Daily Bread Mailbag: Andre Ward, Canelo-Khan, Crawford, More

By Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards giving his thoughts on Saul 'Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan, how Andre Ward stacks up to other great fighters who competed at super middleweight, Felix's Verdejo, Terence Crawford and more.

Hey breadman. You touched briefly on the Canelo-Kahn fight but mainly about fighters fighting in a couple weight divisions below their best weight. How do you feel overall about this fight?  Is this a BS fight to you?  I kind of think it is but I'm excited to see it although I won't be ordering PPV. I was hoping you could break this fight down a bit.  I know mayweather-ggg is not your favorite subject but I had to ask. Who do you think would be the betting favorite if that were to take place?  Mayweather made the Canelo fight look easy. Would the ggg fight be that much different?  Thanks in advance for the insight.

Bread’s Response: I really believe a smaller man who’s moving up but not giving up extremity length and is physically tough has lots of advantages. For example Floyd Mayweather moved up to fight Canelo. But Floyd is taller and longer. So he had the quick movements of the smaller man and he was taller and longer. At that point we wonder if he can take the punches because if he can he as it all in the fight.

I’m not saying Khan is Mayweather but being the smaller guy is not a disadvantage if you are the right smaller man. Khan does have some advantages over Canelo but Canelo has improved a lot since 2013. Khan will have his work cut out for him. Canelo has evolved his style. I was super impressed at how he counter punched Cotto from the center of the ring. Canelo has mastered a explosive style without burning too much energy by being a tracker. Khan will have to be better than he ever was to win this fight.

It’s not a bullsh*t fight but it’s a money fight. Two big names who just felt like fighting. I think we will see this from Canelo for the rest of his career. I wouldn’t be surprised if he fought Danny Garcia one day, Victor Ortiz if he can win a big fight and other marketable kids who will create themselves over the next few years with wins.

Yo Breadman

Now that Ward 168 career is over were do you rank him all time 168?

Ward vs Calzaghe best of 3 trilogy? How you see it?

Ward vs Roy Jones best of 3?

Ward vs Toney best of 3?

Ward vs Eubank best of 3?

Ward vs Collins best of 3?

Ward vs Benn best of 3?

Jermaine from London

Bread’s Response: I think he’s top 5 ever in the division. I rate Roy Jones as the best ever but Andre Ward has a mild case as the best. The Super 6 did not involve matchmaking. Ward had to fight in a tournament style format against potential HOF in Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham. Then he beat a super capable champion in Chad Dawson.

Andre Ward is so good I don’t believe anyone wins 3 straight fights against him in his prime. His mind is too sharp not to figure out a way to steal one fight.

We just missed Calzaghe vs Ward. Ward came into prominence in 2009. Calzaghe retired in 2008. In another era Ward would have been moved faster and they would have fought.

I definitely believe they split the first two fights. This is really tough for me. I really can’t call it I think it’s that close.

Montell Griffin was able to give a prime RJ problems with a step in jab at a low angle. Ward is the master of this and he can also grapple. As great as RJ was and he is top 20 ever in my humble opinion, even in his prime he laid on the ropes too much waiting for counters. I think Jones wins 2 out of 3 but he has to fight Ward in the center of the ring. Ward is not easy to counter off the ropes like Merqui Sosa and Bryant Brannon were. Check out those beheadings on youtube.

James Toney vs Andre Ward would be the most exciting fight out of the crop. Toney is the best late round puncher of the 90s. He was brutally accurate in the 2nd half of fights. The longer it went the more he honed in. Think about his bumps with McCallum, Nunn, Williams and Barkley. The special thing about Toney is he’s not a holder or grabber. He works on the inside. Ward would have to clinch James. Because Toney was a rare dude who seemed to always be the tougher man physically as far as his ability to take punishment. Ward is more consistent fight by fight but on their best nights I take Toney 2 out of 3 in barnburners.

Chris Eubank should be in the HOF. He’s the most confident fighter I have ever seen besides Muhammad Ali. He had a tungsten chin and underrated boxing skills. I love Eubank but I think he’s just a step behind Ward physically. I say Ward wins 2 hard earned decisions no need for a 3rd fight.

