Cory Spinks vs. Zab Judah II

Cory Spinks vs. Zab Judah II, billed as Arch Rivals...Meet Me in St. Louis, was a professional boxing match contested on 5 February 2005, for the Undisputed welterweight championship.^[1]

Arch Rivals...Meet Me in St. Louis

Date	5 February 2005
Venue	Savvis Center, St Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring undisputed welterweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Cory Spinks Zab Judah Nickname The Next Generation Super Hometown St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Brownsville, New York, U.S. Purse >$1,000,000 $150,000 Pre-fight record 34–2 (11 KO) 32–2 (1) (24 KO) Age 26 years, 11 months 27 years, 3 months Height 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (177 cm) 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) Weight 147 lb (67 kg) 146 lb (66 kg) Style Southpaw Southpaw Recognition WBA, WBC, IBF and The Ring Undisputed Welterweight Champion WBA/IBF/The Ring No. 2 Ranked Welterweight WBC No. 11 Ranked Welterweight
Result
Judah defeated Spinks by 9th round TKO

Background

Since winning the undisputed welterweight championship against Ricardo Mayorga in December 2003, Cory Spinks had made two successful defences of the title, the first of which saw him survive a 12th round knockdown to defeat former Light welterweight champion Zab Judah by unanimous decision.

On 4 January 2005, promoter Don King announced the rematch, to take place in Spinks' hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.^[2]

The fight was the first major bout in St. Louis in more than 40 years, and it was a 22,000+ sell-out.^[3] Rapper Nelly accompanying Spinks into the ring and lead the crowd in a singalong.

The fight

Judah was the aggressor throughout the fight, coming forward behind the Jab, throwing left hands and body punches. Spinks meanwhile used his Jab and lateral movement to try and control the distance and set up counter punches to edge out the rounds. Late in the seventh round, a right left combination from Judah hurt Spinks causing the champion's knee hit the canvas just as the bell rang, which wasn't ruled a knockdown by the referee. Spinks started the ninth strongly, landing some of his most effective blows of the fight as the Judah started to get wide with his punches. As the round progressed however a left hand hurt Spinks, with the follow-up putting him on the canvas. Spinks beat the count, but Judah would land a series of hard punches left Spinks defenceless on the ropes. Another right left combination sent Spinks into the ropes at which point the referee stepped to wave it off with 11 seconds left in the round.^[4][5][6][7]

Aftermath

Speaking after the bout Judah said "I was hungry, I was determined, it's my time, it's my era." Spinks meanwhile said "I'm very disappointed, I let a lot of people down, but I have to hold my head up. I have to take this like a man."^[8]

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:^[9]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	Showtime