By Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards tackling Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward, matching Hall of Famer Aaron Pryor against some of the past and current greats, Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs, and more.

Stephen,
 
A couple of years ago prior to the Kovalev v Hopkins fight you were torn on that fight and tabbed it a 50-50 affair. I wrote in to you and stated that Kovalev would dominate – which he did. Well, now upon us is Kovalev v Ward and again, you are viewing this as a 50-50 fight and leaning towards Ward. I’m back again to tell you that Kovalev will win widely here as well. I have several reasons for my conclusion. Ward is not busy enough and doesn’t hit with enough authority. Ward has quick hands and a good jab but Kovalev has a tremendous jab and hurts opponents with every punch. Ward is getting touched a bit more than he previously has and that’s not a good thing with a hard, long, straight punching guy like Kovalev. And Ward is reasonably available for contact, unless he’s holding. He’s not a pure mover.
 
In spite of the modest struggle Chilemba gave Kovalev, Krusher still won 9 rounds and hurt him when he wanted to. I attest that sub-par effort by Kovalev to not taking Chilemba seriously at all and training accordingly. He was fighting at home and stretching himself thin. His only concern in that fight was conserving energy. My point is, I don’t give that contest much weight when it comes to this analysis.  Ward out landed Sullivan Barrera by a margin of about 160 to 110. Those numbers will be much different with Kovalev. Kovalev will look awkward at times & miss plenty but he will be in great condition and will eventually begin to find Ward heavily after the 4th or 5th round. He won’t take much glaring punishment in return and eventually, he will begin rolling downhill on Ward and it will be a matter of survival. I’m looking for either a late Kovalev stoppage or a clear Kovalev decision win.
 
Best,
Evan Young

Bread’s Response: Yes I did think Hopkins would be more competitive with Kovalev. No excuses. I thought Hopkins would take him on the inside and smother his power to an extent. But Kovalev won every round and in a dominant performance. He managed the distance better than I thought he would. People actually criticized him for not being able to knock Hopkins out but it’s almost impossible to knock Hopkins out once he gets in a defensive mode. 

Nevertheless I’m standing by my prediction that Kovalev vs Ward will be much closer. Much more hotly contested. Ward doesn’t have a history of letting rounds go by. I’ve never really seen him allow a guy to win rounds against him. He’s very conscious and reactive when it comes to that. Where as Hopkins will lure you in for a few a rounds and allow you to fatigue yourself. Andre Ward doesn’t do that. He tries to outpoint and frustrate his opponents every single round.

I also believe that Ward will have better stamina down the stretch than Kovalev. Kovalev pushed like hell to stop Hopkins but he was fatigued. I also saw a fatigued fighter vs Chilemba. I agree that he wasn’t in tip top shape vs Chilemba. But I also think he doesn’t leave the cleanest lifestyle in between fights. He seems to blow up in weight and I have seen him with drinks in his hands attending fights. Every little thing counts when it comes to a fighter’s gas tank. I think Ward has the better natural lungs. I think Ward ekes this one out.

Bread man

I want to give props and praise to Aaron Pryor and say may he rest in peace.    He was a dynamo with great stamina and will.   I loved to see him fight but don't know how I rank him against the best I have seen at 140 across various eras.  How do you see the following match ups at 140

Pryor vs pacquiao. Pryor vs. Julio Caesar Chavez.  Pryor vs Terrence Crawford.  Pryor vs mayweather  Pryor vs pernell Whitaker. 

Also the state of Ohio has put out some great fighters in the past.   I would think the hawk is in the top 5 of all time but I would love to hear yours as your knowledge is so deep. 

Will you and Julian Williams be on the broadcast team for the spike tv fights on the 12th of November.  You all did a heckuva job in your first broadcast and I believe watching others helps jrock Pauli malinaggi Danny Garcia and other active fighters when they also commentate.

Billy Bomaye

Bread’s Response: Aaron Pryor deserved everything I ever said about him. He was as ferocious a fighter as I have ever seen. As it stands now, he’s an all time great. But with a different type of PR machine behind him he could be on Mt. Rushmore. Pryor was that good.

Pryor had everything you would want from a fighter who implemented his style. And by the way his style is the hardest in history to duplicate. That’s why basically no one really tries it in this era. Your will power and stamina have to be in outer space every time you step in the ring. Your chin has to be made of tungsten. And you have to have the heart of a honey badger. I don’t know what was inside of Aaron Pryor but I would suggest his organs be donated to science to be studied. He was phenomenal.

In my opinion Pryor ranks higher in head to head match ups than he does as far as accomplishments. He did ko 2 HOF in Antonio Cervantes and Alexis Arguello but both were considered slightly past their peaks. I still rank Pryor along with Julio Cesar Chavez and Carlos Ortiz as the best fighters of the modern era at junior welterweight. If you throw in old timers Barney Ross and the criminally underrated Tony Canzoneri , Pryor is still one of the handful of best junior welterweights ever.

As far as head to head match ups with men who may not have made their exact mark at 140lbs for various reasons but would have been able to put prime performances their such as Pernell Whitaker, Henry Armstrong, Ike Williams, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya, Wilfred Benitez, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley. I can’t think of anyone who easily beats Pryor. Pryor was really that good between 1980-83.

I go back and forth between Pryor 80-83 vs Pacman 08-10. Although Pacman was fighting at welterweight at the time he was primed for 140lbs. You can see that vs Ricky Hatton. Pryor had one of those styles where it seemed he was going to get caught and kod but it never seemed to happen.

