It was set to be either a proving ground for Amir Khan or a resurrection for Zab Judah on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. In the end, it was Khan who answered his critics by easily dominating the first four rounds versus a defensive Zab Judah before the end came in the 5th. Judah, training under the guidence of Pernell "sweet Pea" Whitaker, displayed a much improved defensive game, but the working relationship between the two is sitll a work in progress. Judah seemingly abandoned his normally high pace offensive style of boxing, which allowed Khan to land flush with his own straight rights and looping hooks. Although what looked to be on replay a borderline low blow, the shot dropped Judah in round 5, prompting referee Vic Drakulich, who did not see the punch, to count Judah out 2:47 in round 5.
After the fight, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said that for Khan, now 26-1 (18 KO's), he would be looking for Timothy Bradley next, but they are not going to wait on him and would move on if he doesn't want the fight in December. Judah, who dropped to 41-7 (28 KO's), had the attitude of a fighter that was looking forward to continuing his career, and he has the dispute of the low blow as a means to do just that.
Middleweight Peter Quillin continued to build off of his victory over Jesse Brinkley as he stopped Jason Lehoullier at 1:38 of round 5. The Lehoullier corner had seen enough of a beating through the first four rounds and finally threw in the towel. Quillin, a much talked about possible opponent for Sergio Martinez, improved to 25-0 (19 KO's), while late sub Lehoullier falls to 21-6-1 (8 KO's).
Featherweight Gary Russell Jr. proved he is ready to step up in competition after shutting out Eric Estrada over 8 rounds, including a knockdown in round 7. Russell showed poise and a lot of handspeed in outclassing the game Estrada. He now improves to 17-0 (10 KO's) and Estrada is now 9-2 (3 KO's).
Heavyweight Bryant Jennings improved to 9-0 (4 KO's) with a unanimous six-round decision over Chicago journeyman Theron Johnson, who dropped to 5-6 (1 KO). Jennings showed good movement and boxing skills, but his lack of size and heavy firepower are a big shortcoming in the world of todays top heavyweights. Scores where 60-53 (twice) and 59-54. FightHype scored it 60-53 with Jennings earning a knockdown in round 4.
Middleweight James Kirkland continued his road back after his first pro defeat, and with Ann Wolfe in his corner, he displayed the killer instinctive style that he has become famous for as he stopped Alexis Hloros 25 seconds into round two after having dropped him twice at the end of the opening round. Hloros did land a fair amount of shots in the early portion of the fight, but went into survival mode after the first Kirkland combination that dropped him. Kirkland improves to 29-1 (26 KO's) and Hloros drops to 15-4-2 (11 KO's).
Jr. lightweight prospect Ronny Rios of Santa Ana, California wanted no part of an 8-round bout and came out on a seek and destroy mission against journeyman Noe Lopez Jr. A furious body attack dropped Lopez and a follow-up attack, which ended in a Rios right hand to the head, dropped Lopez for the second time and referee Joe Cortez waived off the fight at 1:12 of the opening round. The fundamentaly sound looking Rios improves to 15-0 (7 KO's) while Lopez Jr. falls to 8-9 (5 KO's).
In a 6-round super middleweight bout, Zab's brother Josiah Judah won an unpopular majority decision over Polish fighter Rafal Jastrzebski. The crowd was more awed by the power punches of Jastrzebski, but udges favored the sharper combos of Judah and awarded him the victory 57-57, 58-56, and 59-55. FightHype scored the bout 58-56 for Judah.
In the opening bout of the evening, Freddie Roach's latest prospect Jamie Kavanagh improved to 8-0 (3 KO's) with a 6-round unanamous decision over Marcos Herrera in a lightweight bout. Herrera falls to 6-6-1 (2 KO's). Scores where 59-54, 60-54, and 60-53.