Judah dethrones Spinks!
'Super Zab' gets his vengeance for Undisputed Welterweight Championship

Ringside reportage by Ludo Saenz, Enrique Calero and Raul Saenz
Photos by Chris Cozzone

Zab Judah seized the WBC/WBA/IBF welterweight titles from Cory Spinks with an impressive ninth round TKO before a record 22,374 in Spinks' hometown of St Louis on Saturday night. Neither fighter had much of an advantage over the first six rounds. Judah pushed forward while the Spinks attempted to box from outside. Judah seemingly dropped Spinks at the end of round seven, however no knockdown was ruled. Judah continued to attack in round eight while Spinks appeared to be fading. In the ninth, Spinks seemed to take a second air and was having his best round, when Judah finally floored him with a barrage of punches. Spinks regained his feet, but Judah continued to attack and forced referee Armando Garcia to stop the fight at 2:49 of the round.

"Hunger and determination was the difference in this fight," said Judah.

"I begged and prayed for a second chance after the first fight. He did exactly what I thought he'd do. He was running from my left hand, which made him pull back and let me take him to the body."

The former champion was graceful in defeat:

"I give him credit, he caught me with a good shot. I was a little groggy, but I wanted to go on," said Spinks.

"I am very disappointed. I let a lot of people down. But, I have to keep my head up and take it like a man. I gave him a chance. I hope he gives me a chance next time around."

During the post press conference, which Spinks did not attend since he was taken to a local hospital for precautionary exams, Judah expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to challenge the champ in his own hometown.

"I want to thank the great people of St. Louis and Cory Spinks for being gracious. He has a lot of heart. I am happy, undisputed. I am taking the titles back to New York."

About a possibility of a third fight with Spinks:

"I will love to have a rematch, just get me the paper. I have a mandatory with the IBF and will take care of that. But, I am open to anything, I will do whatever Don King wants me to do."

On the ninth round, when he first hurt Spinks:

"I remember hitting him and see his eyes rolling. I am backing down and look the referee for some help. He is man with a family. I did not want to hurt him. But, I think the referee did a great job. He was in tune with the fight."

Barrett TKOs Beck!

In a battle of big-swinging heavyweights, Monte Barrett scored a courageous ninth round TKO over previously unbeaten in an IBF/WBC eliminator at the Savvis Center in St. Louis.

Beck recovered well after being floored in round two, and both fighters rocked each other in round three. The complexion of the fight changed when Barrett was cut over the left eye in round four. Referee Jay Nady ruled the cut was caused by a punch. Nady stopped the bout in round five to have the ring doctor examine the cut, but the fight was allowed to continue. Barrett also had a cut below the eye after the round. Barrett came out throwing bombs in round six, and rocked Beck in round seven. By round eight, Barrett's cut seemed to be under control and he continued land good shots, although Beck connected with two hard rights at the end of the round. Barrett floored Beck twice in round nine and it was stopped by Nady. Time was 2:52.

"I am surprised he stayed up as long as he did. He did not have the experience that I did and I felt he was starting to wear down. I knew he could not keep the pace. Beck is an excellent fighter but he is not in my league. Seven and half years in this game and I have had to work for everything. I am a warrior, this was a great fight," said Barret after the fight.

"Zab and I, the two of us have not fought together since the amateurs and both of us had 9th round knockouts. That is powerful. We fought a heck of a fight. I am on fire, I will like to fight any of the champions, but I want to fight chrism Byrd, I consider him the real champ."

Owen Beck stated, "I felt great tonight. I did not keep my hands up and I went down. Monte came to win. Honestly, I did not think he was looking for a knockout, but I made a big mistake and paid for it. I could not believe the referee stopped the fight. I wanted to continue. I am going to come back."

Mitchell knocks out Dula cold!

