Zab Judah has always been a fan favorite in the Las Vegas area (Photo: Hustle Boss)
By Chris Robinson
To anyone who has been a fan of two-division world champion Zab “Super” Judah, surely the past few years have been a bit of a waiting game.
Judah (42-9, 29 KO’s) hasn’t fought since his December 2013 unanimous decision loss to Paulie Malignaggi is Brooklyn, New York.
Last year, in August, it was revealed that Judah had signed on with promoter Greg Cohen and there were soon discussions of his imminent return. Judah was slated for a matchup against Columbia’s Hevinson Herrera in September but the fight fell through when the two men got into an altercation at their weigh-in prior to their scheduled bout.
Judah was then scheduled to face former junior lightweight titleholder Juan Carlos Salgado in November in Las Vegas, but the bout was cancelled when Salgado, claiming an ankle injury, dropped out less than a week before the fight.
2015 passed and Judah didn’t perform in the ring. It was reported that he was in line for a February showcase against Virgil Green in Sloane, Iowa, but speculation of that scenario fell apart when it was revealed that Judah and Cohen had parted ways.
There are conflicting reports of why Judan and Cohen went their separate ways.
Hustle Boss caught word, via some feedback from Twitter, that it was reported by ESPN’s Dan Rafael during one of his chats that Judah had taken a $25 thousand dollar signing bonus while turning down numerous fights. It was also reported that Judah was released by Cohen and there was speculation concerning his signing bonus and whether or not it was paid back.
Team Judah have since reached out to Hustle Boss to give their side of the story, as seen below.
“Zab signed with a promoter who made certain guarantees that were to be fulfilled by December 31st. It is our belief that the promoter did not fulfill these guarantees, and so the agreement terminated at the end of December by its terms. Once we sent notice of termination, the promoter attempted to spin the events that took place between the signing and the end of the year. Although we were not liable to repay the signing bonus, we decided to repay it in exchange for a signed written release to ensure the promoter will not be able to make any false claims that he still promotes Zab. These funds were received by the promoter within hours after the promoter signed the release. Any stories out there saying anything different than this are untrue and are a malicious attack on Zab’s integrity. Also, to all of Zab’s fans, Zab never gave authorization to have his name used to promote a fight in Iowa. It is our understanding that someone signed a contract promising Zab for this fight without Zab’s knowledge and approval. As soon as we discovered this, we immediately tried to correct the situation by having Zab’s name removed from all advertising. If I bought tickets to this fight because I thought Zab was fighting, I would immediately contact the organizers for a refund. Zab was never scheduled to fight on this date in Iowa.”
Stay tuned for a full interview with Judah to be dropping soon.
Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com