Body Blows: Judah/Mayweather Fight, Judah/Mayweather Melee, and The New Tyson.

Columns, News, Results

A funny thing happened during the Zab Judah/Floyd Mayweather Jr welterweight title fight: a fight broke out. Mayweather had taken control of the fight and in the 10th round, Zab Judah showed his frustration. In what was his most effective combination of the fight, Zab Judah landed a crisp left hook to the balls followed by a clean right hook to the back of Floyd’s head. Cheap shots happen in boxing and referee Richard Steele started to break things up. Floyd’s uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, would have no part of Steele’s brand of justice. Roger decided to enter the ring and went after Judah. To keep this as a family affair, Zab Judah’s father and trainer, Yoel Judah, entered the ring to intercept Roger. Ah, but it was all a ploy. Zab used the distraction to connect with a cheap shot on Roger. About this time, both corners and security were in the ring.

Cooler heads would prevail, which means Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather could have retaliated or he could have head-hunted for the final two rounds, leaving himself open to a counter from Judah. Floyd kept his composure and refused to stoop down to Judah’s level. Before the melee broke out, Floyd Mayweather Jr showed exactly why he is the best pound-for-pound boxer today. His gameplan was simple, work the body early and dispose of the weary fighter in the late rounds. Judah ran out of energy by the sixth round. Now Floyd was free to hit Zab as he pleased.

<

It will be interesting to see where Floyd Mayweather Jr goes from here. Antonio Margarito was hoping to face the winner of the Judah/Mayweather fight. Floyd may use Margarito’s drawing power as an excuse to not fight him. However, if they do get in the ring, it should be an amazing matchup. Ricky Hatton is another name being tossed around for Mayweather. Hatton is hoping to get some fights in before tackling Floyd but this would be a good matchup as well. Hatton would certainly make Mayweather work to win the rounds as The Hitman’s motor never seems to stop.

The loss did nothing to hurt Zab Judah. The melee probably helped Judah’s drawing power as he is turning into a Tyson-esque entity. This isn’t the first time a ring-riot broke out in a Judah bout. Judah’s fight with Kostya Tszyu in 2001 was stopped when Judah couldn’t keep his balance after getting up from a knockdown. Judah went after the ref on several occasions and the ring filled with security. So here you go folks, Zab Judah is YOUR NEW Mike Tyson. He’s powerful, riot-inciting, and as a result, will always be captivating to the audience.

Results From Last Week

– Verno Phillips defeated Juan Carlos Candelo by unanimous decision.

– Middleweights Antwun Echols and Mohammad Said fought to a draw.

– Mike Arnaoutis knocked Mike Walker out in the first round. Arnaoutis’ next fight is against Vivian Harris in July.

– Nate “The Galaxxy Warrior” Campbell lost a split decision to Isaac Hlatshwayo in ESPN’s Friday Night Fights main event. Campbell’s career has been on a roller coaster lately and this close loss takes him a couple steps away from a World title.

– Julio Cesar Chavez Jr knocked out Tyler Ziolkowski with a body shot in the second round. Chavez Jr is now 25-0-1.

– Juan Diaz successfully defended his WBA Lightweight Title against Jose Miguel Cotto. This was an exciting brawl between two undefeated fighters but Diaz emerged victorious via unanimous decision.

– Jorge Arce knocked Rosendo Alvarez out in the sixth round with a hook to the body. Alvarez was likely distracted by either Arce’s pure ugliness or the fact that Arce came to the ring with a lollipop and a cowboy hat.

– Featherweight Vlademir Pereira gained an easy unanimous decision victory over Yuri Romanovich.

Jockscraps – The Stories They Won’t Tell

NBA Officials Rule Disingenuous Smile A Form Of Taunting

In an effort to boost sportsmanship in the NBA, officials have made their definition of ‘taunting’ more detailed. Referees have been told to call a technical foul if they ever see a player doing any of the new actions now considered taunting. Under the revised rule, free throw antics disguised as symbols of love to a player’s family is now considered taunting. Jason Kidd and Doug Christie were not happy to hear this news and both plan to appeal.
Players are now not allowed to make eye contact with anyone on the opposing team within three seconds of scoring a basket. The NBA’s intention is to stop any trouble before it can ever begin.

The revision gaining the most criticism is the one that doesn’t allow disingenuous smiles from players. Commissioner David Stern supports the rule and doesn’t want players smiling if they aren’t really happy. “As the kids say,” adds Stern, “we’ve got to keep it real.”

Some players were asked to comment on the new rules and opinions on the changes have been varied. Mark Madsen of the Minnesota Timberwolves likes the changes. “I hate when players dunk on me, block my shot, steal the ball from me, or drive passed me when I’m playing tough defense,” Madsen says. “I want to congratulate the player for making a nice play but he’s already started making me feel bad. That is unsportsmanlike and not the NBA that I want to be a part of. If a player laughs after he scores on me, it gives people the impression that I can’t play basketball well.”

Other players, such as Knicks guard Steve Francis, are fed up with executives making changes to a game that was fine to begin with. “These old guys in suits are trying to turn the players into robots. Take all the personality away from the players. I don’t know when they will be happy, if ever?”

Finally, some players are totally confused about what is going on. Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag asks, “what does disingenuous mean?”

Spit Bucket

Who is your favorite boxer? This could be past or present. This could be Bald Bull or Tony Danza’s character from Taxi, just say something. I will post the findings of this poll next week, provided anyone responds. If no one responds, I will pretend as if I didn’t ask for feedback and create a blissful ignorance for myself to live in. Send the love to buddhabean316@yahoo.com.

Tom Gubitosi summarizes a hectic week of sports in the Weekly Sports Pulse.

Aaron Cameron reviews Ghostface Killah’s newest album Fishscale. Does anything on this disc supplant “All That I Got Is You” as my favorite Ghostface song? Only I really know the answer to that, but read it anyway.

In The Scorecard, Rokk predicted Judah would catch Mayweather with a hook in the 10th round. Technically, Rokk was correct but I’m sure he didn’t mean Roger Mayweather.