The Daily Bread Mailbag returns, with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards tackling topics such as Shawn Porter vs. Terence Crawford, an Oscar De La Hoya vs. Canelo Alvarez dream match, thoughts on Josh Taylor, Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns, and much more.
What up Bread?
The people are still waiting on this podcast collab between you and Lee Wylie! Boxing fans need something real with the insight, love for the sport, and details you both bring.
Today's mailbag topic are fighter's styles and how they are perceived by judges. With so many unique styles represented from different parts of the world, what are some of the conversations that occur between fighter and trainer on how to best showcase their abilities within their style, but also force enough action to win rounds without allowing their mistakes to be exploited in doing so. In those same conversations, without giving too much away, how does the game plan process go in order to pick holes in a certain style to exploit? Does an urban style or cuban style have natural advantages over a mexican or educated-pressure style?
A recent example, in Charlo-Harrison II, there were some doubts that Tony Harrison's slick boxing style would be able to win enough rounds in Southern California the same he had done in Brooklyn. To everyone's surprise, he stayed in the pocket and was sitting down on his punches. Would he have fought this fight if they were fighting again in NY or another city where the Urban Style is popular?
Another example would be Whitaker-Chavez. Did Whitaker's team instruct Sweet Pea to just fight his fight knowing that his style naturally exploits the pressure style of a Chavez? With that in mind, what are historically some of your favorite "style" clashes?
'Preciate it Bread!
Stephen from Dallas
Bread’s Response: Aw man Lee Wylie is my guy. I would love it. I always talk to fighters about impressing the judges. I even go as far as to tell them if they see something let me know because if the judges hear me asking for something and they aren’t doing it then the judges may score against us.
In talking about fighters you definitely say some things in private that you can’t say in public. People just don’t understand and some will come off as racist, culturally bias or regional bias. What’s said in the gym stays in the gym.
Most matchmakers I know feel that the urban style will beat the Mexican style 7 or 8 out of 10 times. Let’s say Junior Jones vs Marco Antonio Barrera. No one will admit that they match make like that but I know it to be true. I also understand that the Eastern European style has been known to trouble the urban style. Let’s say Vasyl Lomachenko vs Gary Russell. And the Mexican style can trouble the Eastern Euro style. Let’s say Canelo vs GGG and Kovalev. Nothing is 100% but those seem to be the rock, paper, scissors of matchmaking.
Often times in private conversations a fighter’s race, culture and region will be brought up. It’s boxing..
I don’t know what Whitaker’s team instructed him to do. He was special. What I do know is that Main Events as a company had lots of success fighting Chavez but they didn’t have any wins over him yet. Rocky Lockridge and Meldrick Taylor both Main Event fighters took Chavez to the brink. They felt Whitaker could take him over the brink. He did just not officially.
I didn’t think Tony Harrison would get credit for “boxing” Charlo in California. But he stood and fought and was still down on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Go figure.
I don’t know why he fought the way he did. But sometimes a fighter just finds something. Sometimes they feel their opponent can’t handle certain things. Maybe he just felt like he could score better on the inside and he could conserve his energy without having to move so much…..
Harrison received criticism for throwing only 30 punches/round. He’s a smart kid. He also knew Charlo was the A side despite him being the champion and maybe he didn’t want to leave to the judges. He fought an excellent fight but he just didn’t close. You have to stay the course all 12 rounds.
