Zab Judah - Explosive Interview with OLBG

Boxing legend Zab Judah has criticised Amir Khan, who he fought in 2011, after the British fighter failed a UKAD drug test this week. 

Khan accepted he broke anti-doping rules but says it was not intentional. This was accepted by an independent tribunal, but Khan has still been handed a two-year ban.

Judah, who suffered a brain bleed following his final fight in 2019, also criticised Conor Benn after he failed a test last year. Benn also denies wrongdoing and has been cleared of “intentional doping” by the WBC, but remains under investigation by UKAD and BBBC leaving him unable to fight in Britain.

In an exclusive chat with OLBG Judah - who fought greats including Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto - believes anyone caught cheating in boxing should not be allowed to fight again.

He also believes Anthony Joshua will become world champion again after his victory over Jermaine Franklin.

I don’t respect Amir Khan if he cheated

Chamber of Fear, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Amir Khan is my former opponent and I have love for anyone I've shared the ring with. I'm grateful for them all. But if the news is true and the UK anti doping agency has found him guilty then he's just another dirty guy. 

I don't respect fighters who cheat. I have a zero tolerance towards doping. If it's in your system you should be slung out for life. No second chances. I know first hand of the damages cheaters can cause, I ended up in the hospital. Ban them all for life.

Conor Benn should not be allowed to fight again

I'm disappointed with Conor Benn right now. From what I hear he's a swell guy and good fighter. But he's rubbed up a lot of people the wrong way. He should be penalised. If I did anything against the rules I was penalised and suspended. So I think he needs to be punished. I'm not a judge, so I don't want to say what his punishment should be. If he's as good a fighter as he says he is, he should not be taking this stuff. 

He failed a drug test and that's a big no-no for me. You remember my last fight that ended with brain surgery, I fought a guy who was caught cheating. So I'm totally against it. My philosophy is if you can fight, you don't need drugs. You got a ten week camp to go get strong, go get strong that's a long time. 

100 percent no second chances, you're out of here. I put pictures on my Instagram all the time to remind people of the dangers.

Anthony Joshua will become world champion again

I think AJ will become world champion again, I lost and became champion again. I came back and won the world six different times. He's 100 percent able to come back and get it done. 

Seth Whales, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Jake Paul should take Mike Tyson fight - but he’ll get knocked out

I think Mike can fight again. If you look at the transformation of his body it's amazing. Once you hit your 40s it's hard, but in your 50s to transform his body the way he did [for the Roy Jones fight] shows a lot of hard work and dedication. So if he feels he can get up and go again in the right situation and it's motivating, I don't see why he couldn't do it. 

If Jake Paul manages to align himself with a fight with Mike Tyson, yes I think he should take the fight. Jake is one of the pioneers of our era, a guy that came into boxing and changed the game. He came in and ran up numbers, I commend him for that. But Mike Tyson would knock Jake Paul out. Jake is my boy and even Jake would say 'woah, Mike Tyson - that's a different calibre of fighter'. He would get knocked out. 100 percent.

Mike Tyson told me I’d be world champ at 8-years-old - I’ll never forget it

My dad was a fighter and Mike Tyson was the champ of our neighbourhood, we lived in the same neighbourhood. Long story short I was about 8 years old and I woke up one morning and Tyson was standing in our living room. My father invited him to house and told him 'my boys are going to be fighters'. I had a stutter when I was younger but managed to tell Mike that I'm going to be champ of the world. And he told me 'I believe you, just keep working hard'. For him to tell me that, that's all I needed to hear. 

Eduardo Merille, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tyson beats Fury, AJ and Usyk in his prime - it would be too easy

I think AJ, Wilder, Usyk and Fury would be easy work for Mike. If you look back there's no fighter still to this day who is as fast as Mike Tyson. Nobody is stepping and spinning and turning like Mike. If you look at the calibre of guys Mike used to knock back in the day. It was big giant guys like the Joshuas. Mike was known for knocking these kinds of guys out in the 80s and 90s. Wilder is a freak of nature but Tyson was known for quickly closing the gap and then smash.

If you want Fury’s fights to stop going to Saudi - then pay him more

If English people want Tyson Fury to fight in England instead of going to Saudi Arabia, pay him his worth. The Saudis are doing a great job. You have got to understand this man is a fighter, this is how he lives, this is how he feeds his family. So if my hometown want to pay me five dollars, but out of town they want to give me 12 dollars, I'm out of here. 

