Light welterweight Early years Judah made his professional debut as an 18-year-old on September 20, 1996, in
Miami, Florida and defeated Michael Johnson by
technical knockout in the second round. On April 14, 1998, Judah defeated Angel Beltre in the second round. On June 20, 2000, Judah made his first title defense against
Junior Witter in
Glasgow, Scotland. It was an awkward fight for Judah, as Witter rarely engaged in an extended exchange of punches. Witter frequently switched between fighting right-handed and left-handed, making him an elusive opponent. Judah's consistent body punching slowed Witter down, and in the fifth round, Judah caught Witter with a straight left hand that hurt Witter and sent his mouthpiece skittering across the ring. Judah defeated Witter by unanimous decision. Two months later, on August 5, 2000, at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, Judah defeated former IBF Light Welterweight Champion
Terron Millett by fourth-round knockout. Judah was knocked down in the first round from a left hand. Judah rose quickly, and from that point on he dominated the fight. Judah hurt Millett with two
combinations near the end of the first round. In round two, Judah sent Millett down with a right hand to the chin. Millett survived the round, but he was clearly hurt. In round four, Judah charged across the ring and inflicted a series of blows on Millett, knocking him down again. Millett got up, but Judah continued his assault and knocked Millett down again. Millett rose at the count of four, but his legs were unsteady and the referee decided to stop the bout. In his third title defense, Judah stopped Hector Quiroz in the eighth round on October 20, 2000, at
The Palace of Auburn Hills in
Auburn Hills, Michigan. On June 23, 2001, Judah defeated Allan Vester by third-round knockout in his fifth successful defense of the IBF title. In round two, Judah put Vester down to the canvas twice. In the third round, Judah knocked out Vester with a left hand that connected on Vester's temple. Vester went down on his knees and nearly lost his mouthpiece. The referee stopped the fight right before the closing bell. The fight would set up a unification match between Judah and
WBC and
WBA Light Welterweight Champion
Kostya Tszyu, who defeated
Oktay Urkal on the undercard.
Judah vs. Tszyu The much anticipated matchup between Judah and Tsyzu took place on November 3, 2001, at the
MGM Grand in
Las Vegas,
Nevada for the
Undisputed Light Welterweight Championship. Judah entered the fight as a 3-to-1 favorite to win. With 10 seconds left to go in round two, Tszyu landed a right hand clean on Judah's chin and he backed away from Tszyu with his hands down. Tszyu went after Judah, throwing another right hand that landed on his chin and sent Judah crashing to the canvas. Judah jumped up instinctively and tried to signal that he was fine to referee
Jay Nady, but was still very much dazed by the punch – evidenced by him wobbling severely on extremely unstable legs before falling to the canvas a second time. When Judah collapsed, Nady waved the fight over, resulting in a technical knockout victory for Tsyzu and Judah's first professional loss.
Judah vs. Corley After defeating Omar Weis by unanimous decision in July 2002, Judah challenged
DeMarcus Corley for the
WBO Light Welterweight title on July 12, 2003, at the
Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Judah knocked Corley down with a left hand in the third round en route to defeating Corley by
split decision. Judah broke his left hand during the fight. In his only defense of the WBO title, Judah knocked out Jaime Rangel in the first round on December 13, 2003.
Judah vs. Pineda In 2004, Judah defeated the former champion
Rafael Pineda and Wayne Martell by first-round technical knockout dropping him 5 times in the fight .
Judah vs. Spinks II On February 5, 2005, Judah would get a rematch with Spinks at the
Savvis Center in
St. Louis, Missouri, Spinks' hometown. The fight was the first major bout in St. Louis in more than 40 years, and it was a sellout. Judah was the aggressor throughout the fight. He knocked Spinks down to his knees at the bell in the seventh round, but it was not ruled a knockdown. Spinks had a strong start to the ninth round and connected with a left hand, then followed with a right hand and a combination, but Judah scored a knockdown moments later. Judah pressed the attack after the first knockdown and avoided Spinks' desperate efforts to
tie him up. After Spinks was knocked down for the second time, the referee stopped the fight, and Judah became the new
Undisputed Welterweight Champion.
