Zab Judah and trainer Pernell Whitaker are sounding extremely confident ahead of Saturday's fight in Las Vegas against Amir Khan, and gave The Daily Star some good quotes:

[Judah]: "Amir is an assassin with plenty of speed and power. But whatever he brings to the table, I know I can deal with it because of my experience. I have been where he has been and I am ready and focused for this fight, believe me. I am ready for whatever Khan tries to do."

Judah’s trainer Pernell Whitaker is also super confident his man will not be troubled by the Bolton belter. He said: "If Zab does what I know he can do he should not have a problem at all with Khan.’’

Though I make Khan a strong favorite for reasons that seem obvious to me and some others, and not so obvious to others who either (A) buy the hype about Judah's comeback, or (B) don't think Khan is all that good, I do like Judah's confidence level. It seems very real. He's not talking trash (well, a little, but not much), he's not running down Khan, he's not even really talking himself up. He just seems truly convinced that he's the skills to beat Amir Khan and that Khan isn't yet ready for someone of his caliber and experience. Whitaker is on the same vibe here -- it's true confidence and belief, not overplayed big talk.

Bad Left Hook will of course have more on Khan vs Judah all week leading up to the big fight on Saturday night, live on HBO in the United States and Premier Sports in the UK.