Zab Judah and Joel Casamayor won as expected in their Las Vegas comeback fights tonight on pay-per-view, leaving only the question of what's left and if either of them are actually any good anymore. Tonight taught us nothing.

In front of a very small crowd that included Erik Estrada at The Palms, Judah stopped retired scrub Ubaldo Hernandez in two rounds on a clear low blow and some sort of arm injury after knocking down the journeyman in the first. The groin shot wasn't intentional, it just sort of happened as Judah was going to the body. He knocked him down on a jab to the body in the first.

Judah (38-6, 26 KO) proclaimed after the fight that he'd be going down to 140 pounds -- yes, he said that again -- to fight titlist Juan Urango. Honestly, as little as I think of Judah at this point, if he's got much of anything left he can and should beat Urango. I have no doubt that Urango could knock him out, but if Zab can make 140 comfortably and fights smart, he's way too fast and skilled for the exceptionally slow and plodding Colombian. He said after that he wants to return to 147 and take on Andre Berto, a guy I'm quite confident he'd lose to in typical Judah fashion.

Before anyone gets excited about Judah's return, let's recap just what this fight was. Hernandez, now 22-20-2, was never good. Ever. And he also hadn't fought in two years. For some reason, Hernandez came out fighting southpaw. His complaining about his arm might indicate he came in with an injury from training.

His recent resume is utterly pathetic for a guy still paraded as a contender. He's also been talking this return to 140 jive for about two years, and he's never actually done it. He did use that as an excuse for pulling out of a twice-scheduled fight with Matthew Hatton, who has never fought at 140 pounds. He ducked out of two fights with Hatton and one with Antonio Diaz this year, and then turned down an offer from Shane Mosley. He'll tell you it was money or not a big enough name, but what do you think he pulled in tonight? This show made no money. This opponent was a straight-up bum with zero credibility who hadn't fought in two years.

If you're going to talk the talk, at least try to walk the walk.

In the co-feature, Joel Casamayor took his first fight at 140 pounds and looked sluggish, powerless and old against a game Jason Davis. Casamayor (37-4-1, 22 KO) won an eight-round decision, taking the cards 79-73 across the board. Bad Left Hook scored it 78-74 for Casamayor. It was a definite win, but not much of one, and it was obvious he has zero power fighting that heavy. He shook off the rust, but never had Davis in any trouble at all and couldn't get the guy to back down one step. He has no future at 140 pounds and if he can make 135 (which his handlers say he still can), he needs to get back down there. He's 38 years old (officially, anyway) and the clock is ticking fast if it hasn't totally run out.

A few more notes:

• Zab Judah brought out a bunch of belts he used to hold. That was cute.
• Fernando Vargas, who co-promoted the show, did post-fight interviews and such. He needs to fight again about as badly as I need another meatball sub. (Or about as badly as he needs another meatball sub.)
  
• Casamayor says he'll fight anyone, that he's "old school." I'll give him this: He's definitely old school, and I don't doubt he'll fight anyone.
• I'm serious. Erik Estrada was there.
• The American national anthem was sung by an Englishman.

Yeah, you read it right. The co-main events are just about to start (11:08pm ET).

Junior Welterweights: Joel Casamayor (36-4-1, 22 KO) v. Jason Davis (11-4-1, 3 KO)

Welterweights: Zab Judah (37-6, 25 KO) v. Ubaldo Hernandez (22-19-2, 10 KO)

Let's... do this.

This Friday night at The Palms in Las Vegas, a couple of former world champions return to the ring. You'll have the option to order the broadcast for $24.99 on pay-per-view. And as much as I support boxing being available in all forms for anyone that wants to see a fight or a few, I cannot in good conscience support this card.

Why? I love boxing. And fighters like Judah aren't good for the sport at this point. I've bashed Zab before, and have admitted he's just not one of my favorite fighters. Never has been, never will be. But he's a frustrating guy as a fan, too, because his talent has never, ever been the problem. And it's not heart, either.

It's guts. Judah lacks guts.

Don't forget that Judah, former junior welterweight titlist and welterweight world champion, had a fight lined up on the July 18 Mayweather-Marquez undercard. When that fight was moved to September 19, Judah was still to be involved, against the same exact opponent. Matthew Hatton, the brother of Ricky, was ready, willing, able and, frankly, not much of a risk. Judah's pure talent trumps Matthew's so horribly that even the fact that Matthew is a big-hearted scrapper and Judah is anything but probably wasn't going to matter.

When Matthew Hatton decided to stop being jerked around by Judah's in-or-out act and take a minor welterweight title fight with Lovemore N'dou, Judah was offered Antonio Diaz as an opponent. It appeared good to go.

Then Zab pulled out entirely, bailing on the biggest boxing event of 2009 because the opponent apparently wasn't to his liking. "Not a big enough fight," he said. He then turned down a proposed fight with Shane Mosley, who he had agreed to face in 2008, only to pull out when he had an argument with his dad and allegedly punched a shower door.

He turned Mosley down. "Not enough money," he said. In the same breath, he said he'd be taking a couple of tune-up fights before the end of 2009.

The available names at 147 came no bigger than Mosley. Judah's already been spanked by Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto, and Mosley's desperation to find an opponent led him to Judah more than Judah being a legitimate contender anymore.

So which is it, Zab? Is it the money or the name value?

