MANILA, Philippines - Floyd Mayweather Jr. can’t find a better sparring partner than Zab Judah.
Judah, like Manny Pacquiao, is a southpaw.
During their tumultuous April 8, 2006 matchup, Judah caught Mayweather with a right hook to the side of the head in the second round.
It looked like he rocked Mayweather who lost his balance and almost fell backwards, his glove touching the canvas.
It could have been ruled as a knockdown but the referee, Richard Steele, was quick to call it a slip.
Judah had Mayweather against the ropes in the fourth round but Mayweather seized control from thereon.
In the 10th round, Judah, bleeding from the nose, hit Mayweather with a low blow, and the cornermen jumped in. Punches were thrown and Roger Mayweather, the trainer, was ejected.
Mayweather won a unanimous decision. But it was in this fight where Mayweather’s difficulty facing a southpaw was exposed.
Judah is not Manny Pacquiao, not even close.
But the American welterweight, who’s now 37 and with three losses in his last four fights, has been called in to spar with Mayweather.
“Come Monday, we’re going to work,” Judah told FightHype.com, the only media outlet which has an all-access card to Mayweather’s camp.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are in their first full week of training for their May 2 showdown in Las Vegas.
FightHype.com also reported yesterday what it saw inside the gym where Mayweather trains.
It confirmed that Mayweather “is already stopping sparring partners.”