Yoel Judah (born July 23, 1956) is the eldest member of the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based Judah boxing family. He has been a

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

, three-time world champion

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

, and boxing trainer and manager.

Boxing and kickboxing career

Johnny Saxton Johnny Saxton (July 4, 1930 – October 4, 2008) was an American professional boxer in the welterweight (147 lb) division. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, learned to box in a Brooklyn orphanage and had an amateur career winning 31 of 33 fights ...

, who twice won the world

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

championship, was Judah's uncle. Judah had a brief boxing career in the 1980s, going 1–1 in two fights. He is also a 9th-degree black belt and former three-time world

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

champion, trained at one point by Billy Slinker.

Training and managing career

He has been the trainer and manager of his sons

Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 20 ...

Daniel Judah Daniel Harvey Judah (born August 8, 1977) is an American former professional boxer. He is the brother of Zab Judah and Josiah Judah, who are also former professional boxers. Boxing career Judah had his pro debut on June 18, 1999. Although Ju ...

, and

Josiah Judah Josiah Judah (born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional boxer. He is the brother of welterweight champion Zab Judah and former U.S. Boxing Association light heavyweight champion Daniel Judah. Judah has fought on the undercard of ...

. He has also trained heavyweight

Shannon Briggs Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion, having held the lineal heavyweight championship from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO title from 2006 to 2007. Briggs is known for h ...

Melee, license revocation, fine, and aftermath

He received national attention for his involvement in the melee in round 10 of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Zab Judah fight on April 8, 2006. After Zab hit Mayweather

below the belt Mainly used in combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing, below the belt refers to all the area of the body that lies below the line of the opponent's navel,

and with a

rabbit punch A rabbit punch is a blow to the back of the head or to the base of the skull. It is considered especially dangerous because it can damage the cervical vertebrae and subsequently the spinal cord, which may lead to serious and irreparable spinal c ...

Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight tit ...

(Mayweather Jr.'s trainer) stormed the ring and went after Zab. Referee

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in D ...

had Roger restrained until Yoel entered the ring and threw a right hand at Roger—an act that caused the ring to fill with Mayweather's camp members, security officers, and Las Vegas police. On May 8, 2006, the Nevada State Athletic Commission fined Yoel $100,000 and revoked his training license for one year. When Zab Judah was involved in a later controversy, this time the recipient of what his angry cornerman Tommy Smalls believed were flagrant low blows by WBA welterweight champion

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...

in their June 9, 2007, fight before a sold-out crowd at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

, the father this time played a calming role, telling Smalls "What's done is done."

Religion

The Judahs are

Black Hebrews Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites) are groups of African Americans who believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Some sub-groups believ ...

, and often attend

Jewish Sabbath Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical st ...

services. Judah is an avowed Hebrew Israelite, and Judah's family has declared themselves Jewish.

References

External links