Whichever it is, neither will be present on Friday, when he gets back into the ring for the first time in a year to face journeyman Ubaldo Hernandez (22-19-2, 10 KO). Hernandez, 32, hasn't fought in two years, since he lost two straight to Frankie Figueroa and Rogelio Castaneda Jr., so is Judah trying to tell us that this is a better fight than Matthew Hatton or Antonio Diaz? That this was worth turning down Shane Mosley? That it's a legitimate fight in any way whatsoever?

He's taken "tune-up" to the absolute extreme with this opponent, the third man to be associated with Judah for this fight. He worked his way down until he found something easy enough, it appears. And he doesn't deserve your money or attention for this travesty, either.

On the undercard, former lightweight champ Joel Casamayor returns with his own completely overmatched opponent, 27-year old club fighter Jason Davis (11-4-1, 3 KO), an absolute non-threat. But Casamayor's fight at least has a story to it. The 38-year old Cuban will be moving up to junior welterweight for the fight, 14 months after losing his 135-pound crown to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Your money will also get you heavyweight Ronald Johnson (11-1, 3 KO) taking on Dumont Welliver (18-19-1, 6 KO), as well as Salvador Sanchez Jr. (16-3-2, 8 KO) facing some tomato can. So who's buyin'?!

With TV spots for boxing so few and far between as most of the American fights are on HBO and Showtime, with ESPN2 chipping in Friday Night Fights for part of the year and Versus picking up the occasional fight, boxing promoters are often left with the unenviable task of trying to sell budget-style pay-per-views to the hardcore boxing audience. Top Rank's Latin Fury series goes for a closer-to-standard PPV price tag of $39.99, but there is a small slew of shows coming up that will be in the $25-30 range most likely.

I also don't think it's any great travesty that these shows -- or the Latin Fury events -- are on pay-per-view. Frankly, I prefer to live in a world where if I feel like it, I can plunk down some cash and watch a "minor" show. If you don't want to order it, you don't order it, and nothing is hurt, least of which is boxing should nobody buy any of these fights.

Here's the minor PPV lineup in the coming months.

October 24: Kermit Cintron v. Juliano Ramos

This is without question the worst of the bunch, and will only be available on Dish Network, I believe. Cintron (31-2-1, 27 KO) faces Brazilian Ramos (15-2-1, 12 KO) in Puerto Rico, Kermit's first-ever fight on the island. This was meant to be teamed with a Carlos Quintana stay-busy fight, an attempt to poke at the Puerto Rican fanbase's wallets, but with just Cintron being too well-known at all, promoter Lou DiBella is probably going to take a small bath on this one. Cintron-Ramos is a nasty mismatch considering Cintron's power and the fact that Ramos was stopped by Mike Jones in his last fight.

October 30: Hector Camacho Jr. v. Yori Boy Campas

Let me tell you something. I watch a lot of boxing. I pay out the backside for HBO, Showtime and PPV events. But this disgrace of a fight isn't even worth stealing online, that is if anyone in the world is going to pay for it and then stream it. Camacho (49-3-1, 27 KO) is the owner of one of boxing's emptiest records and has survived 13 years in the pro game on his father's name, while the 38-year old Campas (92-14-1, 74 KO) is just plain shot and nowhere near the competitive fighter he once was. This will be marketed as "revenge" crap because Campas drew Camacho's 47-year old father at a DoubleTree Hotel in Orlando back in May in front of about 12 people. If you order this, you're nuts.

November 6: Zab Judah / Joel Casamayor Doubleheader

Yeah, this one got PPV. Judah was going to fight Matthew Hatton in July before Mayweather-Marquez was postponed, and then was lined up for the same fight in September before backing out. He was then offered a fight with Shane Mosley and turned it down. He set up a bout for this show with highly-regarded sparring veteran Ramon Montano, who once gave David Diaz a fairly tough 10 rounds at lightweight, but Montano is out. Judah will -- for now -- face blown-up Brazilian featherweight Adailton DeJesus (22-4, 17 KO), who has fought once this year at 135 pounds. It'll be a welterweight contest.

Joel Casamayor will also return on the card, facing Jason Davis (11-4-1, 3 KO). Sounds like a party, doesn't it?

November 7: Nikolai Valuev v. David Haye

Hey, alright! One to actually be excited about, at least sort of. This fight certainly deserved the Integrated Sports PPV treatment, and it will receive it. With Cristobal Arreola having been pretty harshly smoked by Vitali Klitschko in September, it's now up to cocky Brit David Haye to crash the heavyweight party and provide excitement, at least in theory. This fight will have the intrigue that all Valuev fights do, as he's seven feet tall and will tower over Haye. As positive as most seem that Haye will win this fight, he's had a dodgy chin in the past and Valuev is just massive. I can't see Haye knocking Valuev out, but if he rips away to the body he could possibly get the giant to give up. This is a more interesting prospect than Valuev's last PPV fight, last December against Evander Holyfield.

December 11: Winky Wright v. Grady Brewer

Wright's planned Puerto Rico comeback is a go, with Grady Brewer being named as his opponent. Brewer, a 38-year old former "Contender" winner, is an ugly fighter in terms of style, and so is Winky. All recommendation to avoid what should be a seriously action-less snoozefest, and potentially a downright stink bomb.

If you're wondering where you can catch the promising Jean Pascal-Adrian Diaconu rematch on December 11, that fight will be handled by GoFightLive.TV, probably for $9.99 as a webcast.

Anyone planning to order any of these shows? I'm going to buy Valuev-Haye and might convince myself to buy Wright-Brewer, but I'm not touching the other three.