The way Steve Collins finished his career if he were fighting today people would accuse him of being on PEDS. He started out 21-3. Losing clean to Mike McCallum. Then two close decisions to Reggie Johnson and Sambu Kalambay. Then he went on a 15 fight win streak to finish his career winning the WBO title at 160 and 168. Collins is extremely underrated when people speak of the great UK Super Middleweights. Benn, Eubank, Calazghe and Froch all get more recognition. But Collins was the first man to defeat Eubank and he did it twice. Then he did the same thing to Benn. I know both were considered slightly past it but Collins is roughly the same age. Many thought Collins would give Roy Jones a tussle and the fight was all but done and for some reason Jones didn’t go through with it.

Collins was a volume puncher, who was indefatigable and had a concrete beard. That’s a tough mix to overcome. The pick here is Ward beats him twice in a row and outboxes him. But Collins is one of those guys who just don’t get appreciated. You sort of have to see him do things before you can assume he will.

Nigel Benn vs Ward is a rough fight. Benn is the best puncher on the list besides RJ. And Benn had lots of success vs Americans defeating Iran Barkley and Gerald McClellan. Ward had his share of troubles vs Sakio Bika and Benn on his best night from 93-95 is better than Bika. I say they split the first two and Ward takes a close decision in the 3rd. Benn should also be in the HOF.

What's up Bread?

I just wanted to get your thoughts on Frampton-Quigg, Crawford-Lundy, and Verdejo-Silva:

1. What took Quigg so long to pick up the pace? How do you like either guy's chances against Rigondeaux (assuming Rigo returns to form in his next fight on March 12th)

2. Were you impressed by Crawford's clinical destruction of Hank Lundy? (I was)

3. I would like to see Felix Verdejo vs. Hank Lundy next at 135 as Hammerin' Hank looked a bit undersized at 140 and Crawford is the first fighter to completely outclass him.  Crawford is an elite talent and Verdejo would have a chance to take another step closer to being the same as I still see Lundy as a solid veteran gatekeeper.  What do you think?

Best of luck on the upcoming fight by the way.

Peace,

William in West Palm

Bread’s Response: Frampton vs Quigg went how I expected except I picked the wrong winner. I expected Frampton who is more talented to win the early rounds and Quigg who is more steady minded to come on late. I am disappointed that Quigg did so little early in the fight. Although the early rounds were uneventful there is a winner and a loser on those rounds and Frampton was the winner.

When Quigg pushed late Frampton answered back like a true champion. I think the right man won the fight. Quigg will be disappointed in his performance when he looks back at this fight.

Neither can beat a prime Rigo. The question is if he’s still in his prime.

Yes I was impressed with Crawford. So called Experts always have something to say. If Crawford would have struggled to a 115-113 decision then that is something to complain about. But he stopped a tough fighter in the first half of the fight. He also overcame some early round success for Lundy.

Crawford does not rattle. There are certain traits that lead to certain outcomes and perceptions. I have always equated great defensive fighters with great relaxation in the ring.  9 times out of 10 if you have great natural defense you will be extremely relaxed. James Toney, Floyd Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker, Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. All have great defense and all stay extremely relaxed.

Now here is the Crawford trait. He always overcomes tough early rounds to get stoppages. That says something about his staying power. That says something about his self belief. That tells me Terrace Crawford is no front runner. Carl Froch and Juan Manuel Marquez have the same quality. Early round hardships don’t mean much to them. They keep pushing.

Now I’m not suggesting Crawford had a Ray Leonard vs Tommy Hearns type of situation in their first fight but I am suggesting things weren’t going his way early. Lundy who is an emotional fighter became demonstrative. Crawford kept the same poker face and just took inventory. He has a way about him where he acts like he knows something. He reminded me of what Floyd Mayweather did to Zab Judah in their fight. Crawford is serious. I was very impressed.

I love the Verdejo vs Lundy match up. I actually tweeted it lol. Here is the thing. I don’t think Lundy is that undersized. He’s short but he’s dense and he has long arms. If you look at his fight weights on boxrec he has always been a guy who went back and forth between 135 and 140.

Send questions to dabreadman25@hotmail.com