Super welterweight Eric "Murder" Mitchell KO Robert Dula cold at the minute of the first round. After a slow 30 seconds, all hell broke loose, when Mitchell disarmed Dula, by blocking a couple of hard jabs, and then unloaded two devastating right hands to put Dula down and out for the count. It was a scary moment, since Dula stayed flat on his back for several minutes, after he was counted out. He was took out of the ring in a stretcher. With this impressive win, Mitchell advanced his resume to 18-4-1 (8 KOs). Dula suffered the first defeat of his professional career and felt to 15-1-1 (8 KOs).

Johnson destroys Blake in pro debut

In his pro debut, light heavyweight James Johnson needed just one round to discard Aaron Blake. Things started right for Johnson with hard short right to the body. Blake immediately took a knee. After, the protection count, Johnson went back to work and dropped him hard again with an accurate combination to mid section. Blake was out for the count at 1:59 of first round. Johnson now 1-0 and Blake suffered his first defeat with 1-1.

Castaneda takes Alexander to distance

Local welterweight prospect Devon Alexander defeated Donovan Castaneda with a six round unanimous decision. Alexander, who trains with champ Cory Spinks and under the guidance of Kevin Cunningham, fought with caution against a complicated Castaneda, who was able to land a couple of hard counters. Alexander was able to keep his opponent at bay, with a good footwork, but the St. Lousian seemed a little bit shy to let his hands go. At the end, Alexander's good conditioning was enough to win all rounds in the judges' eyes, who scored it 60-54 in all three cards.

"I did not really feel any pressure fighting in front of all these people in my hometown. I am a tad disappointed with my performance," said Alexander after the fight. "No excuses, but truth is, I had to pace myself a little and I was trying to get some air. This was my first six-round fight and I got a little tired in the fith and sixth. But, I learned a lot in there." Alexander moved to 5-0 (1 KO) and Casteneda dropped to 6-2 (4 KOs).

Romas clinics Mohammad

Rising featherweight prospect, Dominican Elio Rojas, annihilated Yamin Mohamed in three rounds. Rojas, who was a decorated amateur champion, once again proved why he is regarded as a future boxing star from Dominican Republic, by putting up a boxing clinic for Mohammad, who ate several straight right hands in the first. In the second, Rojas shifted gears and landed hard combinations with impressive speed and accuracy. Mohammed was game and withstood a lot of firepower, never going down, but Rojas was overwhelming. At the start of the third, Rojas was able to force Mohammad into his own corner and continue to punish him with straight rights and hurtful left hooks to the body without any answers. Referee Kevin Champion stepped in at 1:13 of the third. Rojas is now 10-0 with 9 wacks. Mohammad fell to 3-6-1 (1 KO).

Johnson makes short work of Long

In a battle of light heavyweight prospects, Marcus "Too Much" Johnson finished Mark Long at 2:55 of the first round. Johnson was too much indeed, for Mark Long, who got dropped five times in the opening stanza. Displaying a wide range of weapons for such a young fighter, Johnson was able to connect with hard combos to the head and body, hurting Long at will. A hard left hook to the cranium was enough to convince the referee to stop the massacre. Johnson advanced to 3-0 (3 KOs). Long is now 1-1 (1 KO).

Judah ices Jackson in 59!

Super middleweight prospect Josiah Judah iced Brandon Jackson in just 59 seconds. Judah, who is the little brother of Zab Judah, came out like an arrow from the corner, threw a couple of jabs, measured Jackson, and fired a hard straight right to the chin. Jackson dropped on his butt for the count. Judah got the second win of his short career without losses. Jackon felt to 2-3.

Fields railroads Lunsford!

Heavyweight Tye "Railroad" Fields need only two rounds to dispose of Ray Lunsford in the opening bout of the night. A straight right sent Lunsford to the canvas in the first. Although both fighters looked slow and limited, Fields dominated the second episode, landing a weak jab and sending Lunsford back to the floor two more times. A series of hard left hooks to the head, prompted referee Marvin Elam to stop the fight at 2:28 of the second round. Fields advanced to 32-1 (30 KOs). Lunsford dropped to 17-5 (7 KOs).