Zab Judah held the undisputed welterweight championship when 2006 dawned and was certain he'd carry the belts into an early-year showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Judah was scheduled to fight a journeyman Argentinean whom few gave a chance to last more than a handful of rounds.

Along with his father, Yoel, Judah mercilessly mocked Carlos Baldomir, his opponent in that New York bout. They intentionally mispronounced his name, taunted him for his lack of skill and predicted an early knockout.

Baldomir speaks no English, but he was well aware of everything that the Judahs were doing and saying.

Yet, he offered no response.

"Why?" Baldomir said through an interpreter. "What would it have done? There was a time to respond."

And when the time came to respond – in the ring – it was Judah who deserved to be mocked. He came into the bout out of shape, was nearly knocked out, lost his titles on a decision and then whined afterward that promoter Don King made him do too many interviews.

I rarely missed an episode of Late Night with David Letterman from the time it debuted on NBC.

Of course, I loved Larry "Bud" Melman (who didn't?), but my favorite segment was always Viewer Mail.

And so, given the volume of mail I receive on boxing and mixed martial arts topics, I've decided to start a weekly reader email column.

If you click on the link at the bottom of any of my columns and send me feedback, I'll consider using your message. You can also send me messages at boxingfeedback@yahoo.com or mmafeedback@yahoo.com.

The topic most on your minds in the last week is obviously the column I wrote about steroids in MMA in the aftermath of the positive tests of UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and challenger Hermes Franca.

I was flooded with comments on the column, which were evenly split among those who agreed with my take that UFC president Dana White should try to get control of the issue and those who think I'm a.) ugly; b.) a moron; c.) educated at about a fifth-grade

LAS VEGAS – Bernard Hopkins used his head to get past Winky Wright on Saturday night in their light heavyweight title fight before a crowd of 8,826 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Wright would argue that it was Hopkins' noggin, which the 42-year-old wasn't shy about using as a weapon, that was the difference.

But it was Hopkins' guile that determined the outcome. Hopkins devised a brilliant game plan and executed it perfectly against one of the game's best tacticians.

Wright moaned about a second-round head butt, which opened a nasty gash alongside his left eye. Wright was following through on a punch when he and Hopkins banged heads.

But though the cut didn't help Wright, it didn't play nearly as big a role as Hopkins' conditioning and the wisdom gained from a lifetime of fighting and nearly 20 years in the ring.

The bout was fought at the distance, the pace and the intensity which Hopkins wanted. Wright was unable to get his jab, the punch that one day will land him in the Hall of

LAS VEGAS -- Lightweight boxer Czar Amonsot suffered a bleed on his brain Saturday following his 12-round loss to Michael Katsidis for the WBO interim lightweight title.

Ringside physician Jeff Davidson was concerned by the head blows Amonsot took from Katsidis in the rousing affair and ordered him sent to the hospital for a neurological examination.

Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said doctors discovered a small subdural hematoma. He said it was not expected to be life threatening, but said Amonsot's career is probably over.

Amonsot, 21, who was knocked down once in the second and again in the 10th, is 18-3-1.

LAS VEGAS – Leave it to Bernard Hopkins to sell until the final minute.

The light heavyweight champion stuck his hand in Winky Wright's face and shoved him, precipitating a brief melee only seconds after each man weighed in at 170 pounds on Friday at Mandalay Bay.

The men fight on Saturday in the Mandalay Bay Events Center in a bout that has been dogged by the perception that it is going to be a boring, tactical fight.

Hopkins did his best to change that assertion by walking up to Wright and jawing nose-to-nose with him before putting his right palm on Wright's face and shoving. Wright shoved back, which touched off a lot of pushing and shoving before order was restored.

"He's getting scared and he just reacted," Wright said. "(Saturday) night, he's going to pay for it."

Former middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who is working as an analyst for ESPN, agreed with Wright. Hagler said he felt the pressure of having to perform is showing on Hopkins.

Hagler, who picked Wright to

LAS VEGAS – Winky Wright had a black eye on Thursday.

And though he was urged by members of his entourage to put a little makeup over it to cover up the bruising so it wouldn't be so apparent to the media at a news conference at Mandalay Bay, Wright would have none of it.

Its symbolism was too significant for a bout that has the potential to be more dull than a repeat of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

"This is a fight," Wright screeched, uncharacteristically raising his voice while speaking. "I'm working hard to get ready. This is what happens sometimes."

Wright takes on light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events in a bout both men have gone to great pains to paint as exciting.

Even the fight's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, got into the act. He used the word tremendous no fewer than 14 times while talking about the fight from the podium and then immediately after the news conference inside the House of Blues.

"It's going to be a tremendous,

LAS VEGAS – Bernard Hopkins makes his comeback Saturday to fight Winky Wright in a light heavyweight bout at Mandalay Bay, about 13 months after announcing his retirement from boxing. Here is what each man must do to win:

Sean Sherk had the gall to go on a national television show and brag about his training routine when he knew it was all fake.

Hermes Franca had the temerity to ask those he perpetrated a fraud upon for forgiveness.

They should, and will, be punished severely for testing positive for anabolic steroids following their July 7 match for the UFC lightweight title in Sacramento, Calif.

The California Athletic Commission released the results of tests on Thursday that showed Sherk tested positive for nandrolone and Franca tested positive for Drostanolone after their title match at ARCO Arena, in which Sherk retained his title via unanimous decision.

The commission fined each man $2,500 and suspended them both until July 5, 2008. The Fight Network reported that Sherk will appeal the findings.

The issue, though, is much bigger than the fighters. Nearly every mixed martial arts card, it seems, has at least one fighter who fails a test for steroids.

The sport is dirty. And don't be surprised to