Undisputed welterweight champion Judah vs. Rivera In his first fight as undisputed welterweight champion, he fought
Cosme Rivera on May 14, 2005, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Judah sent Rivera down with a straight left hand to the face less than 30 seconds into the bout. Rivera beat the count, but was knocked down again about 10 seconds later. Judah hit Rivera hard several times in the second round, and in the third round, he connected with a left uppercut, that caused Rivera to stagger backwards and fall into the ropes before hitting the canvas. Rivera rose at the count of five, but he was badly hurt and the referee stopped the fight.
Judah vs. Baldomir His next fight took place on January 7, 2006, at
Madison Square Garden in New York City against
Carlos Baldomir. For Judah, the fight was viewed as a tuneup bout that would lead to a lucrative bout between Judah and
WBC Light Welterweight Champion
Floyd Mayweather Jr., which was tentatively scheduled for April. Judah entered the fight as a 10-to-1 favorite over Baldomir. The stage was set when Judah unsportingly punched Baldomir on the thigh during the prefight introductions instead of touching gloves to show
sportsmanship. The early rounds of the fight were close, but as the rounds passed, Judah was doing less than necessary to win, while Baldomir kept applying pressure on Judah. In round seven, Judah was hurt by a right hand and Baldomir landed a series of right hands to Judah's head along the ropes during the tenth round. Baldomir defeated Judah by unanimous decision with scores of 115–113, 114–113 and 115–112 from the three judges.
The Ring named Baldomir's victory over Judah the
upset of the year for 2006. Judah's IBF and WBA belts were not on the line, because Baldomir did not pay sanctioning fees to the IBF and WBA.
Judah vs. Mayweather With the loss to Baldomir, it appeared that Judah's much anticipated bout with Mayweather was off, but Judah's promoter
Don King and Mayweather's promoter
Bob Arum reworked the deals so the fight would go on. Mayweather was scheduled to earn a minimum $6 million while Judah was to earn $3 million plus a percentage of the profits, but because of Judah's loss, Mayweather earned a minimum $5 million while Judah was guaranteed $1 million plus a percentage of profits above $7 million. The fight took place on April 8, 2006, at the
Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Judah started strongly and put up a valiant fight, at times matching Mayweather's speed and punching precision. It appeared that Judah scored a knockdown in the second round when Mayweather's glove touched the canvas; however, referee
Richard Steele ruled it a slip. In round four, Judah landed a right hand to the head that caused Mayweather to retreat to the ropes and cover up. The momentum changed in the fifth round, when Mayweather hurt Judah with a combination to the face. Then Mayweather landed a right hand on the bridge of Judah's nose, and blood began to flow. The seventh round was the most dominant for Mayweather to that point. Once again, he drew blood from Judah's nose. A combination from Mayweather backed Judah into a corner, and Judah's foot movement was considerably slower than it had been earlier in the fight. With about 10 seconds left in the tenth round, Judah hit Mayweather with a
low blow and followed it with a right hand to the back of Mayweather's head. As Mayweather hopped around the ring in pain, Steele called time to give Mayweather a rest period. Mayweather's uncle and trainer,
Roger Mayweather, climbed into the ring and approached Judah.
Return from suspension On April 13, 2007, Judah made his return to the ring against Ruben Galvan at the
Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel in
Tunica, Mississippi. Judah came out strongly in the first round, landing numerous shots on Galvan. During the round, a bad cut opened near the top of Galvan's head. The referee called for a timeout to allow the doctor to take a look at the cut. Due to the severity of the cut, the fight was waved off. The cut was ruled to be caused by an accidental foul with an elbow and since the fight did not go past four rounds, the fight was ruled a no contest.
Judah vs. Cotto On June 9, 2007, Judah took on WBA
Welterweight Champion
Miguel Cotto in New York City before a soldout crowd at
Madison Square Garden. In the first round, Cotto landed a low blow that put Judah to the canvas. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. offered a stern warning to Cotto. In the third round, Judah took yet another low blow from Cotto, which resulted in Cotto receiving a point deduction. Cotto and Judah delivered an all-action brawl, but after weathering some difficult early rounds as he figured out Judah's southpaw style and adjusted to his speed, Cotto took over the bout. In round seven, both fighters went toe-to-toe and in round eight he hurt Judah several times. In round nine, Judah took a knee to gain a breather from Cotto's aggressive style. By the tenth round, Judah was bleeding from a cut over his right eye and was hurt by an uppercut from Cotto that sent him retreating to the ropes, but Judah stayed upright. Early in the eleventh round, Cotto landed a combination that dropped Judah to the canvas. He managed to get to his feet, but Cotto went after Judah with a relentless attack, turning him sideways along the ropes as he continued to throw punches. That forced the referee to stop the fight.
