|
From the outset, this was Zab Judah's fight to lose. While Tszyu was recognized as the bigger puncher and more experienced boxer, Judah's gigantic advantage in handspeed made him the clear favorite (3-1 by Vegas bookmakers). In the opening round, an intense looking Judah used that speed to establish an early lead. As Tszyu began his perpetual forward motion, Judah moved side to side, stopping occasionally to trade jabs. Judah's stick landed first each time, causing Tszyu's nearly simultaneous jabs to veer off course. One early Judah jab snapped Tszyu's head to the side and drew a gasp from the Vegas crowd. Then, midway into the opening frame, Judah planted his feet and unleashed a blinding left uppercut that drilled the underside of Tszyu's chin as he came walking in. The punch snapped Tszyu's head back and sent a jolt through his legs. Tszyu at first tried to clinch, but then found himself backing up quickly across the ring under a barrage of Judah swings. Tszyu ate a few glancing shots as he retreated in a straight line, and then absorbed another flush Judah left on the jaw when the ropes halted his backpedaling. Tszyu finally grabbed Judah's arms and initiated a clinch. After the break, Tszyu only had a few seconds to collect himself before Judah was all over him again. Judah was overflowing with confidence now, and expertly ducked a lead right before coming back with a left-right-left combination. Judah's hands were too fast to avoid, and Tszyu was again forced to try for a clinch. But Judah kept swinging his arms, and a short burst of punches inside reversed Tszyu's attempt to break the tempo. Another dazzling Judah left cracked Tszyu on the jaw, sending him again reeling across the ring on his heels. Judah gave chase, landing a glancing shot with each step forward. Tszyu crashed into the ropes yet again and absorbed several more heavy shots as Judah came into range. Things were not looking good for Tszyu.
Tszyu made adjustments immediately. He rushed at Judah when the bell rang to open round two, landing a solid left hook as the men came together. After a quick clinch, both men began fighting differently. Tszyu began jabbing and hooking off his jab with surprising effectiveness. For his part, Judah looked like a different fighter. It was as if he had proved to himself in the first round that he could beat Tszyu, and now all he had to do was claim the prize. Where Judah's hands were high and his eyes were locked on Tszyu in the first, Judah now dropped his hands and floated away from Tszyu in a casual fashion. The change in both men lead to a completely new fight. Judah would later admit that he consciously slowed down the pace of the fight in the second, having felt that he was doing too much, too soon. It was a major error. Judah's jab was still fast, but it lacked the hard-pumping intensity of the first round. As a result, Tszyu's jab started getting to it's target first. And after Tszyu effectively touched Judah's face with a quick hook thrown off some jabs, Judah began moving more and throwing less. Judah spent most of the second round on cruise control, gliding left, then right, only barely avoiding Tszyu's attempts to trap him in a corner. Judah's output was now limited to the occasional one-two, and a more cautious Tszyu repeatedly took a half step back and watched the punches miss short. In fact, Judah didn't really land a solid punch on Tszyu at any time in the second round. Tszyu was having more luck. In addition to the hooks off the jab, Tszyu landed some solid body shots and some nice lead right hands. Judah was usually taking these punches because he was lazy, often catching a solid shot as he spun off the ropes with his guard lowered. Tszyu patiently stalked Judah, coming forward, setting the pace, and landing the only blows. And then, in a flash, it was over.
Judah leapt to his feet, but he was not well. His legs were quivering and his two knees and two feet seemed to be pointing in four different directions. Referee Jay Nady picked up the count at three as a seriously dazed Judah tried to signal that he was fine. But he was not fine. Judah was leaning at a 70 degree angle over the canvas and his face looked blank. Judah tried to take a step forward, but his feet were literally shaking out from under him. He staggered a few semi-steps forward, then fell flat on his face. Nady's count had reached five, but when Judah collapsed, Nady waved the fight over. Judah pushed himself up again and looked ready to stagger back a third time before Nady grabbed his gloves and tried to tell him that the fight had been stopped. Within a few seconds, Nady's message got through. Judah snapped out of his stupor and into a rage. He shoved Nady, and stormed across the ring where his father and handlers had to forcibly restrain him. Tszyu KO2.
But Judah's protests must fall on deaf ears. While Jay Nady has a reputation for quick stoppages, this was not one of them. Judah was seriously hurt, and almost certainly wouldn't have been able to demonstrate his ability to continue once Nady reached the mandatory eight three seconds later. A fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round, and the fact that Judah was facing a one-minute break should be irrelevant. Judah was flailing around the ring because he had not only been tagged with a perfect right hand, but he had been tagged with that heavy right with no guard and while leaning back. Any fighter would have been knocked out by such a punch. And so, Kostya Tszyu (now 28-1-1/23) became the undisputed junior welterweight champion. In the post-fight interview, Tszyu was asked about a rematch with Judah. Given Judah's protest of the stoppage, a do-over seems like a natural. But Tszyu didn't seem so eager. Citing Judah's pre-fight claims that there would be no rematch and that "winner takes all," Tszyu hinted that Judah would have to live by his own decree. And while it might seem like the financial incentive for a rematch would be too great for Tszyu to pass up, one only need ask Vince Phillips about how easy it is to get Tszyu into the ring twice. With no one left in the junior welterweight division, Tszyu could move up to full welter for a shot at bigger money and bigger opponents. Tszyu-Forrest has a nice ring to it.
.....Chris Bushnell |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|