The referee Vic Drakulich from Reno, Nevada, thought it fair and took up the count as soon as Judah went to the floor. Judah's claim that he thought Drakulich was giving him an eight-count for a low blow was ludicrous; no such rule exists in professional boxing, although it does apply in the amateurs. Khan said, "It was nowhere near below [the belt], it was a great shot. I knew he was getting hurt, moving away and ducking.
The shot that took him out hit him right on the belt. If it had gone another few rounds, I would have knocked him out. I was hurting him and it was only a matter of time. Zab's a great fighter. I respect him a lot. That conclusion by Khan was a charitable observation. His opponent's rush to claim he had been hard done by convinced no one but his connections and also suggested an attempt to grab a win by a disqualification that would have been wholly at odds with the action that had gone before.
The Events Center of the Mandalay Bay Casino was maybe three-quarters occupied by more than 7, paying customers and a majority were pulling for Khan, even though Judah has lived in the city for several years.
The three judges gave Khan every round, as did any knowledgeable observer at ringside. Had the fight gone much longer, he would have either stopped or beaten up badly on Judah, who, despite showing flashes of the skill that had won him titles at light-welter and welter over the past decade, was off the pace and out of range.
Khan was too quick, too slick and hit way too hard for Judah. Wary of the southpaw's heavy left, he boxed at distance in round one, moving mostly to his left and jabbing to head and body to unsettle Judah. In the second, Judah was falling short with his sporadic jabs, while Khan hooked around those few leads and scored with right crosses that left a cut on his opponent's mouth. Judah found his range with a pair of rights at the start of the third but missed with a wild left hook. Khan worked patiently behind his jab.
The fifth followed the pattern, Khan hunting Judah down and scoring with sharp head shots that raised a slight swelling around his right eye. Judah looked distressed under pressure and clearly was hurt when Khan drilled a solid left through his guard.
His head drooped and Khan measured him for the final punch, an uppercut to his midriff as lethal as it was legal. I scored it in his favor. Second round starts with Judah coming out with some possible swelling around his right eye.
Khan staying the aggressor, and attempting to throw combinations. Judah gets in a decent hook while briefly tied up with Khan. Judah is bleeding from both his nose and face now. Khan presses Judah against the ropes and lands a nice combination.
A straight right lands for Khan. Another good round for Khan, and I scored it in his favor again. Amir Khan has been looking very good so far. Judah catches Khan with a check right hook as Khan tries to come in.
Judah swings wildly but misses. Solid right hand by Khan gets a reaction from the crowd. Khan comes in with a lead straight right. Judah throws a double jab, but Khan evades it and lands a solid hook. Khan lands a solid jab cross combination.
Khan displays impressive hand speed again and presses Judah against the ropes. Khan lands a hard left hook. When Khan comes forward with combinations, he reminds me of Pacquiao, probably all those sparring sessions with Pacquiao is starting to pay off. Another very solid round for Khan, I scored it for him again. Khan still throwing combinations and comes forward. Announcers notice that Judah is circling the wrong way. Khan stuns Judah against the ropes with a straight left, and gets some more oohs and aahs from the crowd.
Khan again wins this round, Khan comes out firing in the beginning of round 5.
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