IBF junior welterweight titlist Zab Judah has confirmed his willingness to end the trash talk with WBA champ Amir Khan and unify their titles.
The possibility of a matchup came when WBO and WBC champion Timothy Bradley pulled out of negotiations with Khan over money disagreements. Khan, who’s coming off a technical decision win over Paul McCloskey, has HBO holding a July 23 date for his next fight. When asked about unifying with Judah earlier this week, Khan scoffed and characterized Judah as a “runner”who’d make another ugly fight.
“Judah is a runner like McCloskey. I don’t want another runner,” Khan explained to Boxing Futures. “I want to fight a guy who comes to fight. Why am I going to fight a guy who’s going to run all the way through the fight and not want to get hit it? This is boxing, it’s not about running away like McCloskey.”
The harsh tone came after previous Judah statements where he called Khan a “step down” in competition. Judah vehemently denied the “runner” critique but welcomed the opportunity to prove Khan wrong in the ring.
“I have never been a runner! Check my track record,” Judah told boxingscene.com. “What a way to wake up with a kid trying to get a replacement fight and calling me a runner. Boy, you must of bumped your monkey fucking head. When I said he’s a step down, I didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight him. I was saving his ass but he opened his mouth to the wrong one. Little boy, sign up and it’s on! And remember I did not start this, Amir Khan did, but I will finish this. Fighting is something that I was born to do, so let’s do it boy.”
At press time, Khan’s preference for the July 23 date is lightweight and fellow Golden Boy Promotions stablemate Robert Guerrero.
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