His uncle fought for Floyd Mayweather, and his father fought for Zab Judah.

professional boxing

On Saturday, one of the main fights of the year in professional boxing took place in Las Vegas. Two of the most popular American fighters, Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah, fought for the IBF champion title in the weight category up to 66.7 kg at the Thomas & Mack Center casino. The fight lived up to expectations. It had everything the public needed: good boxing, a massive brawl in the tenth round and a final points victory for the boxer who deserved it - Mayweather.

A fight in the tenth round or something like that probably simply could not have happened: too much was at stake for both boxers. It's not even about money or titles, but about reputation.

In American specialized publications, it is customary to publish so-called pound-for-pound ratings of the best boxers, regardless of weight category. So, in these classifications, Floyd Mayweather, who won the world title in three lighter weights and has now won 36 victories in 36 fights, has long since firmly taken the first place, which once belonged to the great Roy Jones. But there were those who thought that, having decided to “get heavier,” the American favorite still went too far and could be punished for risk and vanity.

For Zab Judah, this was, one might say, the last chance to restore his shaky reputation. In January he lost outright to Carlos Baldomir. He parted with the WBC title, and retained the IBF title only due to a coincidence: his opponent did not transfer the fee required for the right to participate in the championship fight to the organization’s account on time.

They - both Mayweather, eager to confirm that there is no stronger boxer in the world than him, and Jude, eager to prove that he is still capable of beating outstanding fighters - managed to say a bunch of nasty things to each other before the match. Moreover, the word “bitch” was one of the most decent characteristics that they exchanged. In general, as is customary to say in such cases, the atmosphere became tense to the limit.

It became even more intense as the battle progressed. Based on the first three or four rounds, one might get the impression that Mayweather clearly underestimated Judah, whom he promised to beat easily. The champion looked faster and tougher. But from the fifth round, with a powerful right hand from the challenger, the picture became different. “I knew very well that Judah always starts out great. But he lasts for about half the fight. Then he runs out of steam,” Mayweather later explained.

Soon he actually had a huge advantage. In the seventh round, the challenger broke his opponent's nose. By the ninth, Judah's right eye was swollen shut. In this ninth round, Mayweather inflicted 28 blows on his opponent, receiving only two in response - an eloquent statistic. He said that he was ready to finish off Judah next.

However, it so happened that Mayweather almost left the ring himself. At the end of the tenth round, Judah suddenly used a technique characteristic of the most brutal version of fights without rules. First, he pushed his opponent with his fist into the area located slightly below the elastic band of his panties, and then, when Mayweather bent over in pain, he slashed him in the neck. While the challenger, crouching, hobbled to his corner, his uncle-second Roger Mayweather jumped out to meet Judah. He jumped out with such a look that he became scared for Judah. Referee Richard Steele, who intercepted his uncle, saved the boxer from reprisals. But it didn’t end there, because dad, who is also Judah Yoel’s coach, got involved. To the howls of 15 thousand spectators, he rushed towards Mayweather Sr., and a brawl broke out. The police and security guards had to clear the ring.

The ongoing fight, of course, ended in a confident victory for Mayweather. But the judges' verdict did not put an end to the scandal. Nevada State Athletic Commission Chairman Skip Avancino said the fight's purses ($5 million for Mayweather and $1 million for Judah) would be withheld until the circumstances leading up to the tenth-round fight are clarified. And Don King, the promoter of the losing champion, demanded that the winner be disqualified. He believes that Mayweather's uncle grossly violated the rules according to which only three people can be in the ring during a fight - two boxers and a referee.

ALEXEY J-DOSPEKHOV

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