Cletus Seldin dominates Zab Judah en route to an eleventh round stoppage!
55 total bouts, two-division champion, 19 world title bouts and the last recorded undisputed champion at welterweight. As Zab Judah stepped into the ring on June 7 for his 56th career bout at the age of 41, many thought “what more does he need to prove?”
The aforementioned achievements are enough to put the once “fighter with the fastest hands on the planet” into the world boxing hall of fame, if not the international. Therefore, why is he still fighting? Money? An opportunity for one last run at a title?
Whatever the reason is, when the announcement came he would face the rugged Cletus “Hebrew Hammer” Seldin for the “coveted” (sarcasm intended) NABA junior welterweight title, it would be this writer’s opinion the opponent would be a terrible selection.
The fight was available for streaming exclusively on Fite.tv where viewers could pay $14.99 to see the bout.
Judah had lost his quick reflexes and ability to move on an elite level years ago. When he faced Paul Malignaggi for the “Battle of Brooklyn Bragging Rights” in 2013, it was evident the two-division champion was a shell of his former self.
The deterioration of reflexes would play a pivotal role in this fight. The Hebrew Hammer is known for his relentless pressure and Judah had no answer for it.
At one point, Seldin was expected to be a world class contender. That was until he would be dominated against Canadian prospect Yves Ulysse Jr in 2017.
The setback had many feeling he was just another overrated slugger.
Nevertheless, predicting the pressure of Seldin would be too much for the 41 year-old was a simple task. Furthermore, it was gut-wrenching watching the once elite fighter succumb to the pressure of an opponent he would have dominated just ten to fifteen years ago.
After the first couple of rounds, it was evident Judah had zero chance. The opportunity of having a “puncher’s chance” dissipated when Seldin would not wither to anything the former champion had to give.
Judah would go on to be dominated until he was pinned against the ropes and rendered unable to fireback in the eleventh round. The referee had seen enough and waived the fight off.
At the time of the publishing of this article, Judah has made no plans to retire.
However, witnessing him lose the very things that helped him become the last undisputed welterweight champion showed he can no longer compete with even the contenders of a given division.
Lets hope this is not another example of a fighter hanging around for too long!
By: EJ Williams
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