Source: Tim Smith (ESPN)

In his win last night, Joshua Clottey suffered a torn bicep that could (and probably would) keep him out of a potential November 1 date with Antonio Margarito, which means that Zab Judah might get the call.

From the Smith article:

Joshua Clottey promised that he would beat Zab Judah, and in doing so, would punish Judah to the point that he'd cry.

 

Two out of three ain't bad.

Clottey battered Judah, busted his nose and sliced open his eye, and won a ninth-round technical decision to take home the vacant IBF welterweight crown at the Palms casino on Saturday.

Clottey did not make Judah cry, though. As a matter of fact, if there was any sorrow after the fight it was on the part of Clottey, who could not cleanly put away Judah, a two-time world champion from Brooklyn, N.Y.

With his gutsy performance against Clottey, Judah (36-6, 25 KOs) remains a credible threat in the welterweight division. And because Clottey sustained a torn bicep in the fifth round of the fight, he might get leap-frogged by Judah in a possible match against Antonio Margarito on Nov. 1 if Clottey isn't healed well enough to take the date.

...

"Whether it was from a punch or a head butt, it didn't matter," [Dr. James] Gane said. "The bottom line is that he [Judah] said he couldn't see."

...

"The whole arena thought I won the fight," Judah said.

Win or lose, it's all the same to Judah -- who still might find himself on the other end of the line when Margarito comes calling for his next opponent.

Let me try to formulate coherent thoughts on how much this stinks.

If, in fact, "win or lose, it's all the same to Judah" is true, then that's pretty lame. Dr. James Gane is wrong, as if the fight was stopped correctly because a punch obliterated Judah's eyelid, it was a TKO for Clottey, and wasn't going to the cards, so that's a poor choice of words by him.

But Judah getting a shot at Margarito? Come on.

And I don't want to hear this stuff about his gutsy performance making him viable. He's not. He loses to every good fighter he faces now, and Margarito would kick his ass around the ring. Last night should have been the downright end of Zab Judah, big time fighter, barring some miraculous career turnaround that made him worthy again.

I understand that Judah can make a fight a little money, but this thing was at the Palms Casino in Vegas, which holds about 2,000 people. Judah's idiotic comments about a room full of his fans thinking he won the fight mean nothing, because the call that led to the decision was terrible in the first place. He was busted open on an uppercut.

Did anyone see Zab trying to defend the headbutt call watching the replay? He wanted to, he tried to, and when he saw himself get punched in the eye and react so poorly in slow motion, he stumbled, went mute, and then talked about what the fans in the arena thought.

Margarito-Judah is such a non-fight that if they try to put that thing on pay-per-view -- and I am sure they will, even though there's a PPV the next week with Calzaghe and Jones -- I will flat-out not lie about the fact that I will watch it on the internet and not pay a single cent for it.

I understand business, I understand money, I understand appeal, but at some point doesn't Zab Judah have to WIN A FIGHT in order to keep getting fights? Jesus, even Oscar de la Hoya has beaten Steve Forbes and Ricardo Mayorga lately, and with Oscar you can make the argument that he is perhaps the greatest money attraction in the history of the sport, period.

Margarito fighting Judah is laughable. If it comes down to no Clottey, take the fight with Paul Williams, which people want to see. Unless the former most feared man in boxing is scared of the ex-most avoided man in boxing -- nay, the world in both cases! -- then there's no reason not to do that. Dan Goossen and Paul Williams are already talking up a big proposal. They want the fight. Margarito's image is that of a man's man who will fight anyone, so make it happen.

Zab Judah doesn't deserve to be in a ring with Antonio Margarito at this point. He does not win fights, and though he's "gutsy" nowadays and gets credit for getting beaten up in a pleasing fashion, he falls apart every time out. You think the pressure and power of Margarito won't break Zab down right quick? Is Zab going to hurt Margarito?

Get serious. He is not a credible threat. He isn't a top ten welterweight anymore. He hasn't beaten a decent opponent in three years. We have to get away from the crap like this that compromises the integrity of the sport. In what other major sport would a guy in Judah's position be given a world title shot? Shouldn't wins and losses mean SOMETHING?

What a sport this can be sometimes.