[ad_1]
The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards tackling topics such as Dmitry Bivol facing Canelo Alvarez in a rematch, the recent win by Jaron Ennis, Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, and more.
Greetings Mr. Breadman, hope you’re well. There are rumors of early talks of Bivol-Canelo 2. Frankly it seems like Bivol will fight Canelo before he fights Beterbiev, as the interest in the LHW Unification by both the fighters and their camps is lukewarm. You’ve said that Canelo has peaked. But he had some excuses for both fights, injury for the GGG fight and Vegan diet for the Bivol fight. If the fight is at 175, do you see Canelo beating Bivol? If yes then what would you want him to change for the rematch.
Second question is about the Klitschko brothers. They’re not regarded as highly in the all time heavyweight picture due to the weak era of HWs during their time. Since we normal folk can only compare fighters due to their resume, its possible that we don’t do justice to those two. As a trainer having a better eye and real recognition of talent how do you rate the Klitschko bros. Lastly Tank looked sharp against hector and took care of business to move to Ryan Garcia fight. Tank has said he wants 3 fights this year. Assuming he beats Ryan, his next big targets would be Shakur and Haney. If you were to sdvise him what should his third fight be? A stay busy fight, a more riskier fight against Jamaine Ortiz or Loma(assuming haney beats him) or straight to Shakur or Haney?
Zigishu From India
Bread’s Response: Canelo can beat Bivol if he’s having his night. Sometimes you guys don’t realize that’s all it comes down to. At this point I wouldn’t pick Canelo but that doesn’t mean he can’t win.
I feel like his conditioning needs to be better. He can’t lay back and try to pick a PICKER like Bivol. He’s too short and small in stature to fight Bivol like that.
I think both Klitschko Bros were great fighters but not ATG fighters. I think Wlad was more physically talented but Vitali to me was the better fighter. Both had longevity, consistency and their fair share of titles, defenses and accolades. But neither has a defining victory or a super fight.
Wlad is an enigma. He seems to lack certain things but he was willing to fight anyone. And he overcame several career ko defeats to perform at the top level. But his vulnerability is just too glaring for me to put him as an ATG but I do think he’s a great fighter. I just don’t have confidence in Wlad in head to head match ups vs other greats. He just seems to vulnerable in my opinion and I don’t know how many great fighters he could’ve beaten.
Vitali didn’t have the career Wlad because of his layoffs and him being perceived the lesser of the two. But I would take Vitali all day if I’m an agent. His defense and chin were better. He was meaner. He had better fighting instincts. He wasn’t the puncher or athlete Wlad was, but I say he was the better fighter. Both of Vitali’s losses were controversial and not a case of him being dominated or beaten clearly. With a better twist of luck he’s an ATG and undefeated fighter. But because of the Byrd and Lewis losses and his long layoff, Wlad is considered to have had the greater career. I think Wlad’s reign was longer but I think their careers or almost equal. Wlad has better numbers but not by as much as one would believe. Vitali doesn’t have the bad losses that Wlad has. Both in my opinion are top 20 ever heavyweights, with Vitali being the better fighter in terms of head to head match ups.
I wouldn’t advise Tank to do anything. His career has been handled great. I hope he gets 3 fights in a year. That may change the landscape and status quo of boxing today as we know it.
Hello Mr Edwards,
Castano was too brave and rushed too fast into a unification with Charlo for his own good. Hitman Hearns was too much of an assassin at times for a polished boxer/jabber.Does any recent or past performances by another boxer remind you of Andre Ward’s absolutely nasty, crazy and super motivated all action approach against Kessler? He fought like a man possessed that could never be denied his opportunity. Or the wicked punches he threw at Edwin Rodriguez? ( Tells me he has very strong hands).Anthony Joshua is too coy and tame for my liking. I’d advise he retires as his fire has been diluted. He’s less than a shadow of himself and should get out now that he’s mentally intact. I didn’t watch the first fight with Ruiz Jr live but watching the replay of his entrance was telling about where he was mentally. He didn’t want to be there and was unsure and shook.
