What Controversy?

by Scott Thill

Some athletes believe they should be handed the acclaim, awards and accoutrments that belong rightfully to real champions who fought and defeated not only the champions before them, but also the host of obstacles -- racism, sexism, or any other -ism that I can't think of right now -- that were thrown their way.

But I'll leave it to the writers at Sports Illustrated, the analysts at The Sporting News, and the hacks at Fox to figure out just when and where that selfish impulse reared its lucrative yet ugly head.

For now, I will just savor the glory of one legendary bout featuring the two-round disaster named Zab Judah.

Now, I realize that the junior welterweight division is not every so-called boxing fan's cup of tea, but it is one of the weight classes that many boxing purists look to when they want an update on the sweet science, mostly because the most popular weight class is filled with hulking swingers that think a combination is what you order on the menu because it has more items.

And while heavyweights are fun to watch -- especially when they're biting each other's ears off -- the lighter divisions are filled with fighters showcasing the skills, determination, strategy and, yes, intelligence that boxing demands. Guys like Ali, Tito Trindidad, Oscar De La Hoya, "Sugar" Shane Mosely, Sharmba Mitchell, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Jr., and Kostya Tszyu? They're boxers.

Guys like Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Buster Douglas, Golota the groin puncher? They're fighters. As in fight, as in melee, as in chaos.

Australia and Russia represent! The veteran Kostya Tszyu lands his demolishing right and looks for the first unification of his class in 33 years. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

So it was a serious surprise to me when I found out that Zab was a 3-1 fave over the well-travelled, decorated professional that is Kostya Tszyu. But it was no surprise to me that Zab went down faster than Rollergirl in Boogie Nights after Tszyu finally landed the two crushing blows that he spent the entire second round looking to implant into Judah's glass jaw.

What was surprising was the immaturity Judah showed as a boxer. He leapt to his feet to show he was unaffected when he obviously couldn't even stand. He threw a tantrum when he lost the fight, going so far as to threaten a much larger referee -- the unapologetic Jay Nady -- for what the incapacitated Judah considered a raw deal.

Must-see shit.

It's this kind of self-absorbed attitude that makes boxing so fun to watch. I'd like to take the time to thank Showtime and the AP and Reuters photographers for capturing Zab's humiliation in all its imbalanced splendor.

So, without further ado and for those of you who missed it, I'd like to present a sideshow of Tszyu's demolition, resplendent with Zab's incoherent defense of his knucklehead outburst, as well as his misrepresentations of his own abilities.

Let's get ready to mumble. Incoherently.

GET IN THE RING!

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