• Fight Insight

Khan's path to Floyd blocked by reborn Judah

Amir Khan is making the sixth defence of his WBA light-welterweight title against IBF king Zab Judah © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Mayweather open to Khan showdown at Wembley
  
• News: Khan raging at Judah link to disgraced trainer
  
• News: Judah intensifies mental battle with Khan
  
• News: Floyd cools row with Khan
  
• News: Khan hits back at Mayweather drug claims
  
• News: Judah knows he can't beat me - Khan
  
• News: Khan hopes for inspiration on return to Las Vegas
  
• Profile: Amir Khan

WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17 KOs) takes on IBF king Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KOs) in Las Vegas this weekend, and we've got the lowdown on the clash...

Zab Judah is the the latest stop-off point for Amir Khan on the long and treacherous road he hopes will eventually lead to Floyd Mayweather Jnr late next year. At the Mandalay Bay Casino, he knows he must use his fists to hammer out a message loud enough to carry across town to Mayweather's ears, one that screams: I am ready to challenge your status as the pound-for-pound king.

There can be no doubt that, despite the distraction of a fight with Victor Ortiz in September, Mayweather is willing to listen. After his uncle Roger accused Khan of using illegal substances earlier this week, Floyd lookd to smooth relations by inviting Khan's fans to watch him train in Las Vegas. Those are the actions of a man willing to entertain Khan's desire for a fight, and the Brit looks a more likely opponent for the unbeaten American than Manny Pacquiao does.

A battle with Mayweather would mean Khan moving up in weight, leaving the unification clash with Judah as his final stand in a division that has helped salvage his career. Following a calamitous first-round knockout against Breidis Prescott in 2008, Khan waded through two more bouts at lightweight before moving upwards to the ten-stone category, cruising through five impressive wins and rebuilding his reputation.

It's an unlikely story of recovery and redemption that Judah, who was transformed when he found God in Sin City a few years ago, can relate to, having been written off earlier in his career as a crude, reckless presence in the ring.

He was rocked by lengthy bans from the sport following two unsavoury incidents: the first coming when he hurled a stool following a loss to Kostya Tszyu, and the second when his corner men brawled with their opposite numbers at the end of the tenth round against Mayweather.

But Judah in 2011 is a changed man, unrecognisable from his volatile younger self. "If you Google Zab Judah, you get lots of street fights and brawls," he said. "But that happens to us all when we're young. I'm sorry now for those situations. I have finally grown up and understand what life is all about."

And this new Judah, finally at peace with himself, annihilated Kaizer Mabuza in his latest contest to clinch the IBF title, which he had first won 11 years previously. After making a long journey through the wilderness, suffering the ignominy of losing three of his four fights between 2006 and 2007, he was - he is - once again a force.

Despite being Khan's second-choice opponent - WBO and WBC champion Timothy Bradley turned down an offer and is now being sued by his own promoters - Judah is a dangerous fighter who carries a serious threat, particularly in his lethal left hook, which is sure to ask serious questions of Khan's chin, a constant source of concern to him ever since Prescott simply blew him away.

Floyd Mayweather has a win over Zab Judah on his CV © Getty Images

Enlarge

Yes, he survived a perilous period against Marcos Maidana last December when he was being pummelled, but that was a fight that could easily have been stopped at any point in the tenth round - and if it had been, Khan would now once again have to bear the "chinny" tag.

There are also question marks hovering over Khan's stamina, with his high intensity style often leaving him vulnerable in the later stages of fights.

All that said, it's impossible to imagine any other outcome than a Khan victory, particularly as his focus will have been sharpened by the presence of Mayweather on the horizon. Judah is a worthy opponent, but Khan knows better than anyone how to deal with threatening southpaws, having sparred so many rounds with Pacquiao in Freddie Roach's gym.

And the facts are there to be seen on Judah's CV: every time he has fought a genuinely top-level opponent, he has been found wanting. Mayweather got the better of him, Tszyu beat him, Miguel Cotto proved too good - and so, surely, will Khan.

Ironically, Judah's best hope may be to drop the piety and rediscover the devil inside him, using elbows and headbutts to unsettle a slick, stylish opponent who isn't attuned to roughhouse tactics.

But no matter what Judah tries, it's easy to imagine Khan overwhelming him with a barrage of body shots in the early rounds, before sealing a stoppage late on - and continuing on a collision course with Mayweather.

They might not be watching him back home - the fight will once again be shown on the unheralded Primetime channel - but in America they certainly are.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.