I think we all got carried away by the Boots Ennis hype train. I say this respectfully and agree that he passes the eyeball test but the tendency he’s shown to overcommit to his punches makes me fear he runs the risk of falling on his sword, especially against somebody like Crawford who has the ability to see chinks in opponents armor and has shown this ability over and over again with how he’s managed to knock troublesome opponents out for the latter half of his career. Against a Stanionis, Ortiz Jr and, worst of it, Spence Jr, who are pressure grinders he may do well but he should apply more of his athletic gifts rather than trying to be a puncher all the time. If he calmly boxed and cut the ring off, he would have gotten the Karen guy out the way but he was just all over the place tactically. I think he should wait out the veteran champions and compete with his peers. Which brings me to this principle of doing a few little things almost perfectly is better than doing too many things well(ex. SOG and Floyd Jr). I saw Ennis switching stance unnecessarily.
Shakur Stevenson will absolutely box Gervonta’s ears off. I’d put a significant amount of my money on this if and when they ever fight. Thanks and apologies for the long text.
Bread’s Response: I don’t think Castano rushed into anything. He’s older than Jermell Charlo and he wanted a big money fight. PBC wanted a 4 belt champion and their champions kept losing the belt taking showcase fights.
Hearns was, too much of an assassin at times but that’s why his nickname was the Hitman.
I told Virgil Hunter a few months ago that I think the Kessler performance was Ward’s best performance. He was so ridiculous that night. I didn’t give Kessler 1 round and Kessler is a Hof level fighter.
I think Joshua has to do some soul searching but I wouldn’t call for a retirement just yet. He didn’t fight bad in the rematch vs Usyk.
Here is the thing on Ennis. I have been a big believer in him and I said so publicly several times. But this was NOT his best performance if you’re honest. I openly admit that. I thought he overpressed and him doing 360s and missing punches is something you just can’t do. He did it multiple times during the fight. He was also looking in the crowd and his concentration just seemed slightly off.
There is always a reason for this stuff. Maybe it was the opponent. Maybe something happened in camp. Maybe it was the layoff and only fighting 1 round in over a year. Who knows? But I want to talk about the opponent. Just because the public didn’t know Karen doesn’t mean he wasn’t good. He had great feet. Great mobility. Excellent stamina and endurance. And most of all, he didn’t care about the crowd or mounting an offense. He simply wanted to not get into a fire fight with Boots and go the distance. That’s hard to deal with for anyone.
While I admit Boots didn’t look his best, let’s see someone else go in there and ko Karen inside of 3 rounds before we say Boots was hype train. Overrated. Exposed. I was in the crowd and I heard it all. But let’s remember Boots literally won all 12 rounds on his off night. We also have to remember all of the guys you named will be more offensive. Let’s see a fighter try to win rounds vs Boots and extend him like that. I have seen this so many times .
Monster Inoue just had a similar night vs Paul Butler but he got the late stoppage so it wasn’t a big deal. Does anyone remember Riddick Bowe vs Tony Tubbs. How about Mike Tyson vs James Quick Tillis. How about Muhammad ali vs Doug Jones and Henry Cooper? Boots is a human who happens to have super talent. He needs to go sharpen up a few things but he’s still the goods. If he’s so exposed let’s see his contemporaries fight him. Let’s see them expose him.
One of the pieces of matchmaking is matching fighters vs common opponents to see who can outperform who. Let’s see someone else fight Karen and do better. Then let’s revisit this conversation. I still believe Boots Ennis is ready for a title shot, win or lose. I don’t know who wins in Davis vs Stevenson. It’s a great match up. But Tank has Ryan Garcia in front of him in a few months and that’s a serious task.
Happy New Year Bread,
Hope all is good with you & yours. Pretty simple Q to start 2023. Who are the biggest punchers p4p in the world today?My list is definitely gonna include Deontay, Beterbiev, ‘Canelo’, Gervonta, Inoue, maybe Navarette but not sure on him, maybe Spence not sure, maybe Crawford not sure. They have fully-rounded skills but definitely there is some ‘pop’ there. I suspect Crawford was a top10 puncher at 135/140 but maybe not at 147. The guy that ‘beat’ Rashidi looks to have some thudding power. Although he may not have the skills to fully utilize it I think Anthony Yarde has some power. Should Regis be on there? IDK, thats why I’m asking you Bread. I still say 10pm EST is the latest the main event should start.