Light middleweight On November 17, 2007, Judah defeated Ryan Davis by unanimous decision. With the win, he won the vacant
IBC light middleweight title. The fight took place at the Casablanca Casino in
Providenciales,
Turks And Caicos Islands which had an open roof. In the third round it began to rain. Since there was no marquee covering the ring, both fighters continued to fight in the rain. During the third, Judah scored a knockdown on Davis, although he recovered, he went on to lose by a wide margin (119–109, 119–109, 118–110). Judah was scheduled to fight
Shane Mosley on May 31, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, but it was postponed after Judah needed 50
stitches in his right arm after slipping in his bathroom and smashing it through a glass shower door.
Return to welterweight Judah vs. Clottey On August 2, 2008, Judah lost to
Joshua Clottey by
technical decision in a fight for the vacant IBF Welterweight title at the
Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Judah began the busier fighter, showing quick hands and throwing effective combinations behind a
jab. Clottey began steadily closing the distance between himself and his opponent from the third round, landing an increasing number of punches that took their toll on Judah. In round four, Clottey landed an uppercut that caused Judah to lose his balance, and by the end of the round, Judah had blood running down his nose. Judah staged a comeback in the sixth round, In round nine, Judah suffered a cut over his right eye and the fight was stopped after he said he could not see. The referee had ruled the cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads and so the fight went to the scorecards. Two judges scored the fight 86–85 and the other judge scored it 87–84, all in favor of Clottey. but in round three, Judah suffered two cuts from accidental head butts. Finding success with lead right hands and short left hands. Judah won the fight by TKO in the second round. Judah was in line for a fight with
Devon Alexander, after the latter's win against
Juan Urango. He has also been linked to a match with
Timothy Bradley, as he was considered as a possible replacement for
Marcos Maidana. The former undisputed champion publicly challenged both of them on more than one occasion in 2010. Promoter Gary Shaw tried to begin negotiations with Judah for a potential bout in 2010. However, Judah declined the match but promised to fight Bradley and Alexander after a tune-up fight on July 16 at the
Prudential Center in
New Jersey. The Brooklyn native's tune up fight in July was co-promoted by Main Events and Super Judah Promotions. In June 2010, Judah expressed his intention in moving down to the light welterweight division after the upcoming fight, hoping to revitalize his career. His opponent was
Jose Armando Santa Cruz of Mexico (28–4; 17 KO). Judah won the bout by TKO in round three.
Return to light welterweight Judah vs. Matthysse On November 6, 2010, Judah won a
split decision over previously undefeated
Lucas Matthysse in a fight for the vacant regional
NABO Light Welterweight title at the Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey. The former world champion fought in the light welterweight division for the first time in almost seven years. The Brooklyn native began the busier fighter, using the jab and trying to land uppercuts for the first two rounds, while Matthysse worked on the body. In round three, a clash of heads opened a cut outside of the left eye of Judah. Matthysse displayed more aggression and became the aggressor in the third and the fourth round and Judah switched to a defensive tactic. In the next two rounds, the American boxer picked up the pace, beginning to land more combinations. The seventh round was less active but in the eight, Judah landed some hard right counter shots. Judah continued to box throughout the ninth round but Matthysse began to show more power in the tenth, focusing on the head of his opponent and knocking down the American boxer after a hard right hand to the jaw. Judah got up but he was hurt, and the Argentine fighter tried to press the attack after the knockdown. However, Judah held and worked on the defensive and managed to finish the bout. Two judges scored the fight 114–113 for Judah, while the other judge scored it 114–113 for Matthysse.
Second IBF title reign Following the win against Matthysse, negotiations for a fight against
Kaizer Mabuza began. Both sides eventually agreed to a March 5 bout, with the vacant IBF Light Welterweight title on the line. Former champion
Pernell Whitaker joined Judah's training camp to help him prepare for the match. Whitaker said: "I don't train guys to be like me. I help guys to do the things that work for them. If I can teach you how to hit and not get hit, that's a blessing for you. Zab has the same abilities I have, but Zab still has to put it together and do it the way that Zab knows how to do it." On March 5, 2011, Judah defeated Mabuza via technical knockout in the seventh round, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, claiming the IBF title again after almost ten years.
