Judah still learning from legendary Whitaker

LAS VEGAS – For years, Zab Judah watched Pernell Whitaker. He'd emulate the way Whitaker held his hands, moved his feet, shifted his body to avoid punches.

Everything Whitaker did, Judah did, or he at least tried to do. It was almost as if Judah had become a celebrity impersonator. He was, as best as he could be, Pernell Whitaker.

As good a professional fighter as Zab Judah would become, though, he was no Pernell Whitaker as few men in the history of boxing could do what Whitaker did, winning Olympic gold in 1984 and becoming world champion in four different weight divisions. Judah became a pretty reasonable facsimile of Whitaker as an amateur, and frequently evoked comparisons to the man known as "Sweet Pea."

Judah wasn't, however, the real thing. And despite the success he garnered in his career, winning titles at junior welterweight and welterweight and compiling a 12-6 record in world championship fights, there was something lacking.

As 2011 dawned, the onus was on Judah to do something dramatic. He was 33, coming off a surprisingly close victory over unheralded Lucas Matthysse and was preparing to face Kaizer Mabuza on March 5 in Newark, N.J., for the vacant International Boxing Federation junior lightweight belt.

It was the same title he'd won for the first time in 1999 when he was a fresh-faced 21-year-old with grandiose dreams of conquering boxing and putting himself into the record books alongside Whitaker.

But 12 years later, it was a very different Zab Judah preparing to fight for the IBF belt. He was humbled – four successive losses in title fights will do that to a guy – and hungry. He had moved to Las Vegas, where he found religion and dedicated himself to his career like he never had previously.

Yet something was missing. He spent weeks essentially training himself for what was no less than the make-or-break fight of his career. Judah ran himself through the paces to prepare for Mabuza, with no trainer advising him or cajoling him or pushing him when necessary.

Judah had struggled a few months earlier in that title eliminator with Matthysse, causing promoter Kathy Duva and her staff to hold their breath as the verdict was announced.

Judah escaped with a win, which would vault him into the title fight with Mabuza, but no one at Main Events was kidding themselves: They had dodged a bullet, but things weren't acceptable as they were.

Judah was training with his father, Yoel, like he had for his entire career. But he'd stagnated and seemed to have regressed.

"We were talking with Zab's partner after the Matthysse fight, and it was a blessing [it came out how it did because] that fight was close, real close," Duva said. "All of us had gotten to the point where we all recognized that something had to be done about the training situation.

"We were discussing whether we should send him to Houston to work with Ronnie [Shields] or get someone to go out and work with him in Vegas. Zab had been real insistent about staying in Vegas. At this point, it's eight weeks before the Mabuza fight, and Zab is literally training himself. He was watching old Pernell Whitaker tapes, and we're thinking we need to get someone like Pernell to help him."

As they were discussing options, Jolene Mizzone, Main Events' vice president of operations, came up with a simple but brilliant idea: Forget about trying to get someone who could teach Judah to do what Whitaker would, Mizzone said.

"Why don't we get Whitaker?" she asked.

That was it. And now, after a victory over Mabuza earned him the IBF belt, a rejuvenated Judah prepares to take on young star Amir Khan on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center for the World Boxing Association and IBF belts.

And he owes a lot of credit for getting himself back into position to Whitaker. Whitaker, now 47, was one of the greatest fighters of his generation, a Hall of Famer with a unique style that many had tried – but failed – to copy.

And though Judah is no Whitaker, he shares some of the basic traits that Whitaker had. He is fast, light on his feet and a stinging puncher.

Whitaker had long admired Judah's skills. When Mizzone called and asked him if he'd be interested, he wanted to talk to Judah. But when he heard from Judah and recognized the urgency in his voice, Whitaker jumped at the chance to train him.

"They said Zab needed some help, and I wanted to give something back," Whitaker said. "He's a guy I feel I could make a difference with."

Whitaker, though, wasn't going to give help to just anyone. He'd trained a lot of guys but quickly seemed to lose interest. Modern fighters weren't as talented as he was and, more significantly, weren't willing to commit to the game the way he thought they should.

When he met Judah to discuss the possibility of working together, he found a humbled man who was willing to do whatever it took to make the home stretch of his career as successful as possible.

Partying and having a good time had been replaced as Judah's top priorities by a determination to be a good father, a strong provider and to squeeze the last bit out of his talent. He'd lost fights he should have won in the past, and when he met Whitaker, he showed a determination to make amends for past shortcomings.

That resonated with the none-too-easy-to-please Whitaker.

"I see a lot of me in Zab," Whitaker said. "A whole lot. You'll see. We just went together real well. It worked out great."

Judah has been effusive in his praise of Whitaker. He knew he needed help and understood there was a reservoir of talent deep inside him that he knew could still be pulled out.

It would take a special person to do it. Judah, though, needed someone else to set it up, because it wasn't like a guy of his stature could just go running to one of the all-time greats and demand help.

"Let's be honest: I couldn't hire Pernell Whitaker," Judah said. "It was up [to him]. Pernell Whitaker is a guy I've mimicked my style after since I was a young amateur fighter. I had the privilege of making my pro debut on his undercard. Pernell Whitaker was a great fighter himself. He was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and one of the best defensive fighters in the world. … He wanted to hear from my mouth that my focus was 100 percent, and when he got confident about that, he was on board with me."

Whitaker, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008, is enthusiastically on board. He's like the guy with the secret formula for Coke who is sharing it for the first time.

Judah, he said, has improved by leaps and bounds each day. And as he's watched Judah push and soak up the knowledge, it's invigorated him.

Nothing can replace the high of getting into the ring and winning a title, but for Whitaker, helping someone else capture some of his old magic is the next best thing.

"It's great for me, because there aren't a lot of guys out there now who want to fight or who want to put the time and the effort into it," Whitaker said. "Zab is doing that. He's doing what it takes, and being around him and watching the progress he has made has been better than I ever thought it would be."

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