Zab Judah: “When I went in against Matthysse, me and my team knew that I was going to beat him. Golden Boy thought I was going to be a stepping stone, so they sacrificed one of their pawns. Now they’re going to come back and sacrifice one of their queens. It’s check mate baby, you know it is!”
“I plan to be his (Amir Khan’s) worst nightmare. After this fight I plan on Team Khan having a 62 hour watch on Amir Khan. I plan on being the Freddie Cougar of his dreams. I plan on being Freddie Cougar to Freddie Roach. I’m pretty sure after this fight Freddie Roach would never put his golden boy and marquis fighter, which is Manny Pacquiao, against me in the ring.”
Over the past five years, “I grew up a lot. It’s not just about age, its maturity. It took me a little more time to figure things out. Now I am alive and alert and I have the great Pernell Whitaker in my corner. Having him in my corner exempts the whole Freddie Roach thing. Now I have not only a masterful trainer, but I have a masterful fighter too. Freddie Roach has a great game plan when it comes to boxing training, but as a fighter he wasn’t that masterful. I have not only a masterful fighter but a great teacher, so I have the edge.”
“Pernell Whitaker and Zab Judah is something like a movie. We started out together when he was still fighting and it turned out to be a great thing. We are now working side by side with each other. He’s my right-hand man! He’s pouring on all the great skills and accomplishments that he’s done in his boxing career. It’s phenomenal. He’s good at what he does.”
A win against Khan would mean: “For the most part it unifies the division; it’s a closer step to undisputed. I also think Amir Khan is a good boxer. He has fast hands, decent power, but I think it’s a sacrifice move what Golden Boy did here with Amir Khan, and I think he (Khan) will realize this once the bell rings.”
“I’m from Brooklyn, I don’t have problem taking the the long, hard, grinding road. I wasn’t the golden boy. I wasn’t the guy always in the light, the guy always first picked, but somehow I made my way back to the top with the thanks of Main Events and Super Judah Promotions. It says a lot to come out of the ’96 team of great fighters, and to be one of about 2 of those fighters still standing on the championship level.”
“Main Events has done a great job with me. It’s a good feeling. I have a strong team. We’re the underdogs going up against what they would call wolves, they do their jobs, I do my job, and we got a successful plan going on. I think we won’t be stopped.”
“July 23rd is about this: what can you bring as far as your skills; what can you bring as far as far your brains; what can you bring as far as your knowledge of boxing; what can you do inside that square ring; what do you do when you look across that ring and there’s a hungry lion named Zab “Super” Judah looking you dead in the eye, anxious for the bell to go bing?’ You either fold or you play cards. I’m going to play to win.”
Kathy Duva: “Zab is being under-estimated. Everybody keeps talking about Zab being old, but he’s not old and I don’t know why people think he is. If you look at the top ten best pound for pound fighters in the world you’ll find that the vast majority of them are older than Zab. He’s experienced. He started professional boxing at an age much younger than most professional fighters. There’s nothing wrong with experience. If you look at the history of boxing, generally the young talented fighters have run into a problem the first time they meet up with an experienced fighter in his prime. That’s the real test. Lots of guys can come up and win titles, there are lots of titles that are available, but when you get in that first fight against that really experienced fighter, that’s the real test. That’s the test that Matthysse was not able to pass, and now Kahn is going to have to deal with the same thing. That’s why we like this fight, that’s why we like Amir Kahn as an opponent for Zab, because we believe that Zab is going to take him to school.”
Khan vs. Judah, a 12-round World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Lightweight World Championship Unification fight, is presented by Main Events and Golden Boy Promotions in association with Super Judah Promotions and Khan Promotions. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins 7/23 at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets priced at $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
In the United Kingdom, the event will be broadcast live on Primetime Pay-Per-View,channel 480 on Sky for £14.95. For fans who want to travel to Las Vegas to see the fight live, Team Khan has teamed up with leading Thomas Cook brand Flexibletrips to provide a range of tailor-made travel packages for fans who want to be there in person. Packages include flights, hotel rooms and fight tickets. More information is available at www.amirkhan2vegas.com or by calling 0844 8798298.
Mike Jones ready for Munoz on Saturday
Unbeaten Mike “Machine Gun” Jones (24-0, 18 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA, who meets Raul Munoz (21-13-1, 16 KOs) from Leon, Mexico, on Saturday, June 25 at South Philly Arena (7 West Ritner St.), is primed to make a great showing for his hometown fans.
