By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards tackling numerous questions pertaining to next month's Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor clash, Miguel Flores vs. Chris Avalos, Adam Kownacki's sensational win, and more.

As you can see Connor McGregor is noticeably bigger than Mayweather. MAC is going to stop Mayweather early. What you boxing pundits don’t get is Connor is crazy. It’s not going to be a boxing match. He’s going to attack Mayweather like it’s a street fight. If they fought in the street who would you favor? Well I know you make loads of great predictions, I suppose you would pick Connor. This fight will be a street fight with gloves. Mark my words. Floyd has to go for the KO, that’s not his game.

Bread’s Response: You actually make some good points. A boxer likes to box. He conforms to the art of boxing. Unpredictability is a huge factor. Maidana proved that. But I still can’t fathom McGregor winning. I just can’t. I think Floyd stops him mid fight. The one thing that scares me are the odds. I think they should be 25 to 1 in favor of Mayweather and the odds are much closer. I just can’t understand why the Vegas bookies are giving McGregor so much of a chance.

Yes I would pick McGregor to win a street fight. But even if he fights violent and wild it’s still a boxing match. There will be a referee in there. He can only punch legally.  The problem with the street fighting tactic is, he better get to Floyd early because this is a boxing match. If he doesn’t he will burn out. However, I actually think rushing Floyd like a savage gives him his best to win.

Did you hear McGregor call Floyd a boy? Would you consider it to be racist. Not sure if it was racist I think it may have just been heat of the moment trash talk. How much do you think of the insults are personal, and how much are just for the fight?

Bread’s Response: I didn’t hear it. I haven’t watched much of the press conferences except on Sportcenter where both are dropping F bombs. I don’t know what context he used it in and I don’t know how Floyd responded. I can’t say.

Are the insults personal…..Here is the thing. There are lots of truths in jokes. So I don’t think the insults may be malicious but they have a degree of personal intent. I did hear Floyd call Connor a quitter. I heard Connor talk about Floyd’s IRS issues. Both of those comments have a degree of truth to them…..I would assume it’s meant for entertainment and to get in the other’s head.

Are you taking the race bait? I am not sure if Mayweather a black man who openly supported Donald Trump deserves the embracement from the black community. He also once said that MMA came about because whites won’t make it in boxing. Also does it bother you that so many casuals have an opinion boxing when you’re a purist?

Bread’s Response: Honestly it does bother me to turn on ESPN and see people who don’t know who Wilfred Benitez is talk boxing like they know. As a purist it’s aggravating so I try not to indulge.  But now I will take time to talk to the Boxing Gods. Give Lee Wylie, Cliff Rold, Steve Farhood, Barry Thompkins, Max Kellerman, Roy Jones and Doug Fischer the platform. I can’t take it anymore.

What race bait? I will watch the fight because I watch every boxing match. I love boxing. I went to the local sports bar and watched Canelo vs Chavez. It was a terrible fight but I can’t NOT watch a fight with an elite fighter involved. But I haven’t been watching the Press Conferences. So I don’t know much about the race baiting…….All I can say is I expected a degree of racial tension.

Here is why. Boxing vs MMA. Boxing’s biggest star is black. MMA’s biggest star is white. On top of that there is no way two strong willed, outspoken individuals, of opposite races would not invoke some fan and media racial tension. So I expected it.

CUS D’Mato

Saw something on him not allowing fighters head gear during sparring. Interesting to say the lease, but makes sense. Look at amir kahn, fights like he has head gear on and get koed frequently. That comfort in head gear teaches false security. How many fighters now do you think employ this in training? 

DJ

Kck

Bread’s Response: I think fighters spar every once in the blue with no head gear. But the problem is cuts, and scars. Don’t believe for one second that any trainer who had access to head gear let their guy spar without it all the time. They would screw up too much money.

Amir Khan fights like he has never been knocked out. That’s his gift. He gets ko'd then gets back in there and throws rapid fire combinations like it never happened. He doesn’t apply to your theory.

Hey Breadman - I'd never heard of Adam Kownacki before this past weekend , but watching him brought memories of Big George Foreman circa 92-97, minus the clever cross-armed defense. Of course I'm not comparing the two, but strictly on size and style. The kid doesn't retract his shots and looks a bit sloppy but his right hand is money.