Bread’s Response: Top 10 P4P Punchers today.
Arthur Beterbiev
Deontay Wilder
Monster Inoue
Tank Davis
Canelo Alvarez
Terence Crawford
Errol Spence
Jermell Charlo
Boots Ennis
Gary Antuane Russell
Dear Mr. Edwards,
You kindly answered my questions a few weeks ago regarding late main event start times. Outside of logistical incompetence, the only explanation I can think of for the 1 AM start time of Davis-Garcia is Showtime trying to milk as many pay-per-view buys as possible. I would also like to point out that the fans who attended the card got absolutely screwed because the DC metro stops running at 1 AM. So not only did the east coast audience at home get snubbed after handing over their money, but the powers that be also let the people in the arena know their safety is not a priority.
Appreciate your thoughts as always.
Bread’s Response: I was there live and I couldn’t believe the start time. I couldn’t believe the fight didn’t start until almost 1am. I just don’t believe that this is good for boxing. I believe the crowd you will start to get is the nightclub crowd and not the sports crowd. You lose young fans. You lose East Coast fans. You lose people who don’t go to fights for the fashion show experience and they simply go for the fight experience. I didn’t know that about the Dc metro but I did see waves of people walking from the venue because it was too packed to get an uber. You don’t want people to get up and start leaving in the middle of fights in order to get proper transportation….But that’s what it may come to.
It feels inevitable to me that distractions will eventually cost Gervonta Davis a fight. I don’t even blame him for the distractions, outside his legal issues. It’s the cost of being famous. For example, rapper Meek Mill and Gary Russell got into an altercation while sitting ringside of Davis’ fight. That’s not his fault, it’s a distraction that stemmed from Davis being a star. Do you think Davis can keep those distractions off his boxing record?
Thank you!
Bread’s Response: I think it’s all good, until it’s not anymore. I was live at the fight and I noticed several fighters looking into the crowd. Corresponding with people. Most fans especially celebrity fans are casuals. They don’t know about boxing, so they become impatient. They don’t want to see the boxing match evolve. They want instant carnage. So they start yelling for their fighter, to “just knock him out.” It’s not that simple. But the fighters hear and see this and they try to appease the casuals. I don’t know if it will catch up with Tank or not. He’s done a good job so far of not letting it happen. But I do see that he gets distracted. I do see him looking into the crowd. It’s one of those vices that will be tolerated until he loses then if he loses it will become an issue.
Ssup Bread,
2 questions -1. You mentioned last week that 1910s was one of the best decades in boxing history? Can you throw some light on the greats of this era? Any reason you chose it over 1930s and 40s? Hank and Louis were on a roll in 30s. Robinson, Charles and Pep were on a roll in the 40s. Why do you think 10s is better than 30s and 40s?2. Is there some reluctance among African American coaches to accept swarmers? I ask this because I am not liking what I have seen Tank do in his last few fights. I feel he was natural swarmer and the Mayweather camp is deliberately changing his style and trying to mold him into an outfighter / counter-puncher. It is not working for him. It didn’t work for him against Garcia. When he decided to stop being the counter-puncher and started to purse Garcia, he did much better. He can get away with that type of confused style against the likes of Luis Garcia but I am not sure if this will work against Ryan Garcia. I am hundred percent sure that it will not work against Haney. Your thought?
Regards, Saurabh
Bread’s Response: 1. The question was about heavyweights not overall. Overall the 1940s is the best decade in the history of boxing in my opinion. Henry Amrstrong ended his reign in the 1940s and Armstrong was considered the best fighter of the 1930s. Joe Louis was the heavyweight champion. Billy Conn the light heavyweight stand out with Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles emerging as even better light heavyweights. Black Murderers Row had about 7 or 8 great contenders with Charley Burley leading the way. Marcel Cerdan, Jake Lamotta, Tony Zale and Rocky Graziano were all top middleweights. Sugar Ray Robinson was the best welterweight and fighter of the decade. Kid Gavilan was a top contender. Ike Williams was the best lightweight of the decade with Beau Jack , Sammy Angott and Bob Montgomery being almost as great. Willie Pep had a great decade, as did emerging Sandy Saddler at featherweight. Manuel Ortiz was a HOF bantamweight. There is NO decade greater or better than the 1940s. I apologize for the confusion.
