Boxing: Former World Champ Zab Judah Returns Sept. 10 Against Hevinson Herrera

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One of the most gifted boxers of his generation, Zab “Super” Judah, is slated to return to action Sept. 10 against Hevinson Herrera. The bout will be a 10-rounder contested at junior welterweight, but it’s unlikely to be televised on any of the major networks.

Judah will face Herrera in the main event of the next Greg Cohen Promotions card, which will be held inside The Space at Westbury in Westbury, N.Y. Also expected to appear on the bill is a women’s lightweight battle between multiple-time champion Amanda Serrano (24-1, 18 KOs) and Angel Gladney (8-11, 6 KOs).

Judah (42-9, 29 KOs) burst onto the boxing scene with his scorching power and slick defense. Dubbed “Sweet Pea with a Punch” for his Pernell Whitaker-like defensive moves coupled with raw knockout power, Judah tore through the 140-pound division. He captured the IBF version of the junior welterweight title by knocking out Jan Bergman and defended it four times before losing to Kostya Tszyu in 2001.

From there, Judah bounced back and forth between brilliant performances where he captured the WBO 140-pound crown by decisioning DeMarcus Corley, becoming the undisputed welterweight champion by knocking out Cory Spinks in the ninth during their rematch and eventually regaining his IBF junior welter title years later by knocking out Kaizer Mabuza in the seventh.

But Judah has had as many downs as ups in his career. He often lost the biggest fights of his life and was considered by many to be one of those fighters who could have been an all-time great, but never became one. He lost in shocking fashion to such fighters like Carlos Baldomir and came up short against the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Spinks, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, Joshua Clottey and Danny Garcia.

Judah last fought in December 2013 where he dropped an uninspired, lopsided unanimous decision to Paulie Malignaggi for a minor title. Judah contemplated retirement but eventually opted against it. Instead, he’s soldiering on in what could be his last effort to regain a world title. He’s lost his last two bouts and has dropped three of his last four overall, but the Brooklyn native thinks he can shock the world one last time before hanging up the gloves of his probable Hall of Fame career.

In Herrera, Zab will be facing a man who has been struggling equally as much as he has. Herrera (18-11-1, 12 KOs) was knocked out in the seventh against Gilberto Gonzalez in July and has lost seven of his last 11 bouts. During that stretch, he was knocked out six times. Of his four wins, two opponents were winless when he fought them and the overall record of those opponents is a staggering 7-85-4.

Support bouts include a junior middleweight bout pitting Tommy Rainone (23-6, 5 KOs) against Francisco Javier Reza (14-14, 11 KOs) and a super lightweight clash featuring Jesus Gutierrez (13-0-1, 4 KOs) and an opponent to be named soon. Joe Greene (26-1, 17 KOs) will also be in action, though an opponent has not been named yet.