Pacquiao is the better puncher of the two for one shot and I think the hand speed is comparable but the slight edge to Pac. Pryor is just so dam crazy and relentless he’s able to overcome tactical disadvantages. Let’s just say they may have to fight 3 times to settle it.

Hawk vs JCC is another tough one. Chavez is as clever a fighter I have ever seen circa 87-91. He would ride and catch lots of Pryor’s shots and he would counter him to the body. But he would probably give up lots of points doing so. Let’s say Pryor by a disputed decision where he looks worn down towards the end.

I don’t know enough about Terrance Crawford yet to match him with Aaron Pryor. He’s still building his legacy.

Mayweather vs Pryor is a tough fight stylistically for Floyd. If you can’t hurt Pryor, he is extremely difficult to move away from him and box him. He forces you to fight. Nobody was ever able to box Aaron Pryor. Nobody. He swarms in a different kind of way. Floyd is much stronger than people realize and his inside game is nasty. It would have to be. But going by Maidana1, Castillo1, Hatton and Augustus. In The rock, paper, scissors of boxing. A swarmer can overcome a boxer. I would take the Hawk by decision. I know he doesn’t have a better legacy than Floyd but this is head to head.

Whitaker vs Pryor. Whitaker has a natural higher volume than most pure boxers. He really puts a jab on you and despite the myth he’s brutal to the body. He would have to be vs Aaron Pryor. Had Pryor lived a little cleaner outside of the ring this fight could’ve happened. I honestly can’t call this one. Again I think they would have to fight 3 times to settle it.

State of Ohio top 5. Let’s see the best would have to be Ezzard Charles. We can also put Joey Maxim, Jimmy Bivins, Aaron Pryor and Ray Mancini.

Bread,  I want to keep this short and to the point.  Where in the hell is Lamont Peterson?  How does a kid with so much talent, heart, and platform fall off the radar.  Is it time for him to find new management?  It "appears" that Barry Hunter is letting this his top fighter fall between the cracks.  What matchups can get done for this kid? 

Brian "Brutally Honest" Green
D.C.

Bread’s Response: Lamont is a terrific fighter. I don’t know why he’s been inactive. But Barry Hunter has done a great job with Lamont. To suggest he needs new management before you know WHY he’s been inactive is not fair to Barry Hunter.

As far as match ups there are is literally a half dozen fights out there for Lamont. I would assume that 140 may be a stretch for him to make at this point because he hasn’t done it in so long. But he could go after the old vets or young guns. Young guns Sammy Vasquez and Bryant Perella just came off of losses. Or he could go after the old vets, Robert Guerrero, Brandon Rios, Andre Berto, Amir Khan or John Molina.

Hey bread whats going on. I would like to know your take on the ggg vs Jacobs situation? I dont think Jacobs is scared to fight ggg but it seems he wants cash out type money to do it.If he doesnt take the fight how will this affect his career? Also what are your thoughts on the criticism Danny garcia has been getting?

Do you think he is trying to avoid thurman by calling out canelo all of a sudden? If danny and canelo did fight how do you see that playing out? My 3rd question is who in your opinion are the 5 best journeyman of the past 10 yrs? Lastly i understand jrock vs charlo is going to happen in dec so what  rating would you give  a card of porter vs berto, charlo vs williams, andy lee vs kirkland, malignaggi vs algieiri and dawson vs browne? Also give me your winners. Good luck in dec and bring home the belt.

Bread’s Response: I think GGG is a bad man! I think his critics need to get off of his back. Specifically fighters at 160lbs are not in a hurry to fight him. In his negotiations with the best middleweights in the world, they always need more time, more money and more tune up fights. What does that say about Golovkin? Unless you are with a smaller promoter like Willie Monroe was, OR you get paid well above market value you will not Golovkin. Period!

Danny Jacobs is a terrific fighter but if he doesn’t take the fight, he doesn’t take the fight. I haven’t given it much thought because GGG is already the WBA super champion. Danny Jacobs is the WBA regular Champion. I would assume as far as legacy Jacobs needs this fight not GGG.  Golovkin in my opinion is the best middleweight since prime Bernard Hopkins.  If middleweights of his era don’t want to challenge him, in essence they are standing down and conceding he is the supreme fighter in the weight class. There is no other way to look at it.

For the record I think Golovkin should call Erislandy Lara’s bluff. Offer him the money he offered Jacobs and make that fight. No one can say he’s picking on Lara because Lara has been calling him out. I know Lara is a junior middleweight but he’s viewed as a top 20 p4p fighter, he has a name and he has ability. I for one would like to see it. I repeat no notable fighter at 160 will fight this man. He’s too dangerous.

I think Danny Garcia has a solid legacy. He has some solid wins and he has controversial wins. He fights some tough fights where he’s the underdog,then he fights some easy fights where he is the overwhelming favorite. I think the problem the fans have with him is he seems to go from one extreme to the next. If he fights Keith Thurman like he said he would next then I tip my hat to him.

I don’t think Danny is trying to duck Thurman. I think he’s laying the ground work for a Canelo PPV fight if he beats Thurman. I don’t want to speculate on a Garcia vs Canelo fight yet. Let’s see how he handles Thurman.

5 best journeyman….A former undefeated prospect will take that name as an insult but I know what you are trying to say. Let’s see…Darnell Boone, Emanuel Augustus, Carson Jones, Adrian Granados and Dashon Johnson.

Send Questions & Comments to dabreadman25@hotmail.com