Judah injury wipes out Mosley bout

An arm injury to Zab Judah has forced the cancellation of his May 31 welterweight fight with Shane Mosley at Mandalay Bay, and the possibility of salvaging the bout down the road looks bleak.

Judah, who has been in Las Vegas training, suffered multiple lacerations to his left arm after falling in the bathroom at the Top Rank gym May 1 and putting his arm through a glass shower door. The wound required 50 stitches, leaving him unable to train for four weeks.

The announcement was made Thursday in Los Angeles by Judah's manager, Michael Shinefield, and Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer.

"Zab was hoping he could get back in two weeks," said Shinefield, who explained that Judah was examined by a specialist, Dr. Steven Shimoyama, on Monday in Los Angeles and was told it would be four weeks before he could fight again. "Mosley didn't want to wait that long.''

Mosley's wife and manager, Jen, wouldn't agree to postpone the fight for two weeks, Shinefield said.

"Right now, the most important thing is for Zab to recover from his injuries, Shinefield said. "He's been training since January and he's in great shape, so we want to get him back in the gym as soon as possible and get him in the ring. If not Mosley, then someone else."

Mosley released a statement Thursday, saying: "I made 147 (pounds on Wednesday), and I'm really disappointed, although I'm not shocked. It's typical Zab. The only thing I have to say about it is, next."

The first sign something was amiss came Thursday morning when Judah's father, Yoel, failed to appear at the Nevada Athletic Commission meeting to seek reinstatement so he could apply for his trainer's license.

"That explains why he didn't show up," NAC executive director Keith Kizer said after he was told Thursday afternoon the fight was off.

Judah (36-5, 25 knockouts, two no-decisions) was scheduled to make his first appearance in Las Vegas since his controversial loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on April 8, 2006. Judah and his father were suspended for a year and fined by the NAC for their roles in a melee during the 10th round.

Judah last fought Nov. 17, 2007, defeating Ryan Davis in a 12-round unanimous decision in Turks and Caicos.

Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) last fought Nov. 10, when he lost a 12-round decision to Miguel Cotto.

The Judah-Mosley fight was scheduled to be shown on HBO Pay Per View. If it is rescheduled, an August date is most likely. HBO has two pay-per-view events set for June.

There was talk of putting the fight on regular HBO, but Shinefield said he doesn't see the fight being rescheduled.

Schaefer said he wasn't sure if Mosley and Judah would ever square off.

"When you get bad news like this, you have to explore all the possibilities," he said. "I'm not as pessimistic as Michael, but given all the circumstances, I can't say with any certainty we can get this back together."

An MGM Mirage official said tickets purchased for the fight will be refunded at the original point of purchase. According to Schaefer, approximately 6,000 tickets had been sold.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.