Praying For A Good Fight, Uncertain It Will Be Answered

Since discovering His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ just a few years ago, Zab Judah has undergone some monumental changes both in and outside the ring.

Since finding Christ, it’s almost as if Judah’s had a another man in the ring fighting alongside him, or a fourth man in his corner — perhaps he was an ex-carpenter.

Things have seemed to have gone just right for Judah since the beginning of his resurrection.

In a way, Zab Judah is the R. A. Dickey of boxing. That is to say, like an old MLB pitcher who lost his stuff, Judah, like Dickey, has had to reinvent himself in order to resurrect his careers. Judah’s by looking in the mirror and becoming a more mature human being (as well as a re-dedicating himself to his craft); and Dickey by learning how to throw a nasty knuckleball.

Both are great stories. Both are above average talent. But both aren’t going to make the All-Star Team.

There are many people, including many members of the media, who love Judah in this fight. Don’t count me amongst them.

Sure it’s a great story — the man who hit rock bottom with a loss to Carlos Baldomir reinvents his entire career to reign supreme in one of boxing’s deepest divisions. It would be remarkable. I just don’t see it happening.

Here’s why.

I sat ringside for Judah’s fight against Lucas Matthysse. I had Matthysse winning the fight by one point. The judge’s disagreed, Judah walked away with the win. No arguments from me, it was a close fight.

In his next fight against Kaizer Mabuza, Judah unleashed all hell on his South African counterpart in round seven and scored a TKO victory. That seventh round came after some really shaky early rounds. Heading into the seventh round, I had Judah losing that fight as well.

Had him losing against Matthyse, losing against Mabuza before he righted the ship in the seventh.

On Saturday night, Amir Khan certainly won’t start as late as Matthysse (just remember that crippling body shot he delivered to Chino Maidana in the first stanza of their twelve round brawl). Khan will use his blazing hand speed to overwhelm Judah, much like he did Paulie Malignaggi. I guess what remains to be seen is if Khan fade late again like he did against the aforementioned Maidana.

If so, maybe Judah catches Khan being sloppy, but I doubt it. Under the guidance of Coach Roach, I don’t think Khan makes the same mistake twice. Once he establishes an early lead on the scorecards, my guess is Khan rides his bike to the win. He doesn’t want a Maidana round 10 all over again.

While I expect Khan to win big, I’m am hoping Judah lands that signature left uppercut square on Khan’s jaw. Let see if it really is made of glass.

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Just for fun, Las Vegas thinks Tomasz Adamek has a better shot at beating Vitali Klitschko than Zab Judah does of defeating Amir Khan on Saturday. Tomasz Adamek is +300 against Dr. Iron First, while Judah is an even bigger underdog against Khan at +350.

Like Austin Powers, I also like to live dangerously, so I’m going to stay on “5” — I’ll take the favorite, I’m going chalk…I’m laying the points.

Kyle Kinder can be reached via Twitter @KyleKinder.