefactors.
Zab Judah on the other hand is just the same old trick. He’s used his intimidation to get him as far as he’s going to go. He has done everything in his power to promote a “gangsta” bad ass image, and unfortunately for him, he has succeeded. He’s constantly tried to remind us that he’s a baddest mother on the planet, and it’s no coincidence that it’s the same game plan as Sharkey, Sullivan and so on and so on. Like Tyson against Buster Douglas, being the “Baddest man on the planet” can never ever live up to being the bravest. The tone was set when half of Judah’s camp entered the ring walk with bandana’s covering everything but their eyes. Whether they were trying to look like “gangsta’s” or “Taliban executioners”, the message was clear. Intimidation. Like on the school ground, there will always be that one kid. That one individual who is not prepared to allow some jerk to push him around or intimidate him. Mayweather vs Judah looked a lot like Tyson vs Douglas. Just like Tyson, Judah used his intimidation combined with his hand speed and power to worry Floyd and to win the first two rounds. Also like the Douglas fight, you couldn’t help but feel that Zab might get his way, simply by bullying Mayweather with his aggression, (although it seemed surreal, because Floyd is by no means as mediocre as “Buster” proved to be). But just like “Gentleman” Jim Corbett stood up to the great John L. Sullivan nearly 115 years ago, and just like Muhammad Ali did with “Big” George Foreman roughly 85 years after the Corbett bout, Mayweather rose above the fray and laid a serious beat down on Zab Judah.
That didn’t stop Zab from trying though. Bullies die hard. Luckily the only people intimidated by Team Judah’s masked faces were probably those that misguidedly bet on Judah to upset Mayweather. It looked that ridiculous.
He continually shot insult after insult at “Pretty Boy”. “Come on b*tch”, over and over. It’s no wonder that Zab is the way he is. His father Joel is no better. It’s clear where Zab got his character. Joel has always acted very similar to his son, and he showed a lot of his true colors last night. “He ain’t nothin’”, and “go after him” combined with whispered instructions of foul tactics that his son should try on Mayweather round after round when it became apparent that Floyd’s talents were far too much for the hooligan tactics they were employing. Joel, much like every other fight Zab has come up short in had very little technical advice. Just more of the same, “get on this b*tch”. But Floyd had the answer in his left and right fists, as well as in his heart, because Judah did sting him with some serious punches.
That is the recipe for defeating a bully. Take all they have and don’t back down. They cheap shot you, you stand in their face and say “I ain’t goin’ nowhere”. It rarely fails, because the one true kryptonite for a rowdy “tough guy” type, is to stand them down. Bullies hate it when you stand up to them. Suddenly their faux bravado and courage abandons them, and the great thing about boxing is, they are left out on the stage naked for us all to witness them get what they deserve. “Just desserts” indeed.
Judah’s flagrant low blow in the 10th round of the fight, followed up by a vicious clubbing right hand to the back of Mayweathers neck, was one of the most classless, cowardly attacks I’ve seen in the ring since Tyson bit chunks off of Evander Holyfield’s ear. Excluding James Butlers assault on Richard Grant in 2001, which was way beyond anything classified as “bullying” and more to do with criminal behavior than boxing. How referee Richard Steele could not penalize or disqualify Judah for such an obvious foul is way beyond me. Judah dipped down at his hips and had Mayweathers groin clearly targeted before he even through the punch. He didn’t hit him on the belt line, he hit him straight in the “family jewels”, and Mayweathers’ trunks were below the navel, so the blow was at least 6 inches low. Maybe you could have argued that it was due to Judah’s decreased stamina from Floyd’s excellent bodywork, but what followed immediately after quells any such allowances. Zab followed the foul up with an equally tasteless clubbing punch to the back of Floyd’s brain stem. His intentions were obvious.