How do you rate the kid based of that KO of Spzilka? And do you think it's a bit beneath professional etiquette for Ronnie Shields to criticize his fighter (Spzilka) publicly for the loss?

thanks,

Gabe in Prunedale

Bread’s Response: I was very impressed with Kownacki. He did a great job. Whenever a fighter wins their 1st big step up fight and they are the underdog it’s a spring board win. This was the only fight this past weekend that I picked wrong in. Adam proved me and many toehrs wrong.

He has a simple but effective style. Spiika is the more athletic and experienced fighter but you can see that Kownacki is actually more purposeful and has a better demeanor. He does have a push dud right hand like George Foreman. He also understands how to cut the ring off, he’s not scared to get hit and defensively he doesn’t try to do too much. He keeps his hands up and bends his knees slightly to redirect the force of the punches.

I would rate Kownacki as a top 15 heavyweight. I think he lacks athleticism and god given talent to beat the top 3 or 4 elite. But everyone else would have a nightmare with the kid. I like him a lot.

Breadman,

Hope all is well with you in the City of Brotherly Love.  I wanted to know how you rate the best middleweight titleholders from the last 10 years or so at their peak, and who would wind up on top in a tournament.

Gennady Golovkin, Jermain Taylor, Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham, Sergio Martinez, and Danny Jacobs.

Also, have you made picks yet in the Canleo/GGG and the Broner/Garcia fights? 

Best,

GC

Bread’s Response: GGG passes the eyeball test for me as the best middleweight of the last decade. He also was the most consistent and most avoided.

After him I would say Pavlik, Abraham, Taylor, Martinez and then Jacobs. Jacobs could be the most talented but his resume and reign and need some more names. Plus Jacobs is the only one on the list you named that won a “regular” title.

I’m waiting to see how the camps go with GGG and Canelo to make a pick. I will say Canelo has been looking sharp. I’m leaning Garcia over Broner but I expect a great fight.

How come the drums aren’t being beat for an Andre Ward vs Adonis Stevenson super fight? I think it’s a legacy defining fight. I know Stevenson has been a cherry picker but he’s a real champion with ability. He’s the lineal champion and his reign has not been as bad as advertised. I know he ducked Kovalev but I think he would fight Ward. Ward missed Bute coming out of the Super 6 and I think this fight is worthwhile. Thoughts?

Bread’s Response: I actually love Ward vs Stevenson. Just from a boxing standpoint I think it’s a great fight. I agree with you Stevenson’s reign has not been that bad. And I also think he avoided Kovalev so he needs this fight. But Stevenson is better than people realize.

Ward would be up against length issues again. Although Ward and Kovalev looked even in height at press conferences, in the ring there was a distinct length advantage for Kovalev. His arms and legs look to be much longer than Ward’s and they seem to cover more ground. Ward overcame it with quick feet and tenacity.

Stevenson is not a super tall light heavy. But his arms are actually longer than Kovalev’s and he has really long legs. He’s also just as quick on the point of attack. He’s a real threat to anyone at 175 including Ward. However I would favor Ward. Stevenson does not have the jab that Kovalev has so he wouldn’t keep Ward at bay for the number of rounds that Kovalev did. At some point Ward would make it an inside technical fight and I think it would play into his favor.

The business side of boxing may prevent this fight. Ward just beat the monster that Stevenson wouldn’t fight. He’s a unified champion. But Stevenson is the lineal champion and he’s a big name in Montreal. Who’s name would go on the marquee first? Where would the fight be? Stevenson does not fight outside of Montreal. How much would they pay Ward? I would assume Ward would require to make more than he did in the 2nd Kovalev fight. Is the fight PPV in the US or just Canada?

Unfortunately for the hardcore fans these are all things that have to be worked out. It’s not as simple as two men just getting in the ring. I think this fight has plenty of obstacles and I’m not sure of it gets made.

What did you think of the Flores vs Avalos fight on FS1? I thought it was close but I can’t understand why Flores claimed he couldn’t see.  He is the better fight. Was it a misunderstanding?

Bread’s Response: The Flores vs Avalos fight was a very good fight. I think Flores will come back and be just fine. But I want to point something out that I always tell young fighters. Be a fighter and leave the other stuff to your team. I think Flores assumed the cut was from a head butt without getting a definitive determination. So he told the referee he couldn’t see but what he didn’t realize was that the referee thought the cut was from a punch not a butt. So there is no scorecard to go to, it’s a tko. I have seen some fighters do that and get away with it and I have seen it work the other way. In this case it worked the other way.

I also think there should be instant replay in boxing. For the life of me I can’t understand why questionable calls are not reviewed in between rounds.