I have resented Sugar Ray Leonard picking up the mantle from the retiring Muhammad Ali for a long time. He was plugged into that spot because he was a gifted and popular fighter and was given, or took every chance to succeed, especially financially. After Duran jumped 2 weight classes, spotted him 6+ inches in reach and beat him convincingly, his money men kept an eye on Duran to see if he blew up and partied himself out of viability, which, of course he did. Then after peaking on June 20, he went up to 190 lbs. And then had to get down to 147 by fight night in November. So after going from 135 to 147 for fight 1, then blossom to 19?, he was forced to lose all that weight then fight a fighter of Leonard’s caliber? It wasn’t fair to Duran or the paying public, but Leonard, the chosen one, the meal ticket was able to dictate terms despite Duran being champ. He for years ducked Hagler. He was scared of him and I don’t blame him. Duran came back and fought Hagler in 1984. Would Leonard have survived the “destruct and destroy” Hagler of ’84? We’ll never know because Leonard waited until 1987……and then also as “the chosen one” got to dictate terms to a long time champion. He obviously chose a huge ring and mandated that the fight be fought with 10 oz. thumbless gloves. I’ve watched a lot of Hagler’s fights, many being 15 rounds, and never saw him arm weary before. He appeared arm weary in that fight. And Leonard still eked out a decision. He also got a gift against Hearns. While Leonard was a great fighter, I think his flashiness made him appear better than he actually was. I opine that he never would have beaten Hagler on a level playing field. Or Duran. And Hearns was iffy.
Bread’s Response: If you and I were having a face to face conversation about this I would walk away from you. You have no idea what you’re talking about. But because of mailbag purposes it makes for a good posting.
I’ve seen this type of energy before. You fixate and resent a special athlete. Why because maybe you weren’t the guy picked first in gym class. Or maybe you were the guy who had the work your way up the company ladder and some hot shot good looking college grad got the big bucks before you. Something in your life happened where you can literally make up a scenario that didn’t happen and leave out pertinent info just to hate on a man I assume you don’t know.
Let’s talk about Duran first. In my opinion in he won a close but clean first fight. He won by 1 point on two of the judges scorecards and 2 point on the other. Although I think Duran won, at that time in 1980 there was a small percentage of people who thought Leonard did. In fact if you watch the recap of the fight with the two fighters, different members of the media and Leonard himself talked about how they thought Leonard won and that a rematch was imminent.
So the best two fighters in the world have one of the greatest fights in history were an upset is scored and you complain about an immediate rematch not being fair to the public. The public clamored for this rematch so much that Leonard was able to make 7 million and Duran 10 million. That’s in 1980! You Sir, have a ridiculous perspective.
Now you want make up a LIE and say Duran jumped two weight divisions by saying he went from 135 to 147 for fight 1. Duran fought EIGHT non title fights between 1978 and 1980 to build himself into a strong welterweight. Each fight was progressively tougher and he actually came in, in the 150s for one of them. In one of these non title fights he beat HOF Carlos Palomino in a sensational performance. Duran was in his late 20s and the move up in weight was great for him. His body needed it.
What’s interesting you want to discredit Leonard for losing to a smaller man but then in the rematch you want to make an excuse that the smaller man had a hard time making weight. That officially makes you a HATER.
In every fight especially big ones, both fighter’s teams look for advantages. They look for angles. But that doesn’t mean it will work. The opposing fighter has to be complicit. In the first fight a Duran hater could say, “oh Duran wasn’t playing fair, he called Leonard’s wife bad names. He used his beard to rub in Leonard’s eyes. Duran is dirty blah blah.” That’s all BS. Duran did what he had to do to win.
In the rematch, Duran knew a rematch was coming. He had just fought in June and they talked about the rematch in the post fight interview. Duran always got fat and partied. This was nothing new. That’s who he was. Why else would a 5’7” lightweight eventually move up to 168lbs? So he had to come down in weight. He reportedly did the same thing as a lightweight champion. Are you telling me Duran never partied or drank before and didn’t start that stuff until he beat Leonard? Leonard’s team could wish all they want that Duran would eat himself out of shape, Duran had to be complicit in order for it to come into fruition. Leonard didn’t put food and alcohol in Duran’s mouth. Duran was 71-1 with this same lifestyle.
Duran didn’t fight bad in the rematch. Leonard just fought different and it frustrated him. He embarrassed and humiliated him. He paid Duran back for embarrassing him in the first fight. Duran just mentally couldn’t take it. So he quit. And this is coming from the biggest Roberto Duran fan.
And he wasn’t forced into a rematch. He made 10 million dollars to fight Leonard in the rematch. At the time it was the biggest purse in boxing history. What great 29 year old fighter turns down their biggest purse against a man they already beat? Last but not least they fought in June. They agreed to the rematch in August. And they fought at the end of November. Are you telling me that 3 months is not enough to time to get ready for a fight when you just fought 2 months before that? Get the heck out of here!
Sometimes even a great fighter fights over his head and shoots his load a little bit. I can remember Emanuel Steward talking about how he knew Leonard would win the rematch. He said Duran fought great but you have but so many of those nights in your career. The performance that Duran put on June of 1980 was better than anything he ever did before or after. It’s one of the greatest nights in the history of boxing and it could be the best WIN ever. So Leonard the bigger, younger and faster fighter who knew he could fight better, wanted to run it right back. He didn’t think Duran could be any better and he was right. He put his career on the line and it was one of the smartest moves ever. Here is why.
In a basketball analogy it’s similar to Lebron having to score 50 in order to beat Golden State in the finals. Remember the game JR Smith screwed up and called timeout. In the overtime and next few games, Lebron’s load was sort of shot. This is what Duran was in the rematch. Anyone who bet against the Cavs after Lebron’s 51 point outburst in game 1, made the right move.
Now you bring up Leonard being scared of Hagler but you forget to bring up in 1984 Leonard had a detached retina. He had been off since 1982 and he made a brief comeback vs Kevin Howard. Oh how convenient you forgot that. Detached retinas are serious now, in 1981 when it happened it was career ending. It’s not like Leonard was an active fighter during that time. But more importantly Leonard is the one who literally jumped two weight classes after a 3 year lay off and fought the best fighter in the world. No tune up fights. No moving up gradually, just one fight. Now I admit that Hagler had slowed down somewhat. But so did Leonard! Leonard wasn’t sitting in a time bubble form 1982-87. He was aging too. He was smaller. He was inactive. Again you just didn’t like the result. Had Leonard got stopped like everyone thought he would, you wouldn’t be saying all of this.
Every big fight has negotiations. People repeat and rinse a total myth. Hagler GAVE UP everything. He really didn’t. Hagler was guaranteed 12 million, Leonard 11 million. Hagler got most of the closed circuit revenue while Leonard got a high percentage of the DMV area. Afterward Hagler made over 20 million dollars in 1987! Leonard a little over 12. That’s NOT giving up everything.
How easy we forget the major factor. Money!. The truth is Hagler thought he was better so he didn’t care about the boxing aspect. Thumbless 10 oz reyes gloves. Oh wow what a concession. The same gloves that fighters fight in to this day. The truth is detached thumb gloves were a health hazard and it caused too many fighters to get thumbed. No big deal. The weight of the gloves weren’t increased. What did you want Hagler to be able to THUMB Leonard? Ignorant people repeat he made him fight in THUMBLESS gloves….
12 round fight vs 15 round fight. Hagler had just fought two back to back 12 rounds fights vs John Mugabi and Thomas Hearns! Are you crazy! He didn’t give up 15 rounds. There is no way he could’ve made that fight a 15 rounder. I’m not even sure if he cared. He certainly didn’t in his fights vs Hearns and Mugabi. Let’s remember the WBC had been fazing out 15 round fights since 1984 and Hagler vs Leonard was for the WBC title. Again another myth. Hagler was one of the more recognizable champions in boxing. He kept his WBC belt in which he KNEW they were the first to do 12 round fights. You guys make up excuses that he can’t even make up.
The big thing that Hagler did give up was a 22x22 foot ring. Leonard used the whole ring. That I believe was a factor. But Hagler knew that going in. Ask yourself smart guy why did Hagler box early and box right handed at that. Shouldn’t he have put more pressure on Leonard earlier considering that the fight was a 12 round fight in a big ring. Hagler’s gameplan, and Leonard being better than most thought he could be, was the REAL reason why Leonard won.
Stop being a hater!
Hello breadman.