I personally like fighters of all styles. I actually have two swarmers in my stable in Romuel Cruz who is Puerto Rican and Erron Peterson who is black. I think an athletic swarmer with an iron chin is the most entertaining and demanding style of all. Errol Spence has some swarmer in his game…..I think the American Black trainers may favor a slicker more urban style. I think swarmers are more related to fighters who may “appear” to be less talented. I also believe that you have to be in better shape to be a swarmer so it’s not promoted as much in the urban boxing culture. But personally I love a swarmer, especially a big punching athletic one.
Where I think we may disagree is that Tank was a swarmer. I personally have never viewed Tank as a swarmer. I think he has a hybrid style. I think he’s an attacking pot shotting counter puncher. I think he’s mastered the ability to suddenly explode. Because of his lack of stature I don’t think he wants to take unnecessary punishment so he fights in big punching spurts and I believe it works for him. I don’t know if anyone changed him. I get the feeling that Tank sort of fights off of his instincts. And he makes his adjustments in a savant format. I’m not saying he isn’t coached well because I think Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis do a great job with him. But I don’t know if anyone changed him because they aren’t comfortable training a swarmer because I never thought he was a swarmer.
Just because a fighter walks other guys down that doesn’t mean he’s a true swarmer. He was blowing out overmatched opponents at a certain point in his career, so he was able to apply a more forceful style on them. Where as at the top level, Tank is more of a big punching counter puncher.
Greetings Breadman.
I hope you and the family are well! I have two questions: 1. In the pantheon of great upsets, where do you rank multiple champ Baby Jake Matlala, the shortest boxer ever at 4ft 10″, upsetting the legendary HOF boxer Carbajal by TKO on 18 July 1997?2. A quick search through the heavyweights of the 90s shows multiple world champs. I have compiled a list below. It seems to be that the 80s has greater depth overall than the 90s heavyweights with many more heavyweights who won a world championship and several who fought for world championships multiple times? In your list of last week you had the 80s only in 4th position? Admittedly there is some bleed through from 70s to 80s with boxers who started in the 70s but peaked in the 80s or boxers who started in the late 80s (e.g. Ray Mercer 1988 OG) but peaked in the 90s. WC=World Champ, OG=Olympic Gold, GG=Golden Gloves. Top Heavyweight fighters of the 80s: Greg Page, WC Gerrie Coetzee, WC Trevor Berbick, WC John Tate, WC Renaldo Snipes, GG Tim Witherspoon, WC Frank Bruno, WC Oliver McCall, WC Tyrell Biggs, OC Michael Dokes, WC Michael Spinks, WC Larry Holmes, WC Greg Page, WC James Buster Douglas, WC David Bey, Mike Williams, Pinklon Thomas, WC Pierre Coetzer, James Quick Tillis, Ray Mercer, OG Tony Tucker, WC Mike Tyson, WC Bonecrusher Smith, WC Ossie Occasio, Carl Williams
Regards,
Llewellin, boxing lover from South Africa.
Bread’s Response: 1. Matlala over Carbajal was a big upset. I remember watching that fight. I was a big Carbajal fan and I didn’t see that one coming. I don’t know if it was an all time upset, but seeing you’re from South Africa I’m going to assume it was one of the biggest upsets involving a fighter from your country. Big ups again to Baby Jake.
2. I think the 90s heavyweights were slightly better overall but the 80s were not as bad as some historians make them out to be. The 80s got the bad moniker because of a few reasons. One was fighters kept losing and winning the WBA crown. The fighters who won it were inconsistent and looked at to underachievers. So the great Larry Holmes was the WBC champion and the WBA champions were not thought of as highly. Given that Holmes also beat a few of them.
Then Tyson came along and unified the entire division beating 8 of the Ring Magazines top 10. So you know what happened. In order to discredit Tyson, guys like Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Carl Williams, Bone Crusher Smith, Tony Tucker etc etc had to be made out to be bums because if they were called solid fighters then the narrative that Tyson didn’t fight anyone wouldn’t work. The 1980s was a solid decade for heavyweights!
