By Jack Welsh

Cory Spinks and Zab Judah have shown each other extreme respect in recent weeks, but some analysts feel it is just a camouflage for what they have in mind for Saturday’s showdown in St. Louis.

More often than not, rematches in boxing do not equal the original and that’s as good a reason as any why Spinks and Judah won’t be waiting until the 11th and 12th rounds for knockdowns.

Missouri is legend as “the show me state” and what it is getting is two superb southpaws who will be reaching deep to scramble each other.

Spinks, solid as undisputed world welterweight champion, is making his second defense before home town fans in Savvis Center with more than 15,000 assured plus Showtime televising the 12-round championship at 9 p,m, ET/PT.

The 27-year-old son of Leon Spinks, whose legend is upsetting Muhammad Ali in 1978, might not say it out loud but he seeks a more decisive victory than the unanimous decision last April in Las Vegas where an early points lead nullified the champ being knocked down in the final round.

Judah, 27, a former two-timer as IBF/WBO140-pound ruler out of Brooklyn, N.Y. admits he is getting a second chance after blowing the marbles when he dropped Spinks in the final 20 seconds and didn’t press despite needing a knockout to win it.

Promoter Don King may be saddled with mediocre heavyweights as he talks with HBO about a spring tournament, but with the return of Spinks-Judah, he is giving the public a pairing that has the potential to be “Fight of the Year 2005.”

Spinks, with a 34-2. 11 KOs resume and also the nephew of Michael Spinks, who dethroned Larry Holmes in 1985, attracted world attention Dec.14, 2003 when he won the WBA/WBC titles with a

majority decision over Ricardo Mayorga in Atlantic City.

Spinks set the pace in the early rounds against Judah but makes no excuse in becoming careless in the windup.

“I have to give Judah credit and he is a great fighter. However, I was a little better the first time. Some people didn’t think I could get mean in there but I did. On the knockdown in the last round, I got just a little too relaxed,” Spinks reflected.

“I was a little too cool and I should have stayed away, boxing and he wouldn’t have got me with a good shot. But I will not make the same mistake in this rematch. I had a big lead and almost let it get away.”

Judah, with a 32-2,1 NC, 23 KOs record, never denied he was slow moving “into my game plan.

“I’d say I began to turn it around late in the middle rounds but i did not fight my fight. I should have done more in the early rounds. But I still thought I did enough. Spinks did not surprise me at all. I went down but it was sorta “B.S.” knockdown.” Judah insisted.

“When I dropped Spinks with a beautiful right hand, I let him off the hook. I know I had him hurt and there was still time to finish him, but instead of going forward, I stayed back. I give Spinks credit for giving me another chance. Most fighters would not have but he’s a good fighters, but in this rematch, I’m going to show him who the real champ really is.”

Spinks is pleased the fight looms as a sellout, but in a teleconference with Judah, he told the media “the pressure of a full house won’t bother me one bit.”

“I’m going into this fight like I do with my other fights....clearheaded and ready to go into the ring and handle my business. Some writers ask me if I needed a rematch since I beat Judah rather easily the first time. This sometimes happens in boxing. He is still one of the best guys in the welterweight division and I’m all about fighting the best and ready to go. I’m in top shape and go in there to do what I have to do.”

Spinks admitted he would have rather had a bigger mega-money fight then meeting Judah again.

“Of course, any fighter wants to fight the best. We were willing to fight Kostya Tszyu. Even willing to fight Tito Trinidad but sometimes that’s not the way the ball bounces. So, we have to go with the next best available.”

Judah, along with his father/trainer, Yoel, reported his condition was never better in training at Vero Beach, Fla.

“I feel excellent and I’m hungry and more determined than I have ever been in any of my past fights. I am going to do my best. I do not think I will have to do anything different in the rematch. I will go with the same game plan. I’ll just be myself. The good thing is we do not have just 30 seconds or one more round to fight. We have 12 more rounds and a whole new fight and two fresh men. It will be an interesting night.”

Spinks, although he admires the local boxing fans, said he would never train in St. Louis, no matter how big or how small an upcoming fight might be.

“If you are going to prepare for a fight, especially a fight of this magnitude, you do not want to be around any type of distractions at home like your women, your boys, your buddies, and even just relatives. It is a large distraction when you are trying to focus and get ready for a big fight. This fight is life and death. That’s the way we see it.” the world champion said.

“We’ve had some small fights even if it is my hometown in St. Louis but I’m going into this fight like the others I have had here. I would say I have more energy because it is there I won’t let it get to me because I am a smart fighter”.

Both fighters have an opinion about being down in the last two rounds.

Spinks: “Sometimes that is the way the fight goes.. You want to put on a good show. When good fighters get in there, they know what it takes and that’s what happens.”

Judah: “I’m ready for anything. I’m prepared to box and I’m prepared to fight. However, if the fight should come to me, I’ll be ready for it.”

In the official scoring in the first bout, ringside judges Chuck Giampa and Dave Moretti both had it 114-112 while

Doug Tucker’s tab was 116-111, all for

Spinks.

Spinks: “Well, it wasn’t as close as 116-112, but I came out with the win and that’s all that counts.”

Judah: “On the 12th round knockdown, I didn’t have any more time to do anything. After the knockdown, I threw a

punch and Cory grabbed me. Then the bell rang.”

Spinks made a personal statement

to the boxing fans of St. Louis.

“I’m very happy to be here because I just want to show St. Louis what kind of champion it has. It has been a long dream for me to defend here and it just happens that I have all three world championship belts. That’s a blessing.”

Judah scoring that 12th round knockdown of Spinks has enhanced his

confidence he can do it again.

“I feel good about it because I am known as a knockout puncher. It makes me feel that at any time I choose to turn it up, I can do whatever I want to do in the fight. If I get the opportunity again, I definitely would not let it pass me this time.”

Asked if he felt he was getting the respect he deserved as being one of boxing’s few undisputed world champion, Spinks came across as super modest.

“Yes, kind of because I have not

turned down any fights. I feel I have given boxing more of what it needs ---true, real champions. On the style I have may be a factor too. I just stick to the rules what boxing is...an art that says. hit and not get hit. That’s what I stick to.”

Judah has been censored in some precincts for his flamboyant showboating in recent years. Apparently, if the former champion is truthful, it will not be a style he will embrace against Spinks.

“Showboating? Definitely not. Like I have already told my father, if I did choose not to win another fight in the world, this fight right here means a lot to me and I will win this fight right here.”

Fight Predictions:

Spinks: “I am the best 147-pound boxer in the world and look forward to proving it with a repeat over Judah. Only this time it will be a lot easier. Zab likes to talk and will always win a war of words but the ring is my forum where I speak the loudest. After I beat him again, maybe I will get the credit I deserve.”

Judah: “I want to translate what Cory was saying the other day about being well-prepared. What he meant was bringing his running shoes to run around the ring from the hard-hitting junior welterweight, Zab Judah, Well, I’m going to finish him forever. That’s no disrespect to Cory Spinks. I like him a lot as a person but my whole thing is this --- I have to take....I am going into his back yard because I’m from

Brooklyn. That is what we do, I’m from the home of the taking state.”

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist with headquarters in Las Vegas and a regular contributor for Boxing Insider, Ringsports.com, Boxing Scene and other American sports publications.)