Photo by John Garita/Round By Round Boxing
‘I CAN’T BEHEAD MALIGNAGGI BUT I CAN KNOCK HIM OUT’ ROARS ‘GLADIATOR’ JUDAH AS HE WEIGHS IN ON EVE OF BROOKLYN BATTLE LIVE ON BOXNATION
LONDON (Dec. 6) – Five-time world champion Zab Judah is adamant he will be crowned ‘King of Brooklyn’ after knocking out Paulie Malignaggi.
The pair clash this Saturday night at the Barclays Center in New York, with the Brooklyn natives putting their pride on the line as they battle to be declared the best boxer from the famed borough.
The fight has been viewed in some quarters as a ‘friendly’ matchup, with the two fighters having been nothing but respectful to one another in the lead up. However, Judah has poured scorn on such claims declaring that there is nothing chummy about this weekend’s showdown.
“I’m the real Brooklyn, New York,” said Judah. “This is my office. They built this arena for me and on Saturday night I’m going to show the world why. We’re in a gladiator sport. We have to fight to the best of our abilities. People want to see tough fighters with skills. Even though my last fight was a setback, it still got me back here today,” he said.
“This isn’t a game for me. People keep saying this fight is friendly but at the end of the day these are the old Roman days. Only thing different is I can’t behead him, so I’m going to knock him out,” Judah vowed.
“I do the impossible. I’m the only one to put more hands on Floyd Mayweather than anyone ever has,” he added.
Judah looked confident as he weighed in, hitting the scales at 146lbs, with Malignaggi bang on the welterweight limit at 147lbs.
The 36-year-old also questioned Malignaggi’s right to claim that he is from Brooklyn, claiming he isn’t the real deal.
“Paulie wasn’t born here, he migrated from somewhere else,” he said. “To me, if we were comparing sneakers I’d be Jordans at Foot Locker and he’d be Canal Street, he’s not authentic. I’m authentic, I’m from here. I’m born and raised here,” Judah said.
“I feel great because I know we’re going to have a Brooklyn champion in myself. I’m going to make sure Paulie’s job [as a Showtime Sports analyst] is locked in stone. After this he’s going to be a full-time commentator.
“I know that this is a special opportunity for me, it’s the opportunity to crown yourself the King of your city. This is the old Roman days, there can only be one king and I’m taking it back to that. Saturday night, I’m back,” Judah fired.
This Saturday night’s fight card also features three world title fights, including Devon Alexander against undefeated Shawn Porter for the IBF welterweight title, Austin Trout versus Erislandy Lara for the WBA light-middleweight crown and Sakio Bika defending his WBC super-middleweight belt against the hard-hitting and unbeaten Anthony Dirrell.
Plus, earlier from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, BoxNation will bring you the highly touted prospect Paul Butler’s clash with Ruben Montoya for the WBO inter-continental super-flyweight belt, with Derry Matthews up against Stephen Ormond for the WBO European lightweight championship and Liam Smith defending his British light-middleweight title against Mark Thompson.
