By James Slater – Amir Khan, looking extremely close to his peak, put on a dazzling performance against Zab Judah last night in Vegas. Way, way too fast for the IBF 140-pound champ, WBA “King” Khan never allowed Zab to get anything close to a foothold in the fight. No slouch himself in the hand speed department, the 33-year-old New Yorker looked a frustrated, even demoralised figure by the 4th and 5th-rounds and, once again in his up and down career, Zab appeared to look for a way out of a fight that was not going his way.
Hit with a right hand to the head that made him bend at the waist, “Super” Judah was then hit right smack on the belt line with a second right hand. Calling the blow an illegal shot as he did, Zab will have won over no fans. His trunks up high anyway, Judah was simply hit with a legal shot; despite what he said to Max Kellerman afterwards..
Judah, upon seeing the big-screen replay of the ending in the 5th, said “that’s self explanatory, baby.” It sure was, Zab was KO’d! Judah also stated that he is “still here.” And we must now look ahead and ponder the future of both fighters.
For 24-year-old Khan, the sky really does appear to be the limit. Possessing the blindingly fast speed of hand that will make him a threat to absolutely anyone (including Floyd Mayweather Junior – indeed, is Khan even faster than the sublime, undefeated master?), Khan is fast running out of adequate challengers at 140, that‘s for sure. Timothy Bradley’s name was mentioned a lot during last night’s broadcast from The Mandalay Bay, and “Desert Storm,” the number-one ranked light-welterweight according to The Ring, seems to be the obvious choice when it comes to Khan’s next ring rival. But does Bradley want the fight as much as he once seemed to? Certainly, Khan, Freddie Roach and Richard Schaefer think not.
The plan is for Khan to fight again in December (two dates are being kept on hold, Team-Khan stated last night), but if it’s not going to be Bradley, who will it be in the opposite corner? There has been a fair amount of talk about Erik Morales, but to my mind this would be an awful fight – for “El Terrible” and for his fans, and maybe for Khan also. No way will the ageing Mexican legend be able to cope with Khan’s sizzling speed, and only Erik’s incredible courage will keep him in the fight. I can see Khan busting Morales up, bewildering him with his laser-like combinations and either scoring a painful TKO or forcing Morales’ corner to throw in the towel. But would the sight of him administering a beating over a modern day hero backfire on Khan? Would he actually lose some of the U.S/Mexican fans he is attempting to gain with a pointless, one-sided affair with Morales?
As is always the case with Khan, Breidis Prescott’s name also came up last night. And if Khan’s former conqueror can get past former victim Paul McCloskey in September, maybe we will see a return of the September 2008 fight. Certainly, I’d be far happier about this fight compared to Khan-Morales. Former world bantamweight king Wayne McCullough, doing commentary for U.K network Prime Time, suggested a Khan-Marcos Maidana II. “He [Maidana] deserves it,” Wayne said. And if (and it’s a big if in my opinion) “El Chino” can get past the talented Robert Guerrero next month, maybe the drum will be sufficiently banged to make a sequel of that great December 2010 battle? But will Khan want any more of the hard-hitting Argentine?
Guerrero would be a great rival for Khan if he gets past Maidana, but this too would perhaps be looked at as a too risky fight for the growing star who is aiming for a mega-match with Mayweather next year. Roach himself even suggested that Mayweather “could be next,” if “Money” gets past Victor Ortiz. Again, the sky looks to be the limit for Khan – as long as he avoids any slip-ups. Whoever it is he fights in December, Khan will have the fans tuning in.
As for Zab, he sounds as though he wants to fight again, and at a certain level he could still be a force. But his superstar days passed long ago, and last night’s loss ended any hopes he had of regaining them