Zab Judah is Reportedly Resting Comfortably in a New York Hospital

According to various reports Zab Judah was admitted to an upstate New York hospital yesterday evening (June 8) where doctors found bleeding on his brain. Earlier today social media was rife with reports that Judah was in a medically induced coma fighting for his life, but that was a false rumor. It is now being reported that Judah never lost consciousness, induced or otherwise. According to Main Events matchmaker Jolene Mizzone, a Judah family spokesperson, Judah is walking and talking and is expected to be released on Tuesday.

On Friday, Judah was stopped in the 11^th round by Cletus Seldin at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. As noted by TSS ringside correspondent Matt Andrzejewski, Seldin dominated Judah from the opening bell. According to BoxRec, Judah absorbed more than 300 blows to the head.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, Judah was at dinner last night with members of his team when he began feeling ill. Someone called 911 and he was rushed to the hospital where a cat scan revealed the brain bleed.

Judah’s bout with Seldin was his first fight in 16 months and only his third fight since losing a 12-round decision to Paulie Malignaggi in December of 2013. Despite the inactivity, the North American Boxing Association, an arm of the WBA, saw fit to sanction Seldin-Judah for the vacant NABA super lightweight title. Without that sanction, the bout would have been restricted to 10 rounds.

Zab Judah, now 41 years old, has engaged in 19 world title fights. He won his first world title at age 23 with a 4^th round stoppage of South Africa’s Jan Piet Bergman and made five successful defenses before running into Kostya Tszyu. He would subsequently unify the world welterweight title and return to 140 where he won another title belt. Before running into Tszyu he was compared to Sugar Ray Robinson by no less an authority than the late trainer Lou Duva. With Friday’s loss to Cletus Seldin, his record fell to 44-10 with 2 no-decisions.

Judah was inactive for all of 2014, 2015, and 2016. During his hiatus he was in the news for assorted legal troubles. In March of 2016, it was revealed that there were three judgments against him for unpaid child support in amounts totaling $240,000. In September of 2017, he was sentenced to three months in jail by a Queens, New York judge for failing to meet these obligations. He would later work as a nurse’s assistant at an adult day care facility in Farmington, Michigan.

It appears that prayers for an early recovery have been answered and that’s wonderful news but the news, although encouraging, is bleak for another fighter who was in action this weekend. On Friday, in Ixtapa, Zihuatenejo, Mexico, Felipe Orucuta was stopped in the 10^th round by countryman Jonathan Javier Rodriguez in a contest slated for 12. Orucuta suffered a blood clot on his brain and underwent surgery. According to the WBC, the surgery was successful but Orucuta remains in a medically induced coma.

Orucuta was 36-5 going in. In his previous fight, in September of last year, Orucuta went 12 rounds in a losing effort vs. Juan Francisco Estrada, the current WBC world super flyweight title-holder.

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