I remember you gave your categories for great punchers. Speed Thudders, Electric Slashers, Swordsmen, Heavy Handed Debilitators and the Bludgeon Crew. Best categorized mailbag ever. I was wondering if you had classifications for chins. I was also wondering who you thought had the best of each punch you ever saw.

Bread’s Response: Yes I remember that mailbag. I came up with those terms off the top of the dome to try to explain the difference type of punchers.

Now there are different types of chins. If you can go to sleep at night you can be knocked out. But some guys like Marvin Hagler and GGG don’t show any effect of punches. Then there are fighters like Holyfield and Marquez who go down and get wobbled but are nearly impossible to stop. I don’t have defined categories of punchers but I can explain with descriptions.

Out of the better chins that I have witnessed Mike McCallum, James Toney, Marvin Hagler, GGG, Rocky Marciano, George Chuvalo, Henry Armstrong, David Tua, Jake Lamotta and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr show the least amount of effect as far punches being landed on them. They can be stopped but they rarely show the effect of solid punches.

Then you have fighters like Ali, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Juan Manuel Marquez, Arturo Gatti, Ray Robinson and Manny Pacquiao who show the effects and often go down but are extremely hard to stop.

All of the chins I have named are reliable they are just different.

Best Jab I have ever seen is tough. Some people love Sonny Liston’s jab. I loved it too but I thought Ali’s better because of his rhythm. I also like Joe Louis’s jab because he smothered your jab while using his own. Ken Norton does not have the reputation as a great jabber but his jab was excellent. He could actually outjab Ali. Toomy Hearns and Oscar De La Hoya have two of the better jabs of the last 30 years. I haven’t seen Hearns outjabbed but his jab could be taken away if you pressed him. Oscar’s jab was better than Hearns off the move but Oscar was caught in between styles too often.

For arguments sake I will give the best jab ever to Ali but there are some close seconds. Pernell Whitaker had as good as jab as I have seen but he doesn’t get credit for it. Holmes, Hearns, De La Hoya and Foster are in the argument. But the reason I picked Ali is because of his success vs Great Jabbers. He outjabbed Liston, Foreman and Foster. And all of them have top 20 jabs ever.

Best Rear Hand is risky. I say rear hand because of some southpaws who have excellent straight left hands. For example as for a scoring blow Manny Pacquiao’s slide left hand is as good as I have seen. When you try to jab him slides his head to his right and then drops a straight left hand down the pike. Adonis Stevenson also has a great straight left hand.

But the best rear hand I have seen is Joe Louis. Tommy Hearns and Alexis Arguello get some consideration but for me it’s Louis and here is why. Arguello’s straight hand is perfect in technique and angle. Just watch his shot of Kevin Rooney. Hearn’s straight right hand was the most feared punch in boxing in the 80s. But Louis’s right hand was quicker than Arguello’s and shorter than Hearn’s. You could crowd Hearns and keep him from getting that crazy extension on it. So my pick is Louis.

Best left hook comes down to 2 fighters for me. Ray Robinson and Roy Jones. Best and hardest are different. Robinson and Jones’s hooks were  not only lights out bombs but they often scored valuable points with them. I honestly can’t differentiate between the two.

Left Hook to the body. My pick is Gerald McClellan. His left hook to the body was that good. It was the most dynamic left hook to the body I have ever seen. It was unreal. Chavez Sr, GGG and Ray Leonard all have cases.

Right hand to the body. This comes down to two people again. For me it Alexis Arguello or Ray Robinson. Arguello threw a right uppercut underneath the heart and it was devastating. Robinson threw a right hand around the left flank that was the best I have ever seen. I say Robinson edges this.

Jab to the body is Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather’s jab to the body is simply awesome. He scores points with it constantly. No one can stop it. And once he brings your eyes down to it he starts catching you upstairs with hooks with either hand.

Uppercut. This is my toughest pick. Jack Johnson had a great uppercut. But the film is hard to decipher. Evander Holyfield’s uppercut is efficient and brutal. Watch is Bert Cooper Performance. Ray Leonard had a great right uppercut and so did Joe Louis. Juan Manuel Marquez is in the middle of this argument.  Mike Tyson’s was brutal. Kid Gavilan probably gets the most votes.

But the best uppercut I have seen on a consistent basis is Ricardo Lopez. Lopez’s uppercut is money. He can throw it with either hand. He not only scores points with it but he scores 1 punch kos with it. He turns it off of a hook or shoots it after a right hand with equal effect. Lopez gets the honor for me.

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