I’ve been reading your mailbag for years now. I’ve never seen Ellis fight until Saturday. Wanted to see how good he was since you praise him all the time. Well I was not impressed at all. He couldn’t hurt Villa nor he couldn’t take his punches well. Ellis was lucky that the fight was not 15 rds . . . Next time let a fighter prove himself more before you make him seem he’s the next big thing. MM: Chavez VS. Trinidad at 140
Kevin from Miami
Bread’s Response: I can tell by your comment that not only are you a hater but you don’t read very well. You were waiting for Jaron Ennis to lose and you were blinded by your hate and you confused Rashidi Ellis with Jaron Ennis. Why is Ellis lucky the fight wasn’t 15 rounds? Do you know how dumb that sounds. There hasn’t been a 15 round fight in over 30 years. Ellis wasn’t even alive when the last 15 round fight took place. That doesn’t apply to him. It’s not like the year is 1985 when some fights were 12 and some 15 and there were options. No present fighter has fought a 15 rounder! So why is Ellis lucky again? I guess every fighter in the last 30+ years, who got tired late in the fight is lucky. If it’s that many fighters, I don’t think luck is the correct word.
Also, I wasn’t praising Rashidi Ellis in my mailbag, although I think he’s a good fighter, I’m not asked about him often. Jaron Ennis is the fighter I get asked about and the fighter I know from the gyms in my hometown, NOT Ellis. I know their last names are spelled similar but they’re two different fighters.
I can also tell you don’t know much about boxing because no one would ask a hypothetical match up with Felix Trinidad vs Julio Cesar Chavez at 140lbs. Trinidad was not a 140lber. He fought a few fights there when he turned pro at like 17 years old but anyone who knows boxing wouldn’t make a hypothetical match up with Tito at 140lbs. Most times I don’t even answer stupid comments like yours but I had a little extra time today. Next time FACT check before you write in.
Quick question, who’s will is harder to break? Spence or Crawford? Why? Do you think that will be a significant factor in their fight if they square off?
Bread’s Response: It’s hard to say. No one can say for sure. We would have to see them pushed to the depths of hell to really know. I believe both are very determined strong willed fighters. But in order to determine who’s will is harder to break, I think we need to see more.
Hello Breadman ,
You have been calling for Boots Ennis to fight for a vacant title . Looks like that may happen this year . Here is my question , If Spence moves to one fifty four , do you think he goes after Jermell Charlo and all the belts . They seem to be really good friends , and Spence does not talk about going after him . There is a lot of heat going to one fifty four . How do you see Jermell Charlo handling this , and what are the chances of any of these fights actually getting made.
Thank You
J.B.
Bread’s Response: I don’t know what Spence will do at 154lbs. That’s a great question. Errol and Jermell are friends and they have the same trainer. So that’s an issue. Jermell has all 4 belts at 154lbs so something will have to give. Maybe Spence is just testing the waters. Maybe Jermell will move up. Who knows….I’m sure they will figure it out.
Hello Breadman,
I pray you and your family have a happy, healthy, 2023 and beyond. I don’t understand the lack of popularity of Terrance Crawford. I find him to be highly entertaining unlike, Mayweather, Camacho, Whitaker, Haney, Stevenson, Ward and Calzaghe. He doesn’t have any persona but his performances are great. He boxes and fights. He isn’t a pure boxer like the others I named which makes him much more appealing to casuals like me who want to see fights and not boxing matches. Bob Arum did a terrible job of promoting him. Holyfield , Lewis, Hagler and others had no personality but were still box office draws. It seems like more emphasis is placed on personality than performance nowadays. I don’t get it because Crawford is a knockout artist usually that alone helps you sell. A real mystery to me on why his career hasn’t taken off and he isn’t more popular.
I would also like to know your current opinion of Steven A Smith. I use to be a big fan of his but currently I have utter contempt and have stop watching him. I use to look at him like I looked at you as a highly intelligent but now he comes across as a complete sellout and a minstrel show with his theatrics. He attacks Kyrie Irving for standing up for his rights but defends, Dana White, Jerry Jones, Skip the idiot Bayless and Aaron Rodgers. I am so done with him and Bayliss. Both lack integrity and ethics and are not responsible journalists. Keep up the great work Breadman. I love you objectivity and unbiased commentary. Thanks for all you do for Boxing Fans worldwide.