I'm going to get the 12 dollars and come back home. If people of England don't think it's fair they should come together as a community and come up with the money to bring the champ back home. Support him. 

All fighters should ban sex - they will punch harder and I refrained for three months

100 percent, I advise every fighter to refrain from having sex before a fight. I know they say it's a myth but yes, I'm telling to straight up, it’s real. Yes you punch harder if you don’t have sex before a fight. I would ban sex three months before a fight. 

I salute ‘young’ 91-year-old Don King

Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

I think it's amazing and brilliant that Don King can say he signed Muhammad Ali and Adrien Broner, and everything in between. That's big. In his nineties he's still signing young, great fighters. With all his history and to be still doing business like that, I salute Don King. That's a big power move. He gives me inspiration, hope, and longevity. He's in his nineties and he's still in the boxing business.

I made my most money with Don King. A swell guy, very intelligent and articulate. 

Everytime I fought at the Crowne Plaza it was a Don King-Donald Trump promotion. With that being said Donald Trump was my promoter at one time. It gives me pleasure to say I'm now voting for my promoter. 

Working with Trump through Don King, I always got paid on time. 

Fury beats Usyk if they ever agree to fight

I’m going with Fury. After he beat Wilder I’m going with Fury, that’s my guy. He’s a big guy, he wears guys down. I’m not leaning towards a knockout but he’s going to win. 

Referee not giving me Floyd Mayweather’s first ‘knockdown’ doesn’t bother me

It was a knockdown but it doesn't bother me because people know what they saw. I don’t care what the scoreboard or stats say, you cannot fool people’s eyes. The world knew what they saw. Floyd was tremendous and is in a great situation in life right now. He can take that perfect Mayweather unbeaten record and run it up with celebrity fights. He’s doing a brilliant job with it. 

Floyds is one of the top guys I've had the opportunity of sharing the ring with; fast, great defence, ring smart and it was a great night, but we showed up that night. Team Judah. 

I’ve no interest in exhibitions at all

No, I don’t fight no more. I enjoy going to fights and watching it and kicking it and having a great time. But to change the subject a little bit, let's use the Mayweather Logan Paul as an example. The time that we have at lets say Mayweather-Logan Paul is different to what they had. 

When I was a fighter - most of the time you come in through the back door and don’t see anybody - you walk out to the ring, handle business and walk out through that tunnel. Back into your same clothes and out of the back door. 

Micky Ward was a tougher opponent than Mayweather, Cotto and Khan

Micky Ward was my toughest opponent because I was 15-0, fighting a legend, and he had a body punch that would stop a donkey. He was no joke. And I never had to use my mind capacity the way I had to use it in the Ward fight. 

That was hard. I've been fighting my whole life, there's nothing physically hard for me. But I never had to use my brain and mind capacity as I did in the Micky Ward fight.

I was winning Khan fight but got cheated out of it

Chamber of Fear, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

I feel like the fight was a cheat, I got hit in the balls and I went down, I was winning the fight. I think I was cheated out of that fight. Amir Khan acted like a swell gentleman after the fight , he did nothing wrong and performed and behaved as he should. He won the fight and moved on.

To this day me and Khan are friends and when we see each other there's good energy, from time to time we shout eachother out on a call on WhatsApp, there’s nobody I fought who I have a problem with. I love everybody who I fought with. Everyone who I stepped in the ring with I love because they gave me the opportunity to display my talent. 

Logan Paul is a young Muhammad Ali 

I standby saying Logan Paul looked like a young Muhaamad Ali. Youv'e got to remember he's a tall, sleek, slender guy - he gave me the Muhammad Ali vibes, I don't care what nobody says. At that time I came to see Logan Paul training in California at his house. He was moving like Ali. 

Jake Paul has a chance against Conor McGregor - I can’t call a winner 

Conor is an entertainer man, he’s a tough guy, he knows how to fight - I would watch Conor and Jake Paul. I don’t know who would win. 

I wish I’d fought ‘good guy’ Ricky Hatton

Ricky is a good guy, he’s a very tough guy. I don’t know why we never fought. He’s always been a swell guy to me, he’s my friend. He has good energy and is a good guy. I would have beaten him 100 percent. 

Harry (Howard) Potts, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons