Zab Judah - Kaizer Mabuza Press Conference And Photos

On Saturday, March 5th, Zab "Super" Judah (40-6, 27 KO's) looks to recapture the IBF Junior Welterweight title when he squares off against South African Kaizer Mabuza (23-6-3, 14 KO's) for the vacant crown. The bout is scheduled for twelve rounds at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Since 2008, Mabuza's record stands at (8-0-1, 6 KO's). This will be Mabuza's second bout on American soil. Previously, Kendall Holt quit against Mabuza, 31, after the sixth round during their contest in Atlantic City, NJ in 2010.

Judah's record in the past several years has been equally impressive. Judah, 33, has won four in a row and six of his last seven bouts dating back to late 2007.

Today, at the Brick City Bar & Grill in Newark, New Jersey, both fighters expressed enormous confidence heading into their showdown Saturday night.

"We know his strength is his left uppercut," stated Mabuza. "But we came here to take that belt."

Mabuza added, "I feel like New Jersey is my second home now. I think I will come here and fight again if they want me back."

Mabuza believes Judah doesn't bring anything to the table he hasn't seen before. 

"We prepared with many southpaws for his style," declared Mabuza. "My focus is taking that belt home with me. Training camp has been three months now. Everything is going right according to plan."

At the moment, Mabuza feels the 140 lb. division is the strongest in boxing.

"This division has the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather," said Mabuza. "I'm in the right division to make things happen now. The main thing is to take this belt back to South Africa."

"We got a lot of southpaw sparring," claimed Kosie Wiese, trainer and manager for Mabuza. "Zab's southpaw style is not a problem for us. Zab Judah is going to have a problem Saturday night."

Pernell Whitaker, who now oversees Judah's corner, believes Judah is very ready for Saturday night.

"Everything I ask him to do, he does a little more," exclaimed Whitaker. "If he does everything I ask him to do, he'll win the fight."

Judah, who is never shy with words, talked about the opportunity that lies ahead.

"We prepared ourselves well for this opportunity," remarked Judah. "On Saturday night, you will see a 5-time champion of the world once again."

Judah showed a high-respect level for his opponent. 

"I appreciate everything this man has done," said Judah. "But now is not his time, not on Saturday night."

Judah added, "I prepared myself for twelve rounds; I prepared myself 100%."

"As a young kid, I idolized Pernell Whitaker and Mike Tyson growing up," boasted Judah. "Those two styles are different; You got one defensive guy and one aggressive fighter. I added both of them and I got Zab Judah."

Judah also discussed Mabuza's height and reach advantage.

"I'm 140 lbs, he's 140 lbs.," noted Judah. "That's all that matters. We're prepared for anything. I think Jan Bergman may have been a little bit taller than him, a little bit taller and a longer reach. And he went in four rounds."

UNDERCARD

168 lbs. - Tarvis Simms (26-1-1, 11 KO's) vs. John Mackey (13-5-2, 6 KO's), 8 Rounds

147 lbs. - Sadam Ali (11-0, 6 KO's) vs. Juliano Ramos (16-4, 13 KO's), 8 Rounds

Ali explained how he has been able to improve with each fight.

"I try to learn something each and every fight in the ring," stated Ali. I also keep learning in my gym. And, I work hard at getting in better shape. The better your shape, the more comfortable you'll be in the ring."

Ali added, "I've been sparring more, and I have been getting better sparring. I know how to adapt to different fighters. As the rounds go on, I know what to do to win."

135 lbs. - Shemuel Pagan (1-0) vs. Marcos Garcia (0-3), 4 Rounds

Shemuel "The Chosen One" Pagan, a 5-Time New York Golden Gloves champion, wants to look more impressive in his 2nd professional bout.

"There's a lot of improvement as I progress in this career," said Pagan. "I'm excited. I am going to crank it up a bit. I think I'm more excited now than my 1st professional fight, because I'm on the undercard of Zab "Super" Judah. I always wanted to be on his card growing up. It's a big thing to fight on a card with Sadam Ali and Zab. It's time to put Brooklyn back on the map."

147 lbs. - Vinny O'Brien (Pro Debut) vs. David Navarrao (0-1), 4 Rounds

154 lbs. - Greg Hackett (2-5) vs. Joseph Crosby (5-1, 1 KO), 4 Rounds

147 lbs. - Jose Peralta Alejo (4-1, 2 KO's) vs. Clifford McPherson (2-3-1, 1 KO), 4 Rounds

Teen ‘Golden Boy’ Jake Towse Aims For ABA Success On March 12th

Johnny Eames and Jake Towse at the Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in London 

London - Wednesday, 2nd March 2011

Following his sensational Gold winning performance, at the British University and Colleges Championships in Coventry last week, Brighton teenager Jake Towse, who fights for the Hastings West Hill Amateur Boxing Club, is hoping to repeat this success in the Southern Counties ABA competition on Saturday 12th March.

Back on the 20th February, at the BUCS competition Jake dominated the 63.5kg final, against Portsmouth’s Richard Tyler, with his superior boxing skills to secure the Gold medal by a 35-26 points margin.

Following a training session with Johnny Eames at the Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, London, 19 year old Jake spoke briefly on his Gold winning performance and his future plans. “I just won Gold at the British University Championships, hopefully this will get me going further and people will recognise me more as I want to box for England, hopefully. I want to get into some international competitions.

It was a good fight for me and went well. I knew my game plan when I see that he was quite short and stocky, so when he came out I thought I’d box him.

First round I was doing well, teeing off and keeping him in range. Then he started getting in so I started letting heavy shots go. I was catching him with body shots and everything.

Second round same thing. Third round was toe-to-toe and just warred it out. I didn’t take many punches at all. I had quite a high guard, sticking behind my jab and sinking in the body shots. When his head was free to hit I hit him in the head, scored points. I won by nine points in the end.

My preparations were really good. Been coming down here to the TKO because of the good sparring and trainers. It’s a great opportunity for myself as I’d love to turn pro, obviously the big dream is to be a World Champion, but obviously it’s just to see how far I can go.

I think I am more suited to the pros but right now I’m at University and it’s right full on so I want to get that out of the way and then go straight for the pros. I’ve got this year and next year and then I’ll have finished University”

Jake will next be in action at the 2011 Southern Counties Senior ABA Boxing Finals at Portsmouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, on Saturday 12th March 2011.