The gracious Katharine Hines shares her perspective and more about her son, the former undisputed Welterweight champion of the world Zab “Super” Judah…
BoxingInsider: Please talk about how you feel about your son’s career and him being one of the best boxers on earth.
Katharine Hines: “Well, first of all, it’s an honor. There’s not very many mothers that come from where we come from in Brooklyn and to see your child grow up to be something, look and see my child’s name on a big billboard, a big picture of him, we have magazines, pictures, I mean it’s a great honor. His father and I were both karate fighters so I guess that’s where he got it from.”
BoxingInsider: When do you remember first realizing that Zab was a special fighter/athlete?
Katharine Hines: “Well, for a long time his father hid it from me. I didn’t know that Zab was boxing for a long time, until he was five or six years old. And then one day his father came to me, Come on, I got a surprise for you. He took me to the gym and my son was the Kid Gloves champ of the world [laughter]. I never knew.”
BoxingInsider: Have you been to all his fights?
Katharine Hines: “I’ve been to all his fights except the fight that he had in London (vs. Junior Witter), I didn’t go to that one. That’s the only fight that I didn’t go. But I’ve been to every fight. I’m in the ring with him. I’m his biggest fan. His most (motivating) motivator. I’m there for him.”
BoxingInsider: Is it hard for you?
Katharine Hines: “Oh yeah it’s hard. It’s hard for any mother to see someone punching on their child. And it’s hard for me to see my child do the same to other people’s kids. But that’s the life that he chose. And he’s good at it. So I don’t deny it.”
BoxingInsider: What’s been the best moment for you in Zab’s career?
Katharine Hines: “Oh boy, when we whupped Cory Spinks in St. Louis and he became the undisputed champ of the world. That was one of our top moments. We partied. We had a good time the whole week. We brought a lot of family from Brooklyn and we had a big party that night.”
BoxingInsider: Worst moment?
Katharine Hines: “The Kostya Tszyu fight. And the Floyd Mayweather fight.”
BoxingInsider: You must have met a lot of famous boxers.
Katharine Hines: “Oh I know Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield, Buddy McGirt, Hasim Rahman. I have many pictures. Oh, my best one is Diego Corrales. Rest in peace. That was the best, he was the nicest. Because Diego was always just Diego. He was always happy, he was fun. Diego was just Diego. He had a lot of respect for his fellow boxers.”
BoxingInsider: You must have a Mike Tyson story.
Katharine Hines: “Oh, Mike Tyson is a good person. What he do on the outside – I never seen that.”
BoxingInsider: If people treat him with respect –
Katharine Hines: “…He will respect you. And that’s any man.”
BoxingInsider: Tyson memory?
Katharine Hines: “We had hung out with Tyson at his house (in Las Vegas). We had went to swimming parties with Mike Tyson. And, I mean, he loves my son, so. Who cannot love a person that loves their child? So.”
BoxingInsider: I’m thinking these questions up on the spot. Anything else you would like to add?
Katharine Hines: “Just want to see my son have a spectacular night and let God bless both of the men and moth of them come out safe, to be safe. That’s all I’m looking for.”
Zab Judah (38-6, 26 KO’s) will take on Jose Armando Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KO’s) in a 10-round junior welterweight bout at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Friday July 16.