God bless and take care,
Blood and Guts from Philly
Bread’s Response: I also believe that Terence Crawford should be a bigger star, but I don’t know who’s to blame. I don’t know who is responsible for him not being bigger but somebody is. It’s so many things that go into that. He could’ve done something counterproductive to hurt his career behind the scenes. Maybe his promoter didn’t want him to get too big. The more a fighter wins fights and earns money the harder he is to control. So believe it or not, boxing can’t AFFORD to have but so many stars at the SAME time. So…again I do wonder who’s responsible for Crawford’s level of star power. I think Crawford has personality, the public just has to tap into it…..
I don’t like Skip Bayless. Everyone can criticize but everyone isn’t qualified to name call and disrespect. Bayless has a made a career out of disrespecting athletes especially Lebron James. It’s disgusting what Bayless has been able to get away with. I don’t believe it’s an act. I think that’s part of him and I don’t excuse him.
I don’t feel that way about Stephen A. Smith. Maybe I haven’t heard him but from my knowledge he doesn’t go as far as Bayless does. I think Stephen A is pretty sharp especially with basketball, boxing not so much but most aren’t. Other than his lack of depth with boxing, which isn’t disrespect, I think Stephen A does a great job but I will look closer. Again I’m not saying he hasn’t done what you suggest he did, I’m saying I haven’t seen it.
Sup Bread,
First off congratulations on the Kyrone Davis win.There is something about Tank Davis.He loses rounds early and it looks like he may even be losing the fight then suddenly his power ends the fight. You were spot on about Garcia not being an easy out and I had the fight even before he retired between rounds. If the Ryan Garcia fight comes off I see the same formula playing out if he can avoid the sharp punches from Garcia early. What are your thoughts ?Boots Enis looked mortal vs Karen Chukhadzhian while still dominating him. Do you think Spence or Bud Crawford should step up and challenge him and catch him earlier in his career before he peaks like Floyd did with Canelo? (if Spence v Crawford doesn’t happen) Also, do you have an opinion on fighters standing between rounds.Finally, when fighters are sparring in the gym do they always wear headgear and is it to help absorb the blows or prevent cuts or both? Do they always wear bigger gloves than normal or do they spar at times with the gloves that they would were in their weight division?
MM: 1) Holyfield v Beterbiev (lt heavy) 2) (Peak)Spence v (Peak)Oscar 3) Roy Jones Jr v Hagler
Take Care,
Aaron from Cleveland
Bread’s Response: I thought Hector Garcia fought well. But he showed the difference from a great fighter and a good fighter. Garcia wasn’t willing to go through what he would’ve had to go through to win the fight. He felt as though he did enough for a moral victory. He gave enough of himself. This is no criticism by the way. This is just what I observed. If Garcia would have came out for the 9th. Tried to survive. Cleared his head and then pecked and poked away in the 10th, 11th and 12th then he goes to the next level.
Tim Bradley and Carl Froch both just got elected to the HOF. Both caught some criticism for getting elected. But here is something….Both Bradley and Froch were in similar situations as Hector Garcia. And not only fought through them but won the fights. The separation is just not in terms of heart. But it’s the determination to keep trying to win even if the opponent is a little more talented, a bigger puncher, faster etc etc. It’s a fine line and we saw those lines drawn in the sand Saturday night.
I favor Tank to beat Ryan Garcia but Garcia can win the fight. With the right game plan and mind set he has the talent to beat Tank.
I think Boots had a tricky opponent in front of him who was trying to bait Boots into a mistake and catch him slipping. Not so much beat him or dominant him. That’s very tough to deal with.
Fighter don’t usually sit down in the gym so standing up in the fight is no big deal. But I would rather them sit down because it allows the corner to hide the instructions better because we all hear with our eyes and if you can see their faces better you can hear them easier. Also if there is a cut, it’s easier to work on if they’re sitting down.
Headgear is used to protect the fighters and prevent cuts. 99% of the sparring I have ever seen, was with head gear. The glove size ranges from 16-18oz gloves. I’ve never seen anyone spar in 8 or 10oz gloves.
Send Questions to [email protected]
[ad_2]
Source link