Hope j-rock is fine & ready to go again. Just like you’re opinion regarding Leonard vs Hearns. Hearns was out boxing Leonard until round 6 until Leonard hit hearn with a hook and now the fight changed. Leonard was now the hunter. No one knew what Hearns chin was like at that point including Leonard, hypothetically do you believe Leonard would have got it done alot early if he knew about Hearns not so solid chin ir would Leonard have taken the same approach.? Also, I believe the fight was stopped to early considering the era it was fought in. You’re take on the stoppage thanks. Also, no disrespect to Dundee at all, a boxing legend, but do you believe Ali / Leonard could have achieved the same with other trainers because of their natural talent.? Example- you’re self, would you’re style of training have made any difference.?
Thanks Steven.
Bread’s Response: All of these Leonard comments this week….
I thought Hearns was using his jab vs Leonard in the 1st fight but if you look close nothing was really landing big. Hearns was just sort of dictating the fight. But he wasn’t beating Leonard up. If you look at the fight Leonard tested the hot water late in the 3rd round. He attacked Hearns just to see what he could get away with. 15 round fighters are special. They have a foot hold things that a 12 round fighter wouldn’t grasp.
Ray Leonard was a winner. Winners figure things out. As far him being able to hurt Hearns. Any man can be hurt. Any man can be knocked out. Some just know how to prevent it.
I don’t have a problem with the stoppage. Hearns was just knocked down. He was getting staggered badly and taking brutal body shots. He wasn’t punching back. He didn’t complain and his esteemed trainer said he thought about stopping the fight.
Angelo Dundee is a trainer who sort of gets discredited as time goes on. I’m not saying he was better than Eddie Futch or Emanuel Steward. I don’t believe he was. But man he has some of the biggest wins in history. Dundee was the head man when Leonard beat, Duran was trained by Ray Arcel. Leonard defeated Hearns who was trained by Emanuel Steward. Dundee was also the guy when Carmen Basilio beat the one and only Ray Robinson. And when Ali beat a Futch trained Joe Frazier and when Foreman was trained by Archie Moore and Sandy Saddler.
Who’s the best trainer ever will always be a debate. But what can’t be debated are the wins that Dundee had. My goodness.
Obviously Ali and Leonard are special. Obviously they were Gold Medalist before they met Dundee. So I assume they would have been great without him. But I won’t take credit from Dundee. I met him before. He had a way about him. He had charisma. He had a delivery. I don’t know how good his strategy and X & Os were. But his delivery and in corner work was legendary. You can’t discredit a man who was a part of so many big wins. No one can be that lucky.
Hey Mr Edwards
I liked your last two mailbags a lot but I'm concerned they are getting shorter. Or is it my imagination? . I used to enjoy them over two good sized cups of coffee but I'm now down to one.
Anyway, what do yo think of Shawn Porter seemingly beginning to call Terrence Crawford out and TC's lukewarm response? If they don't ever fight and we look back on their careers fifteen years from now will it go down as a duck? Won't your argument that boxing is both a sport and a business come to TC's rescue? What kind of a business proposition is SP to TC right now? Come to think of it, legacy wise, what does SP do for TC given the fact that he has already been beaten by Brook, Thurman and Spence?
Still on the duck, I read somewhere once that Michael Spinks told Marvin Hagler to stop beating up on the smaller guys and move up to light heavyweight for a date with the "Spinks Jinx". We know MH stayed put at 160 and retired at that weight. Simply on the basis of a callout which was not responded to could this be seen as a duck? Was MH that much bigger than the other middleweights or could MS have been referring to guys who moved up like Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns who were both beaten by MH? If MH had accepted that challenge, what do you think happens in that fight?
Finally, you have consistently maintained that George Foreman is the most powerful man in boxing. I give you no argument on that given what he did to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. But if that is the case, where does that put Ron Lyle? Do you recall his slugfest with GF? I mean, each was down more times than I care to remember before GF lowered the boom. Yet a supposedly light punching Muhammed Ali overwhelmed Ron Lyle without once looking like going down. And MA also put GF away like he was a novice. Could power really not be a question of stylistic match ups? I mean GF did not look all that powerful against Jimmy Young, come to think of it.
