Judah Injury Cancels Bout With Mosley

Golden Boy Promotions has confirmed the May 31^st PPV between Zab Judah and Sugar Shane Mosley has been canceled, due to an arm injury suffered by Judah. Reports are circulating that Judah suffered deep gashes to his arm after falling in the shower. The cuts required 50 stitches and will prevent the Brooklyn native from training for the next four weeks.

Zab’s trainer/father Yoel Judah worked with Golden Boy to reschedule the bout, but was rebuffed by Shane’s wife/manager Jin Mosley. Reports have circulated that Ms. Mosley has no interest is rescheduling the bout and will seek other options for her husband this summer.

The main rumored opponent for Mosley is limited but entertaining slugger Ricardo Mayorga, who fans may remember was on tap to face Mosley back in 2003 before being upset by Cory Spinks. The bout would take place at 147, and would be a stylistically appealing and advantageous fight for Shane given his speed and skill set. For Mayorga, he gets the chance at another high profile bout after being inactive since dispatching Fernando Vargas last year.

Witter Falls in Upset

Somewhere, Ricky Hatton is smiling. Junior Witter, finally returning to American TV since a dismal outing against Zab Judah in 2000, again disappointed in a shocking upset loss to upstart Timothy Bradley this past Saturday.

Early on the bout was marred by mauling and awkward exchanges as both men struggled to find rhythm against each other’s styles. Witter was able to secure most of these rounds by keeping Bradley on the outside with jabs and sporadic left and right hook potshots.

In round six, Bradley stepped in with a devastating overhand right that dropped the champion hard with less that 20 seconds remaining. Witter regained his footing immediately but was clearly shaken as the bell prevented Bradley from inflicting further damage.

With a clear momentum shift, Bradley began pressing the fight and mugging Witter on the inside. Wary of another big shot, Witter now became even more defensive by clinching to avoid exchanges on the inside and relying on single shots.

In the championship rounds Bradley outworked Witter behind left jabs and hooks as Witter was focused on the right hand. Worn down from the earlier pressure, Witter’s punches in these rounds lacked power and snap.  Final scorecards for the bout read 112-115, 114-113, and 115-113 for Timothy Bradley, now the WBC 140 pound champion. Bradley improves to 22-0 while Witter falls to 36-2.

At 34 years old, this loss is heartbreaking for Junior Witter. His dreams of goading UK rival Ricky Hatton into a grudge match are now dashed. Hatton will undoubtedly look for matches against American opponents like Paulie Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, and Ricardo Torres after his scheduled bout against Juan Lazcano on May 24^th. With his poor form and stamina, Witter was likely looking ahead to Ricky Hatton and did not prepare for the unknown Bradley.  Now Witter must go to the back of the line and hit the comeback trail to rebuild his reputation.

In the main event, Carl Froch (23-0, 19 KOs) scored a workman TKO stoppage against overmatched Albert Rybacki (15-1, 8 KOs).  Frock was reckless with his punches, but feared nothing from Rybacki who took the fight on three days notice. With the win Froch continues to make his case for a long shot showdown with 175 and 168 pound king Joe Calzaghe.

Slimmed Down Chris Bryd Debuts May 16^th on Friday Night Fights

Former heavyweight titlist Chris Bryd (40-4-1, 21 KOs) makes his debut as a light heavyweight on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights this week against Shaun George (16-2-2, 7 KOs).

After nearly a decade at boxing’s highest division, Byrd is hoping at 37 he’ll be able to reinvent himself in the talented 175 pound division. Potential interesting and lucrative matchups can be made against fighters like Glen Johnson and Chad Dawson.

However, it remains to be seen how Bryd’s body reacts to such a dramatic weight loss at his age. Byrd’s last fight was a taxing stoppage defeat to Alexander Povetkin in October

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Byrd talks about his huge weight loss below:

Mike Tyson Confirmed for EA Fight Night Round 4

Going back to EA’s Knockout Kings, boxing fans have clamored for former heavyweight champion Iron Mike Tyson to be included in the long running series.

The wait is over as EA has confirmed Tyson will be included in the next installment of the Fight Night series. The press release sounds promising as more attention has gone into the combat physics:

 Featuring a re-written gameplay engine, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will add a variety of fighting styles and boxer differentiation to authentically emulate the greatest fighters of all time. Pressure your opponent with the brawling inside style of young Mike Tyson, bobbing and weaving to set up powerful hooks and uppercuts. Capitalize on Muhammad Ali's reach, hand speed and fleetness of foot to bewilder your opponent with lightning fast jabs and straights from the outside. For the first time in history, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 gives you the opportunity to pit these legendary heavyweights against one another and name a true champ.

No fight will be the same with an all-new physics-based animation system that recreates the full spectrum of true-to-life punch impacts, giving boxers a devastating arsenal of punches, blocks and ring movement. The new physics system allows for missed punches, glancing punches, knockout blows and for the first time ever, rough and tumble inside fighting. Fatigue, adrenaline, footwork and timing all come into play as you hammer away at your opponents.

http://www.easports.com/article.jsp?id=fin57

Fight Night 4 will be available early in 2009.

Throwback Fighter of the Week: Julian Jackson

Widely agreed to be one the hardest pound for pound punchers of all time, Julian Jackson was an all-action fighter throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Making his name at 154 and 160 pounds, Jackson impressively stopped Terry Norris and Herol Graham, the latter being one of the most memorable right hand shots in boxing history. He suffered two knockout losses against equally hard punching Gerald McClellan in ’94 and ’95, and had mixed results thereafter before retiring in 1998. His final record stands at 55-6 (49 KOs).