By James Slater: Fans have been following with great interest the ongoing negotiations for an Amir Khan-Zab Judah 140-pound unification clash. With WBA champ Khan needing a big name opponent for his July 23rd scrap due to WBC/WBO ruler Tim Bradley not being interested for the time being, newly crowned IBF boss Zab Judah stepped in.
All that was needed was for the two rival champions to come to an agreement regarding the splitting of the purse. Well, according to breaking news that has appeared on Dan Rafael’s Twitter page, the fight has been agreed to, with the fight set for Las Vegas on July 23rd. According to Rafael, Kathy Duva informed him that she and Richard Schaefer informed him that a deal had been reached this morning. The agreed purse split is 55-45 (presumably in Khan’s favour; Rafael never specified).
This is good news. Khan is almost always involved in exciting fights, as is Judah. The two have been engaging in some lively banter via their Twitter pages, yet Khan says the barbs the two have been exchanging are of the good natured variety only. Khan, clearly having a change of heart over the “runner” claims he is reported to have hurled at the Brooklyn southpaw, is now of the belief that the fight will be an exciting one.
Zab had been pushing for the fight to go ahead in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but Vegas won out in the end. This fight is a definite glitzy occasion in the making, though, and Las Vegas seems a perfect setting for it. The winner on July 23rd will walk away with both the WBA and IBF belts, leaving himself in the driving seat for a final, all-the-marbles unification with Bradley. And how big will that fight be now?
At this early stage, and off the top of my head, I would favour the younger, arguably faster Khan to edge Judah in a points thriller – one that could well see both sometimes vulnerable warriors hit the deck. One big question for U.K viewers, though, is will the fight be shown live on Sky Sports, or on Prime Time?
It is to be hoped Khan and his team make up with Sky; as this fight is deserving of the biggest possible T.V audience over here. In the end though, both fighters have to be congratulated for agreeing to get this fight on. Fans will see to it that they find a way to tune in for this one!