MM Carlos Zarate v Monster Inouye at Bantam weight.
I seem to recall CZ was quite a monster himself.
Thank you Mr Edwards and don't stop punching because you are making experts out of us.
Katlholo
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bread’s Response: The mailbags aren’t getting smaller. Sometimes I get more post compliant comments. Sometimes guys write in stuff that I just can’t send in to the editors. Either too long, or too abrasive.
I think Shawn Porter will fight anyone and Terence Crawford will fight anyone. You can’t get caught up in social media or boxing reporting. There is more towards making a fight. It’s a great fight but I feel there are bigger fights for Crawford at this moment. Remember Thurman and Spence beat Porter. So if Porter is a big fight, those fights would be bigger.
There is no way you can consider Hagler not fighting Spinks a duck. Come on man! He just didn’t move up 15lbs to fight a huge light heavyweight. Spinks was 6’2 ½ with a long arms and huge legs. He had a frame that won a heavyweight title. He was also equally as good as Hagler. He would have beaten Hagler my man.
But if you want to make a knock on Hagler it’s that he waited on smaller guys in Leonard, Hearns and Duran but he never challenged a bigger one… I don’t personally make that criticism but I can understand it if someone did. In my opinion there is a greatness in staying put and fighting the best available contenders for a sustained period. Hagler also fought killer middleweights before he ever got a title shot. I just think he knew he was a natural middleweight, there was no super middleweight at the time and moving up 15lbs to fight men who walked around at over 200lbs was something that made no sense to him.
George Foreman is most the powerful man to ever step in a boxing ring. The Lyle and Young fights were POST ALI. The one thing that is more powerful than the body is the mind. Ali did something to Foreman’s mind in 1974.
Let me learn more about Inoue before I put him against Zarate. Today I say Zarate by ko.
Hi,
My question is...
Is Wilder a clever boxer?
I've heard this debated strongly both for and against.
Thanks
Bread’s Response: I think he’s a clever puncher. Very clever! He changes speed with his body. He will walk slow but move his hands fast suddenly. Or after a break he will step in quickly while the other guy is resetting. Wilder understands how to land that money punch.
What's up Bread ?
I wanted to talk about the fights that took place on Thursday on DAZN.
First Akhmadaliev vs Roman. I think Akhmadaliev was really good, even if he had some adjustments to find his distance in the first couple of rounds. His balance is always on point and he throws a lot of punches even when Roman tried to counter. I think the only one that could beat him in this weight division is Rigondeaux, because he's a bad style match'up for the others.
Then Andrade vs Keller... There was a time I thought Andrade was a great technician, but now I can't stand the way he is always bended and losing his balance. Maybe he wanted to force the K.O, he walked in with is big hooks without really preparing his offenses. I don't know how a fight with Charlo would end, but I feel like Andrade is past is prime and on the opposite Charlo is reaching it, but his style could give Charlo problems. What a wasted talent.
And the fight between Farmer and Jojo Diaz, what a performance ! I like Jojo's style, he's not wasting his energy in moving too much, his offensive and defensive movements are simple but efficient, and his straight left is a beauty. A rematch should be really interesting.
How do you see the fight between Russel Jr and Nyambayar going ?
Thanks for your time !
Max from France
Bread’s Response: I think Russell vs Tug is a very underrated fight. I pick Russell by decision but I think it will be a hard fight for Russell.
Andrade is a unique fighter. Because he’s tall, has speed and a southpaw no one really wants to fight him. He has a perfect record and he hasn’t really come close to losing. He seems very hard to beat. But giving him the eyeball test you see some things that can possibly be exploited. He wings his punches often. He seems wild at times. He doesn’t have good finishing skills and his fights settle into a predictable pattern each time.
But I suspect he will be better vs better competition. Some fighters are just like that. They need elite competition. Andrade is not a Pernell Whitaker like slick boxer. He’s not a Tommy Hearns like puncher. He’s not a ferocious finisher like Mike Tyson. Dynamic fighters are easier to showcase. Andrade has pedigree, hand speed and an awkward skill set, but I don’t consider him to be dynamic in any one area. So when a fighter is not dynamic they need the elite competition to raise their game. Bernard Hopkins and Vernon Forest come to mind. Shane Mosley and Felix Trinidad were both more highly regarded. But when they fought Hopkins and Forest dominated.
I don’t know who will win Andrade vs Charlo. But I don’t want to over assess Andrade’s performance because that’s how he performs vs the level of fighter he just fought. We don’t have any evidence of how he will perform vs a Charlo level fighter. I think it’s one of the best fights that can be made in boxing and I think it’s a dead even 50/50 fight.
Jo Jo Diaz is one gutsy kid. He fought for 11 rounds with one of the worst cuts I’ve ever seen. He could have started blinking and caused a No Contest. He could have kept pawing at it and gave Farmer confidence. He acted like it wasn’t even there. He responded like a hungry professional that wanted to make his dream come true of becoming a champion. Excellent performance. Diaz, his trainers and his cutman did an AWESOME job. Congratulations guys.
Hey Bread!
Who would you say are some of the best fighters today who are not champions? If it weren’t for Linares or Loma, I think Luke Campbell would have one by now. And Dillian Whyte is one of the better heavyweights not to have a belt.
I put it to you, Breadman. Who, in no particular order, are the best, let’s say 10, fighters without belts? You can include guys yet to get a title shot or guys who got one and came up short against stiff competition.
Bread’s Response: When we talk about he best fighters without belts sometimes we forget fighters who just lost their belts. Off the top of my head in no order let’s see…
Regis Prograis, Nonito Donaire, Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz, Murat Gassiev, Julian Williams, Oleksandr Usyk, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Erislandy Lara.
Hi Breadman
I grew up watching boxing in the 90's and when I watch videos from that era, I notice that fighters like Ray Leonard, Tommy Hears, Mike Mccallum, Hagler, Holyfield all had great rhythm.
These guys even when not punching were active by shifting their weight, bouncing on their toes, throwing different types of feints (hand, shoulder, foot). I don't really see that in modern boxing anymore, the only boxer I see do this is Tyson Fury and I"m wondering if it's from his time at Kronk.
My question is, is there anyway to work on this besides jump rope and shadowing boxing? Are there drills for one to development rhythm like them or is this usually an innate quality someone is born with?
I feel like when guys have good rhythm like this combination punching is much smoother and faster and defense becomes more proactive instead of reactive. I feel like guys back in the 90's had more weight on their back foot with their head more towards their back foot. Where now I see so many front foot heavy fighters almost lunging in towards their opponent.
Is this because some of the great teaches like Manny Steward, Eddie Futch, George Benton, Bouie Fisher, Bill Miller have all passed away and trainers don't know who to teach this? Or has boxing evolved and I'm stuck in the past?
I see some great athletes in modern boxing, but I don't see the great "boxers" like we used to. Just wonder why this is, and ways/drill young boxers can do to make sure they have great rhythm.
Thanks
Bread’s Response: Athletes mirror their most successful contemporaries. If you notice in a given gym the other fighters pick up the BEST fighter’s tick. Touching the trunks, shrugging of the shoulders, whatever.
Same thing with style. Fighter’s today fight with a rhythm they just go about it differently than fighters did in the 90s. Just like in any other sport. Running backs run different now than they did in the 90s.
However I do feel that fighter don’t shadowbox and skip enough rope today. That’s a really good way to develop rhythm. You mentioned it but I think it’s the best way to develop rhythm. You can also hit pads off of a rhythm but that’s sort of difficult. I like when fighters move around to their music of their choice. Believe it or not that’s awesome at getting into a groove.