Judah vs. Khan Judah fought
WBA (Super) champion
Amir Khan in a unification bout on July 23, 2011, at
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas. Judah was knocked out by Khan in the 5th round after Khan landed an uppercut body shot. Judah was unable to answer the referee's 10 count, thus recording his 7th career loss. Khan was ahead 40–36 on all three judges score cards at the time of the knock out. Judah was adamant that the body shot should have been called low and claimed that he had been expecting a mandatory five-minute recovery period.
Judah vs Paris After the loss against Amir Khan, Zab Judah started resurrecting his career fighting the undefeated 26–0 prospect Vernon Paris, In the buildup to this fight it was bad blood between the two but when it came to fight night, Judah started out strong and hurt Paris right away in the first round then he slowed down a bit but was still dominant using his handspeed and in the 9th round Judah landed a perfect left hand which hurt Paris and started throwing a flurry of punches which landed, Paris had no response and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
Judah vs. García Judah's next bout was scheduled for February 9 against undefeated
WBC &
WBA (Super) Champion
Danny García at the
Barclays Center in
Brooklyn, but was subsequently rescheduled to April 27, 2013, due to a rib injury sustained by Garcia during training. After a heated week of pre-fight confrontations, fans were expecting something special from Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah. And the fighters delivered, though in an unanticipated fashion. From early on it was clear that the bad blood would not adversely impact the fight, as both men fought strong technical fights. During the early rounds, Garcia steadily pulled ahead, outboxing Judah throughout. Judah was in serious trouble in rounds 5 and 6, then finally went down in the 8th. From there, things took a surprising turn. Never known for his resolve or ability to turn the fight around late, Judah responded to the knockdown by coming on strong down the stretch. Judah took the last 3 rounds, though his deficit from earlier in the fight meant it wasn't enough and Garcia defeated Judah by unanimous decision (115–112, 114–112, 116–111).
Second return to welterweight Judah vs. Malignaggi Judah fought former welterweight titlist
Paulie Malignaggi December 7, 2013 at the Barclays Center for the vacant
NABF welterweight title. Judah started well, winning the first three rounds with a sharp jab, also dropping Malignaggi in the second round. The rest of the fight saw Malignaggi hitting quick jabs outpointing Judah. The fight went the 12 round distance as the judges scored it 116–111, 117–110 and 117–110 all in Malignaggi's favor. Due to the lack of action in the fight, the crowd booed as the fight ended. The fight was for the "King of Brooklyn" belt and local bragging rights.
Return from hiatus In early January 2017, Judah announced that he would have his first fight in over 3 years on January 21 when he fights journeyman Jorge Luis Munguia (12–7, 4 KOs) in a scheduled 10 round bout at
Sun National Bank Center in
Trenton, New Jersey. The bout was an Internet-only pay per view. As expected, Judah won the bout via 2nd-round TKO. Judah connected with power shots from the opening bell, landed a left hook to the head of Munguia in round 2 which dropped it on his back. The referee stopped the fight at 1 minute and 27 seconds of the round. A year later on January 27, 2018, Judah returned to the ring at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino in
Calgary,
Alberta, Canada and fought Mexican boxer Noel Mejia Rincon (21–14–1, 12 KOs) over 10 rounds. Judah's entrance included a light show, as well as showcasing some of the world titles he had won during his career. The fight went the 10 round distance with Judah winning 99–91 on all three judges scorecards. Apart from being hurt once towards the end of round 6 following some body shots, Judah started the first round at a steady pace but controlled the remainder of the fight.
Final return to light welterweight Judah versus Seldin After seventeen months of inactivity, and in only his third bout in six years, on June 7, 2019, at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, Zab Judah, age 41, was stopped in the eleventh round of a scheduled 12 rounder for the vacant NABA Super Lightweight title by Cletus Seldin. Judah felt faint after the bout, and was hospitalized and treated for a brain bleed, likely ending his boxing career. He was subsequently released from the hospital and recovered. ==Personal life==