By Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards discussing Andre Ward vs. unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, Kell Brook's challenge of middleweight king Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin, and more.

I'll tell you what coach, people need to stop acting like Ward going the distance with Brand is a negative sign of things to come. Those awkward guys have a way of surviving and making it through sometimes. They can make things ugly, especially if he's on defensive mode and you're not a puncher. Which brings me to my point... Power. Everyone is talking about how Ward doesn't have the power to hurt Kov... what is it with these fans and "power"? Haven't they learned from the past? If power was the deciding factor in elite level fights they should've given Holyfield the memo before he fought Tyson lol. They should've also given Hopkins the memo before he fought Trinidad and Pavlik.... What about Ali and Foreman? Obviously those styles are different but you get where I'm going..

At the elite level a fighter doesn't even need power (look at Floyd). The puncher often times loses to the craftier, more accurate fighter anyway. Kov can in fact box well so he's not you're average plodder, but fans really get caught up in all the knockouts... to the point to where they get blinded by it.

Going into the Ward/Kov fight Ward is the superior boxer while Kov is superior in his physicality, size, and power. What that means to me is if Ward can take/nullify Kov's power he wins. That's what it boils down to. Easier said than done, but my point is It doesn't take power to beat the puncher. People need to get that out of their head. God bless you and J Rock coach. Hope to see you out here again soon!

Sean Hall

Bread’s Response: I love violent boxer punchers. Ray Robinson, Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns. But you are correct. Power is important but at the top level it’s not the end all. Stamina, boxing ability, punch resistance and IQ are more important in my opinion.

Boxers don’t like boxers. Guys like Ward would rather you come to them than they come to you. He thrives off of guys “trying” to knock him out. He’s never going to look great being the hunter. It’s just not his way.

Ward has figured out and mastered a way to win fights while not taking unnecessary punishment and without overwhelming his opponents with brutality. He pretty much beats you with a jab, physical strength and ring generalship.

People in general are fascinated by what they can see. What Andre Ward is doing to his opponents is not always visible to the untrained eye. Even the trained eye can miss it. He’s rendering them impotent.

Ward is a great fighter. But he’s not a great offensive fighter. And that’s ok. It hasn’t hurt his winning ability one bit. Boxing is called boxing. It’s not called punching or offense. It’s called boxing.

As for the performance it was dominant but it wasn’t his greatest day at the office. But that’s ok. That often happens in that trap fight in between the super fights. Remember how Oscar and Bernard looked in their showcase fights leading up to their showdown. Or how Holyfield looked vs Bobby Czyz? I still say Ward vs Kovalev is a 50/50 fight but I slightly favor Ward.

Mr. Edwards,

I hope that all is well with you and yours.  I checked out the latest mailbag.  Nothing like some fresh bread!  First, let me congratulate Mr. Williams, yourself and your team on gaining the title shot on October 1st.  I know you guys will put  in the preparation and dedication that you always do for the rumble.  Wish you the best of success.  In this game, most times getting the shot is a lot harder than the fight itself.

Secondly, what did you think of Mr. Ward vs. Brand this past Saturday?  I thought he was sharper in his last fight.  In fairness though this guy's awkwardness was hard to set any rhythm against. Some might say it wasn't the right work in preparation for Kovalev but I think it was good work for the timetable that he is on.  I'm going with S.O.G 100%!

Lastly, in one your previous mailbags you touched on the legacy of Mr. Ali.  I was really impressed with how your grandfather revered The Champ given the generation that he was from.  I too was raised by my grandfather and he was the greatest guy I know.

Again, much success to you and the team in October.  If you can open this link you might like this...if you haven't already been privy to it.

Peace,

Bread’s Response: Ali was my guy. Thanks for the video. Ali is one of the few people who can bring me to tears when I think of his greatness.

I think Ward’s team had a hard time finding an opponent. They needed the work so they took Brand….

I also think Ward was sharper vs Barrera but Barrera is more predictable and he’s more offensive than Brand. Let me tell you a secret, great boxers who aren’t great punchers are hard to showcase. It’s easier to showcase dynamic offensive fighters. Felix Trinidad will usually “look” better than Bernard Hopkins vs common opponents. Shane Mosley will “look” better than Vernon Forest vs common opponents. Manny Pacquiao will “look” better than Floyd Mayweather vs common opponents. I can go on and on about that.

Kovalev usually blows guys like Brand out but that doesn’t mean he’s better than Ward. It just mean his ability lies in a different area. The all around fighter usually has to showcase himself vs elite competition because it’s harder to appreciate him with the eyeball test.

I am a big Andre Ward fan. But is something off in his punch technique in your opinion? He slaps sometimes and his punches just don’t seem to go through the target. He also seems to be a one handed fighter. Some of the great boxers of the past weren’t the biggest punchers but they punched correctly. Where do you rank his punching ability with the likes of Ali, Whitaker, Mayweather etc.?

Bread’s Response: Great question. Ward’s jab is perfect. It’s hard, fast and thudding. To the head and the body. I have studied him for quite some time and his jab at all time status.

I think his right hand has been limited for so long that it does limit his offensive ability. He doesn’t have a great right hand. His other punches with his left hand are good but he uses them sparingly because no one can stop his jab to the head or body and his mentality is to take what is given.

Whitaker didn’t score lots of kos but he was a brutal body puncher with a great jab. He also had a tremendous left hand that he used to score. Whitaker had some highlight reel kos vs Louie Lomelli and Juan Nazarro. I would say Whitaker is a slightly better puncher than Ward.

Mayweather also had some excellent kos in his career. Phillip Ndou, Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti caught the business. Floyd throws every single punch correctly. He has every punch in the book. But he’s so defensive minded he doesn’t run his punches off violently so therefore he rarely scores a ko these days.

Ali is a better puncher than he is remembered for. Before his 3 year lay off he was 29-0 with 23 kos. His right hand was a laser and he could spin it to really get to you. Ali also scored kos in his biggest fights something that Whitaker, Mayweather or Ward has not done. So he would be the best puncher out of the guys you named.

Two questions. What do you make of Kell Brook weighin 176 lbs at the 30 day weigh in? Did he put on all that muscle or does he usually walk around that big? And what’s up with the feud between John David Jackson and Virgil Hunter? Have you noticed the comments Jackson is making about Hunter? What do you think the three mistkaes Andre Ward is making? Where do you think the feud stems from and have they went up against each other in the past?

Bread’s Response: That was more than two questions bro..

I don’t think Brook packed on 20lbs of muscles that fast. The fight was just made. He’s just a huge welterweight as far as muscle density and he decided to not cut weight so soon. I’m going to let you in on a secret. Most fighters today walk around at least 20lbs over their division weight. I would 90%. They will lie and only admit 10 or 15lbs but I know for a fact it’s higher than that.

The huge weight reduction is the cause for so many things in this era. Short number of career fights. Poor stamina. And PED use. I’m NOT suggesting Kell Brook suffers from any of the three. I’m just stating what seems to be the case in this era of fighters. I actually think Brook will be sharp, strong and give GGG a better tussle than the consensus opinion.

I think John David Jackson and Virgil Hunter are two of the better active coaches in boxing. I say they are both top 10 trainers in the world as we speak. I have no idea what the feud is over. And yes I have heard Jackson’s comments.

Here is the thing though. Sometimes fans and media overreact. Hunter and Jackson are both smart guys. Hunter seems to be taking the classy road and not saying much. Jackson could be trying to get under his skin. Jackson has been around a long time. He knows Ward is a boxer. He knows it’s easier for Kovalev if Ward fights instead of boxes. So he may be trying to anger Hunter so Hunter can instruct Ward out of anger.

There is a section in the Art of War on that. Generals should not instruct out of anger. This is just a guess on my part. But Hunter and Jackson are both classy individuals who have achieved a lot in boxing. This could be mind games at it’s highest level. There may not be a feud, just great trainers trying to get an advantage in a huge fight.

No fighter is perfect. You can always take a still shot of one of his actions and point out something. So I’m sure John David Jackson has seen something in Andre Ward that he thinks is exploitable. I don’t want to try to guess what they are. I will say that I haven’t seen the flaws taken advantage of up until this point in his career. But Jackson has a tremendous fighter in Kovalev, let’s see if they can pull it off.

I don’t know how many times they have had fighters face each other in the past. That’s a great question. Off the top of my head I would say Amir Khan vs Chris Algieri and Andre Ward vs Allan Green. I’m sure there could be other times but those are the two I remember. I haven’t looked forward to a fight like this in so long.

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