Hi Bread,
Who wins and why -
1. Prime Oscar (second prime from 2000-03) vs Prime Canelo - I think that Canelo might have an advantage considering the prime Canelo is bigger than 2000-03 Oscar. What do you think? Though, I also think that 2000-03 Oscar was better in P4P sense.
2. Current version of Canelo vs Mayweather that schooled him - I believe Mayweather will take a razor thin decision but I wouldn’t bet on it. What do you think?
Regards,
Saurabht
Bread’s Response: At one time I favored Oscar over Canelo. Oscar has faster feet and a better jab. But over time I think Canelo is better defensively, he’s stronger, he has a better two fisted attack and he’s a better natural boxer.
This may surprise some people but I would pick Canelo. I think Canelo has passed Oscar. Oscar fought killers and he did do better vs Floyd who Canelo fought 6 years later. That troubles me in picking Canelo. But I just feel that Canelo could beat everyone Oscar beat and Oscar can’t beat everyone Canelo beat. GGG and Kovalev. In this super close fight my tipping factor is Canelo’s smarts. Oscar chose to fight the wrong fight too often in my opinion. Canelo has a better IQ.
Present Canelo vs Mayweather of 2013. Um……What weight would they fight? The fight in 2013 was at 152lbs. I don’t think Floyd could compete at 160 or more with Canelo. But if it’s 152lbs I would take Floyd again.
Hey Bread
Hope all is well. Will you be in vegas for fury vs wilder? If so, drink on me!
I wanted to ask you what difference you think we may see if Tyson Fury now that he is fighting through the Kronk Gym. The gym is partly known for power punchers and Fury is openly declaring that's why he wanted to train under the Kronk tutelage. This could of course just be mind-games by Fury but from what you know about the Kronk style in general, is there anything we can expect to be changed in Fury's style?
Second question - in your last mailbag you mentioned your thoughts on social media and how it impacts fighters (negatively in general other than promotion). Is there another angle to this in that boxers can forget their main purpose and focus on being influencers? Examples - Anthony Fowler (UK)- not so much now but early in his career was ALWAYS posting on instagram and Twitter about anything (funny, deep, etc), Chris Eubank Jr - loves showing off his flash Dubai lifestyle, Anthony Sims Jr - mental health advocate, and I am sure there are many other examples. Do you think this is negatively impacting boxers by giving them a side-career they near enough stumble into?
Final question, are there any staple meals or foods you insist on your fighters having regularly, whether just in camp or otherwise?
Mythical match ups:
Calzaghe vs McClellan at SMW
Tommy Hearns vs Canelo at 154
Vitali Klitschko vs Larry Holmes
Bread’s Response: I think Javon Hill is an excellent coach. He did a great job with Adonis Stevenson. I expect Fury to be more aggressive. I expect a rhythm breaking jab. Let’s see.
I know people use social media for their promotion etc etc. But I think if you look at the %. Social media does more harm than good. It’s just a mess and really too much to get into. But it’s ruining fighters mentally and socially.
As far as doing other things. Very few fighters can effectively live the life of a fighter and do “other things” and it not take away from him being a fighter. Read that close!
Staple Foods: This will make you laugh. My #1 thing a fighter should intake is water. Alkanized Water. It may seem simple but it’s number 1 by far. It raises the PH balance. Water fills the muscles. It makes the brain work better. It hydrates the organs. And it allows oxygen to flow better.
After water….. Beets-raises red blood cell count, Watermelon- cleans colon and breaks down easy, Berries-antioxidants, Salmon- protein and good fat, Quinoa-good carb and low in calories, Kale- superfood, Spinach-superfood, Sweet Potatoes- great for energy and carbs, Avocado- good fat easy to burn off and Eggs-good fat, good protein easy to burn off. You can literally get through a whole camp with those 10 foods plus water.
I would take Calzaghe over the Gman. The Gman has a shot to clip Calz early with a liver hook but if he doesn’t Calzaghe processes too fast and is too determined over the 2nd half of a fight. Calzaghe is a really tough out historically head to head.
Hearns over Canelo. Hearns’s jab is too good. It would just offset Canelo’s controlled aggression.
Vitali vs Holmes. This is a close fight. For arguments sake I would take Holmes. I think it’s closer than most would say.
whats up bread man,
Can you think of any other time that 2 undefeated fighters at the championship level fought, had a draw, and fought as undefeated fighters a second time in a rematch like Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury are about to at the end of the month? Thanks for your time.
Bread’s Response: I can’t think of one. Toney vs McCallum1 was a draw but McCallum had one loss already. Great question maybe one of the readers can come up with one. But I can’t think of one case.
Hello Bread Man. I just wanted to touch on a few things as efficiently as possible.
What exactly do you see in Josh Taylor? I'm puzzled. The guy is a good fighter, but nothing special. Regis Prograis in my humble opinion is slightly overrated, but I believe he deserved the decision in the Taylor fight. How do you out-land your opponent 252-207 and not get the decision? Taylor is big for 140, uses his size fairly well and has a willingness to mix it up inside, but other than that, I see no outstanding qualities in him. I see Jose Ramirez outworking him for a close unanimous decision if an when they fight, and I see none of the top 140 lb. guys doing well against the top level welterweights if they ever move up in weight.
We previously discussed Mike McCallum and the Four Kings and I will reiterate that while I don't believe any of the four were actually "afraid" of The Body Snatcher, I do believe that unless the money involved was profound, there was no way in Hell they'd opt to fight him. The thing fans have to keep in mind about Mike is the fact that he fought very high level amateur competition internationally and domestically while representing Jamaica and competing in the New York and National Golden Gloves. Because he fought and beat guys like Roger Leonard, Robbie Sims, Marlon Starling and Doug DeWitt, guys like Leonard, Hagler, Duran and Hearns knew just how good McCallum was.
Placing a clown show like Jake Paul vs. AnEsonGib on a professional boxing card shows how little respect Eddie Hearn has for the sport. I watched the card, but intentionally turned the channel when that farce came on. As George Groves said, "It's horrific, abysmal and makes my skin crawl." I could not have said it any better. True boxing fans have to voice their displeasure or else this nonsense will continue.
I like Fury and Wilder and think both bring a lot to the table and are great for the sport. I can't call this fight but will say I liked Fury's chances better with Ben Davidson. Davidson has a technical boxing mind as a trainer and had a good look at Wilder in the first fight. Sugar Hill is coming in cold and really won't have the same feel for what Deontay brings to the table, which is why I feel changing trainers before the rematch was not a wise move.
As always, I look forward to your perspectives.
Regards,
Carl Hewitt in New York
Bread’s Response: I like Ben Davison as a coach also. I don’t get into who’s better as a coach….That’s subjective. I believe Davison and Hill are both excellent coaches. But you’re right. Davison had a look at Wilder already. We shall see….
I don’t like this youtube boxing stuff either. It’s getting to be INSULTING to boxers who have committed years to amateur boxing and make $1000 in their pro debuts.
Mike McCallum was a bad boy. There is no doubt about it. But the MYTH just gets over inflated about who ducked him. Hearns is the only one who had a viable fight with him for an extended period of time.
Josh Taylor just understands how to get it done. I told everyone he would be world champion and that’s exactly what he became. I never said he would be Joe Calzaghe.
Some fighters measure better in their results than the eye ball test. He doesn’t look special but he has an unseen quality. He understands how to adjust in a fight. He also knows how to impress the judges. His toughness is underrated.
You have to be careful with punch stats. They do play a general factor but overall punch stats don’t tell ALL. Round by round punch stats show more. For example Fighter A can land 20 punches every round for 12 rounds which equals 240 punches overall. Fighter B may land 15 punches in every round except 2 but in those 2 rounds he lands 35 punches. That’s a total of 230 punches. It looks like a pretty even fight overall but if Fighter A wins 10 rounds to 2 no one could complian. Just be very careful with punch stats being your determining factor although it’s obviously important.
From the fight I saw, Taylor edged it slightly.
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