Roger Mayweather, the quiet, yet streetwise uncle of “Pretty Boy” decided unwisely to take matters in to his own hands when he jumped the ring apron and began verbally chastising Zab. Judah would later claim that Roger “threw a punch at him” starting the fray that involved both corners and a ring filled with police men and sheriffs. A replay of the video evidence however showed clearly that Roger was frantically screaming at Zab when Joel entered the ring and threw a right hand punch at Mayweather’s head. That was followed by Zab running at Roger and throwing his own over hand right at Floyd’s trainer. Then all hell broke lose. While all of this was going on, Floyd could have lowered himself to the ghetto style justice, but he did not. He simply stayed calm in a neutral corner awaiting order. Pandemonium had struck and it took several minutes for the fight to be reinstated. The result was Roger being tossed from the arena and both fighters purses being subsequently withheld after the match. Luckily the bout continued. You could not have shown more class or taste than Mayweather did when he finally recovered from the fouls, by walking over to Zab and tapping gloves with him. He repeated the action three times and even went so far as to hug Judah at the beginning of the 11th round. In my opinion, Judah didn’t deserve the courtesy based on his actions.
Floyd would later claim that the disruption that followed the fouls interfered with his flow. Indeed, as it seemed that he was on route to stopping Judah with his one sided beating. It didn’t help that his remaining corner men were so caught off guard by the fracas and scrap that they couldn’t even tell Mayweather what round it was when he continually asked over and over in an exceedingly frantic manner. Luckily the new mature “Pretty Boy” calmed himself. By the end of the 11th round his corner had regained their composure and advised Mayweather away from his plan to “stop him” and convinced Floyd to stick to the game plan. It was the smart thing to do, as Judah’s thuggery in the 10th round was instigated for that exact purpose. It was really his only hope. To get Floyd so angry that he would swing wild so he could take advantage. It was really always his only hope, and the Judah camp knew this. That’s why they acted so un-classy in the build up to the fight, that’s why Team Judah continually hurled insults at Floyd from ringside during the bout, and that’s why Zab kept shoving his forearm and elbows in to the back of Mayweather’s neck whenever they clinched. It’s all a bully has when they are confronted.
The amount of taste and class that Mayweather showed after the fight when HBO’s Larry Merchant tried to bait him in to trashing Judah for his actions were the icing on the cake. He really wanted to KO Zab and I can’t imagine the frustration he must have felt. It was probably similar to that which “The Real Deal” Holyfield felt when he said “Give me my mouth piece, I’m going to knock him out” after Tyson nibbled on his lobes. His opportunity for revenge appeared to be after the fight on the microphone. Instead he complimented Judah and his camp. Holyfield was somewhat similar in his humble decent behavior post Tyson II. It seems that the good guys, the ones that tame the bullies always have that understanding side to them. Like a lion tamer that understands the nature of the beast. Mayweather held no contempt for team Judah and it was very evident that like Ali and Leonard, the “Sworn Enemies” was serious only in his opponents eyes.
If there is anything good to take away from the fight if you are a “Super” Zab Judah fan, it’s that he seriously wobbled and threw off the pound for pound best fighter in the world. The most talented boxer since Sugar Ray Robinson. He showed once again that when he concentrates and gets in to the best shape he is capable of that he is a serious force in the world of boxing. The Judah that was competitive with Floyd for the first 6 rounds of the fight probably would have beat almost any other welterweight on the planet. He could regain a title if he treats all of his opponents as seriously as he does the marquee ones. His post fight interview also showed that underneath, Zab’s probably not a bad guy. He was very honest about Mayweathers skills and his own performance. He’s not as mean and heartless as he would like you to think. Just like most bullies. Foreman, Graziano, Duran and Tyson were all beaten in to a more modest, decent persona after one or two lessons at the hands of a brave few talented men. Particularly Tyson who was a psychopathic bully at some points in his career.
Mayweather claimed after the fight that he fought with a badly damaged right hand that was allegedly injured in the early rounds. He said that it was the reason he couldn’t use it as much as he would have liked, and that he couldn’t put any power on his shots. Lucky for Judah, because he was throwing double and triple rights from the 4th round on, and if he had hit him any harder he might have ended the fight too soon to teach Zab the lesson that so many other pugilistic goons had in the past.
A word to the wise, if you’re a bully (or anyone else for that matter), you had best stay clear of “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather. All indications are that he is new and improved, and he won’t be stocking up on “lollipops” anytime soon.
This writer welcomes your productive comments/suggestions: