This Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, it's Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah - two of the best young fighters at the prime of their careers. A fight that boxing fans demanded, a natural matchup. But while Mayweather-Judah should have been promoted as if it was the second coming of Hearns-Leonard, a number of factors have tainted the hype going into Saturday night, making what should have been an exciting buildup to a boxing extravaganza appear anticlimactic and corrupted by politics.

First, Judah got the ball of confusion rolling when he lost his title to light-hitting Carlos Baldomir, the Argentine journeyman with nine losses. Everything that Judah accomplished by seemingly becoming mature and focused in stopping Cory Spinks in his own backyard for the title, was lost. Judah was exposed by Baldomir as still being unfocused, uncommited, and unconcerned. The Brooklyn native, whose rap video rep and bad boy persona would have, by defeating Baldomir, changed the dynamic of his fight with Mayweather, making it appear more of a risk and therefore more of a can't-miss event.

Secondly, the fight is still being billed as being "for the world title" even though Baldomir, scheduled to fight Arturo Gatti, is the legitimate 147-pound king. Mayweather, who is fighting for the second time at welterweight after beating Sharmba Mitchell in his debut, vacated the 140-pound division ruled by Ricky Hatton and is widely considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. It is that particular distinction, contrasted with Judah's inconsistency, that takes much of the lustre off this fight. The fact that Judah needs this win to "salvage his career" isn't exactly the kind of rhetoric that makes fight fans salivate.

Lastly, HBO has assigned the moniker "Sworn Enemies" to the event, even though Mayweather and Judah are known to be, at least at one time, good friends. Even though their relationship has soured, apparently stemming from a sparring session in 2005 in which Mayweather picked Judah apart, the hate factor could have been enhanced had Judah shown up for the press conference to spew some much needed vitriol into Mayweather's face. Instead, Mayweather has had to sell the fight on his own, in an event where two of the games biggest trash-talkers should have been administering tongue lashings. Judah's absence from the press conference, appaerntly because he was so focused on the fight, may prove that Mayweather has already won the psychological war.

Mayweather, 35-0 (24), values his undefeated record only behind God and his family. He has never even come close to losing a fight, save for the first fight with Jose Luis Castillo. The ring smarts of "Pretty Boy" Floyd are matched by no one, and even if Judah shows up in shape and focused, he still has flaws that Mayweather will no doubt expose. And as far as Mayweather's ability to take Judah's punch, it is worth noting that Castillo is a bigger puncher than Judah, and it's hard to imagine that Judah will pressure Floyd more than Castillo did.

Judah, 34-3 (25), is coming into the fight after losing his title to Baldamir. Prior to that, he has feasted on mainly pedestrian competition, fighting often and scoring early, spectacular knockouts, before and since his victory over Cory Spinks. Judah's speed and footwork are his best tools, but unfortunately, Mayweather also has those in spades. Judah has been dropped by Spinks and destroyed by Kostya Tszyu, and will have to be throwing volume punches to catch Mayweather clean. Mayweather has been rocked by the light-hitting Demarcus Corley, who has fast hands, so it is conceivable that Judah can score an upset, but it isn't likely. Mayweather's defensive prowess is too slick, and once he gets his distance, he'll set his feet and drown Judah in the later rounds.

Judah and Mayweather failed to build up the fight the way it should have been built up, leaving them with one last oppurtunity to prove the fight merits attention.

In the ring.

Prediction: Mayweather KO 10