Judah’s manager says NAC acted hastily in suspending fighter

Zab Judah’s manager fired back at the Nevada Athletic Commission and executive director Bob Bennett after the commission suspended Judah for allegedly providing false information on his license application.

Judah, a former world welterweight champion who lives in Las Vegas, was scheduled to headline the boxing card promoted by Roy Englebrecht on Saturday at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center in a 10-round bout against Josh Torres. It was supposed to be Judah’s first fight in two years.

But when the commission learned that the information on Judah’s application was not accurate and that Englebrecht had filled out the form on the fighter’s behalf, it placed the two on temporary suspension pending a disciplinary hearing March 23.

The fight card was canceled Thursday when a substitute promoter could not be found.

Judah manager Bill Halkias issued a statement on his fighter’s behalf Saturday:

“While Zab understands and respects the decision of the commission to suspend the promoter’s license given the information contained in the promoter’s application package, I’m disappointed that the executive director has already found Mr. Judah guilty of the allegations in advance of the commission holding a full hearing on the matter. We look forward to presenting our facts and our side of the issue to the commission later this month.”

When asked for further comment, Halkias said he and Judah were advised by Judah’s attorneys not to say anything more until the hearing.

Englebrecht has not responded to phone calls seeking comment.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj