One word explains why Zab Judah will have an easier time than expected with Kostya Tszyu. It's the same word we Yankees fans used to describe the Seattle Mariners at the Stadium on Monday night: overrated. Kostya Tszyu is a top-notch fighter, a solid champion and a wonderful representative for our sport. Every time he opens his mouth outside the ring, he makes me proud to be a boxing fan. But he is not now, nor was he ever, one of the upper echelon pound-for-pound fighters in the world. When Zab beats him let's not hear about how Kostya is not the same fighter he was several years ago, when he was in his ostensible prime.

I remember reading a boxing magazine during Kostya's first year as a pro. There was an article that suggested that Tszyu would one day replace Julio Cesar Chavez as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Julio Cesar Chavez! When was Chavez ever the best? Pernell Whitaker was Chavez' clear ring superior. But Whitaker had a bad attitude towards the press, hardly ever scored knockouts and whipped the best fighters in the world so easily that he eliminated much of drama that usually accompanies title fights. Chavez, on the other hand, had a million-dollar smile, frequently rallied to come back in brutal action-packed wars, and knocked out most of the men he faced. People in the press wanted Chavez to be the best. They wanted it so much, they simply lied. First to themselves, and then to the boxing public. And so it is to a lesser extent with Kostya Tszyu.

No one ever calls Tszyu the best in the business. There is, however, this idea of Tszyu as a dominant champion, a brutal punching knockout machine. Here is the truth: he is a good but overrated puncher with underrated handspeed. He is a physically strong fighter, a credible belt-holder and solid citizen. And he is now Judah-fodder.

Since the inception of the new Friday Night Fights, I have been touting Zab Judah as an eventual candidate for a slot in the pound-for-pound upper crust. Even a dominant win over Tszyu will not move Judah ahead of Hopkins, Mosley, Jones, Mayweather, Lopez or Barerra. It might, however, put Zab in Felix-Oscar territory.