Danny Garcia vs Zab Judah

Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah, 12 rounds, junior welterweight

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Miguel Cartagena vs. Angel Carvajal, 4 rounds, bantamweight


Tensions have been rising in the build up to Saturday night, adding an explosive, personal dynamic to what was already a very intriguing fight. So great is the pre-fight animosity that Garcia and Judah had to weigh-in separately yesterday for fear of a possible altercation.
Things came to a head at Thursday's press conference, when, in a bizarre move, Judah and his team were initially barred from the press conference. After some time, Judah made his way in and was fired up, going on a rant against promoter Oscar De La Hoya. But it was Garcia's father and trainer Angel Garcia who took the most abuse, with Judah saying, "Angel Garcia is a dopehead. He must be a drug addict or an ex-drug addict or something, because he can't control himself," and swearing Garcia would not get under his skin.

This isn't something new to Garcia vs. Judah. The two camps have been at each other since day one, with a heated press conference at the fight announcement last December, a confrontation at a promotional event this past Tuesday, and numerous negative comments from each side. In the Garcia camp, it's been dad Angel doing the talking primarily, while Danny sits back.
From the outside, it seems like more of the verbal attacks have been prompted by Garcia's side. Which brings up an interesting question - is this part of a concerted plan on their part to get under Judah's skin? Judah is already fighting in front of a hometown Brooklyn crowd, and now he's fighting with his feelings, intent of shutting the Garcias up. Already an emotional fighter, will this cause Judah to get off his game and give Garcia an advantage?
It seems possible that this is exactly what the Garcia team is banking on. And if they are, it's a wise strategy. Judah's emotion has cost him fights in the past, and while it's been less of an issue in recent years, the Garcias seem to have really tapped back into that emotion for this fight.
Of course, doing so is also playing with fire. Because despite any of his flaws, Zab Judah is a supremely talented technical fighter. He's fast (significantly faster than Garcia), packs a punch, and knows his way around the ring. If he fights to the best of his abilities, he wins this fight.
So this fight largely comes down to a gamble on the side of the Garcia camp. Will Judah's frustration cause him to fight emotionally instead of technically, making mistakes that Garcia can capitalize on? Or will it fine tune his skills, giving him the drive to succeed that shows just how dangerous Zab Judah can be? As a Judah fan, I hope it's the latter. As realist, I suspect it's the former. Look for Garcia's gamble to pay off as he takes advanatge of an overextended Judah.