Cory Spinks will have the entire city of St. Louis with him when he steps through the ropes and attempts to defend his undisputed world welterweight title this Saturday at Savvis Center. Brooklyn native Zab Judah is coming to town with hopes of ripping the belts from the hometown favorite, and after a closely contested first bout between the two, most boxing fans have an opinion as to how the rematch will unfold. I asked several nationally known boxing writers for their fearless predictions, and if the experts I polled are correct, the belts won’t be heading to the East Coast at the end of the weekend.
DAN RAFAEL (USA Today boxing columnist): I think Cory will win by a decision. I thought Cory was winning the first fight rather easily until the knockdown in the last round, and I think he’ll use his boxing skills to avoid any big shots from Zab.
MICHAEL KATZ (veteran boxing columnist): Zab is faster, hits harder, but has lapses in the ring ( kind of like the “walkabouts” the Aussies talk about. Spinks is a solid boxer, and more importantly, a solid character. He is able to keep his mind on his work. It won’t be as easy as the first time, but I think he’ll manage to win again and go on to bigger things (Kostya Tszyu, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., whatever).
THOMAS GERBASI (veteran boxing columnist): Spinks W12 Judah. A carbon copy of their first meeting, with Spinks’ advantages in defensive prowess and ring savvy again proving too much for Judah, whose inability to stay focused for an entire 12-round fight proves to be his downfall.
STEVE KIM (senior writer, Maxboxing.com): I like Spinks by decision, in a fight that could look a lot like their first encounter. The fact that this fight is in St. Louis bodes well for the champion.
MARTIN MULCAHEY (featured columnist, Maxboxing.com): In breaking down the rematch, one has to remember only one thing ( Spinks was in control of the first fight until the very last round, when he got sloppy and was zapped by Zab. It was almost too easy for Cory early in the first fight, and he let off the gas in late rounds, allowing Zab to steal some rounds. If not for the last-round knockdown, I am not sure they would even have a rematch, since Spinks controlled the first fight with his jab and a surprising amount of straight left hands.
I don’t see the second fight as being much different, and the key is Cory’s consistency. Which is the polar opposite of Judah, who seemingly suffers from attention deficit disorder in the ring. Zab’s performances fluctuate from brilliant to pedestrian, often within one fight. Unless Spinks is caught up in the hoopla of finally defending his title in front of hometown fans, I don’t see him losing the title this time out. I like Spinks to take a comfortable 12-round decision.
In fact, I can’t see anyone at welterweight challenging him. Only a move up in weight by Kostya Tszyu would cause me concern for the New Generation of Spinks Jinx.
As for my prediction, I’m also convinced that Cory will win a tight decision, and I’ll explain why. Cory’s performance against Ricardo Mayorga showed how disciplined Cory is at sticking to trainer Kevin Cunningham’s game plan. No matter how hard Mayorga tried to bait Cory into a brawl, Cory resisted and gave the slugger a boxing lesson. I think Cory will be focused and inspired by his hometown fans. As for Judah, I think he lacks the mental toughness to go into a hostile environment (as opposed to his hometown of New York or a neutral site such as Las Vegas) and get the job done for a full 12 rounds.