The Zab Judah vs. Lucas Matthysse fight is coming up on HBO, leading an exciting doubleheader card. The two fighters and their teams held a conference call to discuss the fight and their training, and here’s what everyone had to say.
Kathy Duva, Main Events: “Obviously we’ve made no secret of the fact that we’ve been dying to bring HBO to the Prudential Center. We are delighted to be working with HBO and Golden Boy to make this fight happen. I’d like to thank Lucas Matthysse for taking this fight. Zab Judah has made it clear that it is his intention to take back the 140 lb division. He made a big, big bang coming to the Prudential Center for the first time back in July. This time (November 6) when we come back, we are bringing HBO with us. It’s going to be an incredible night of boxing.”
Zab Judah: “I’m here and I’m ready. I’d like to thank Lucas Matthysse for taking the fight, for being the opponent that steps up to the plate, to come in there and show his urgency to be a champion at 140 pounds.”
“Life is about growing up. As you get older, you mature. I’ve been to the highest of the highs; I’ve been to the lowest of the lows. At this point of my life, I just choose to walk a different path. I’m doing everything by the book, I’m doing everything I was asked to do in the past and didn’t do. I’m walking the right path in my life. I’ve pretty much seen it all. I want to do everything right for my son, Zab Jr., to set a good example.” “Lucas Matthysse is a great fighter, I’ve watched him. He has great hand speed. He has good combinations, he’s very aggressive, but we are very well prepared for Lucas. This is going to be a great fight.” “Lucas Matthysse is a young, up and coming fighter. He’s knocked out a lot of fighters early, but when you start comparing those guys that he’s knocked out to a Zab Judah, it’s a different comparison.”
“I want this to be known, I did lose to Carlos Baldomir and he was an Aregntinean fighter. You must know that I have something to get back! So to the Argentina people I say, ‘I’m gonna get mine back’, Judah added.
David Itskowitch, Golden Boy Promotions: “We realize that Lucas Matthysse is a bit of an unknown quantity here in the United States but in a way we like that because there are two other guys who were unknown quantities in the United States and have come up here from Argentina and made a pretty big splash. Their names are Sergio Martinez and Marcos Maidana. We strongly believe that Lucas Matthysse is going to be the next great Argentinean fighter. He recently sparred with Shane Mosley, and Shane was raving about him; saying he was one of the best fighters that he’s seen in a while.”
Itskowitch added, “He’s (Matthysse) one of boxing’s best kept secrets in our opinion and on November 6th the secret is going to be out. We feel he’s going to heed the opportunity and take it to Zab and take the fight. In his last fight he scored a TKO over Rogelio Castaneda in the first round. Before that he fought Vivian Harris and scored a TKO in the 4th round. He has a very impressive record of 27-0, 25 KO’s. That’s a 93% knockout percentage, and in fact, only one of his opponents has gotten past the 4th round, which is pretty impressive with 27 fights.”
Question re: Potential that Devon Alexander could get stripped if he fights Tim Bradley for a unification, and the winner of this fight could then fight Kaizer Mabuzafor the title, does that give any sense of urgency to this fight for either of you?
Zab Judah: “No, because that’s what we’re in the game for. I didn’t get beat out of this division; I bowed out of this division. I vacated my 140lb title and left it to go to Welterweight to fight for something else. I left this weight class a champion and I’ll come back to get the championship. Everyone knows that it’s just a matter of time before I’m looking at one of the titles or all of the titles. Sometimes I do get selfish and I want all of the titles, I’m back to one of my selfish moments.”
Lucas Matthysse: “I’m preparing very hard for this fight. It’s news to me what you just mentioned about the possibility of fighting for the IBF (title), but I’m still going to train the same way. Like I said this is the most important fight of my career. It’s going to be a good fight and I look forward to winning, whether it’s for a title or not.”
Re: Zab Judah – 262 Rounds of Professional Boxing vs. Lucas Matthysse – 70 Rounds of Professional Boxing
Lucas Matthysse: “I know it’s a short comparison in rounds I’ve fought professionally, but you know what? Hey, that’s my power in the ring. I win my fights by knockout. But I’m not preparing in the gym for a knockout. We’re training 8-10 rounds, we’re sparring hard. We look every time we go into a fight to go the 12 rounds, and we’re prepared to go the 12 rounds. And if they end early, it’s because of the power I’m bringing.”
Zab Judah: “Matthysse is a good young fighter, he has good hand speed, he possesses great power and he’s very aggressive. He may have knocked out a lot of fighters, he may have looked good against lower level opposition, but this time he’s fighting Super Zab Judah. ”
Closing Comments: Lucas Matthysse: “Thank you Zab for the opportunity. Let’s give the fans a great fight. Please bring the best training. We don’t want any excuses after. We know you are very fast, you’re super talented, you’re Super Zab Judah, but wait til November 6th. You’re going to feel the power, and you don’t like power.” Zab Judah: “You’ve got to understand this. If you were to compare Zab Judah with Lucas Matthysse, they’ve both got power, they’ve both got high knockout ratios. Cool. Now we get to speed…Whoa! Now we get to talent…Whoa! Now we get to skill levels…Whoa! I mean hands down, he’s (Matthysse)gonna find out. November 6th come see for yourself! God speed”
Fight Details: Judah vs. Matthysse, a ten round NABO junior welterweight championship bout, is part of an exciting night of boxing at Newark’s Prudential Center on Saturday, November 6th. The show is presented by Main Events, Super Judah Promotions, and Golden Boy Promotions. Doors open at 6:00pm, first bought to follow immediately. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast begins at 11:15pm ET / PT.
Tickets priced at $53, $78, $103 and $253 (ringside) can be purchased at Prudential Center Box Office, by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000 or www.Prucenter.com.