“Anytime I’m home I want to put my best effort forth to show all of the Philadelphia fans that I’m one of the best out there,” said Jones, who will be fighting at home for the first time in more than two years. “I want to please the fans and be a fan-favorite fighter.
“He’s (Munoz) got two hands just like me. He has 16 knockouts. You gotta look out for him. If I stick to the game plan and stay poised, great things will happen. I want to give my fans a spectacular showing.”
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FOR MORE ON MIKE JONES AND TRAINER VAUGHN JACKSON, VISIT YOUTUBE:
MIKE JONES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb-xgmPdOsE
VAUGN JACKSON: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n02TaQpzDZo
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The Jones-Munoz fight, promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc., Top Rank, Inc. and Joe Hand Promotions, is part of the TOP RANK LIVE! series which will be televised live by Fox Sports Net beginning at 10 pm EST. The first of six additional fights begins at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets for the June 25 Jones-Munoz fight are priced at $75 and $50, are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922). They also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com and will be available on fight night at the South Philly Arena.
Welsh wonders win two Golds in a historic day for GB Boxing at the European Championships in Turkey
WELSH WONDERS Andrew Selby and Fred Evans both won Gold in a historic day for GB Boxing at the European Championships in Ankara. Barry Flyweight, Selby took the 52Kg crown with a 13-10 victory over Russia’s Georgy Balakshin. Cardiff’s Evans was rarely troubled in the Welterweight final as he outpointed Mahamed Nurudzinau of Belarus, 15-9.
Liverpool’s Tom Stalker had to settle for Silver after a frustrating 18-10 loss to Ray Moylette of Ireland.
A bronze for Croydon teenager, Charlie Edwards, in yesterday’s Light flyweight semi-final means GB Boxing comes away with a historic, four medal haul of two Gold, one Silver and a Bronze.
The Gold medals won by Selby and Evans are only the second and third won by British boxers in the last 50 years and follow Luke Campbell’s triumph at the 2008 European Championships in Liverpool.
GB Boxing’s Performance Director, Rob McCracken said: “The European Championships is just about the toughest assignment in the amateur boxing calendar so to come away with two Gold, one Silver and a Bronze is fantastic performance and augurs very well for the World Championships later this year and the Olympics in 2012.
“The medal winners have all boxed fantastically well throughout the week and thoroughly deserve their rewards. Once again, the team has performed superbly at a major Championship and shown that we can hold our own against the world’s top amateur boxing nations.”
Fred Evans said: “I had a very tough Russian in the semis then I had a tough Georgian in the final so I knew I had to be up for it. I’ve been preparing for weeks for this tournament and everything’s gone to plan this week. I just got my head down and trained hard and got fitter. I’m early career in the seniors so when I moved up from juniors I was still in the same routine. But now I’ve been in training camps sparring with older guys and I’m really feeling the benefit and realising what I can do.”
Andrew Selby said: “It’s a dream come true. I stuck to the tactics and it paid off. I trained really hard for this tournament and got my weight down properly with the help of all the support staff. It’s a massive boost and it’s given me the confidence that I can win the worlds now. I’ve just got to keep doing the weight and keep my head.”
Details of all today’s bouts are below.
52kg: Andrew Selby v Georgy Balakshin (Russia)
Gold for Selby! 13-10
Another fantastic display from Selby and the gold medal a just reward for first draw performances throughout the tournament. Andrew edged into a 3-1 lead at the end of the first. The second round was equally cagey and Andrew used patience rather than his trademark quickfire shots, but his patience was rewarded in the last as the openings arrived and Andrew boxed to a 13-10 win and the gold medal.
64kg: Tom Stalker v Ray Moylette (Ireland)
Tom wins silver (18-10 to Ireland)
Despite a great effort in which Tom threw the far greater number of punches, the Irishman’s tight defence and isolated shots was enough to deprive Tom of the gold. Tom was unlucky to go into the second round only level pegging at 5-5, and then the Irishman pulled away to lead 12-8 at the end of the second. In these championships that has been too much to claw back, and Tom has to settle for the silver medal which was the least he deserved.
69kg: Fred Evans v Mahamed Nurudzinau (Belarus)
Fred wins gold! 15-9
Fred wins gold in his first senior major championship. Fred was always the stronger boxer physically and technically. Gaining a 4-2 at the end of the first Fred just ground down his opponent who simply couldn’t back into the contest thwarted by Fred’s intransigence and telling blows.
A great performance from the team, and especially the boxers. To come away with two gold medals, a silver and a bronze is another fantastic achievement.