Daily Bread Mailbag: Canelo-Golovkin, Verdejo, Pacquiao

By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards giving his thoughts on various topics such as Felix Verdejo, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao and more.

What's up bread. Long time follower of the mailbag here.  Obviously there has been a lot of discussion about ggg and Canelo lately.  I have a gut feeling that something is missing with Canelo. I think it should tell us all something that his team isn't exactly jumping at the opportunity to fight ggg. I mean, who seems to want to make the fight more?  Canelo or ggg?  To use an analogy, Canelo reminds me of a beautiful, sprawling house, with cathedral ceilings, and granite counters...but has a crumbling foundation. All the beautiful architecture and nice quality finishes are all sitting on a compromised foundation. I feel that one day we will get past all the flashiness and we will see the underlying problems with canelo's foundation.

Bread’s Response: I don’t believe that. I’m not saying Canelo is an all time great but I think he’s one heck of a fighter.  Canelo jumped in with 3 southpaws in Trout, Lara and Kirkland. Let’s remember he signed off on the Paul Williams fight also…. He fought a defensive master in Floyd Mayweather and he took on HOF in Miguel Cotto. Sure they may be a little hesitant in fighting GGG but GGG is a serious threat and in this era you can expect that. He hasn’t officially ducked him yet. Let’s give it some time.

For the record I think he gives GGG all he wants and a bag of chips. No man is invincible. GGG is just a man.

Sup Bread

Long time fan of your mailbags..great work as always.That last response on your previous mailbag man...I've been saying the same things with my coworkers that also follow boxing. I never understood why Pac's camp always seemed to put him in bad positions despite supposedly being an "A" side. Why fight Marquez FOUR TIMES?!? Why fight Margarito?!? While I disagree with Mayweather's whole "TBE" thing I have never seen Mayweather lose at the NEGOTIATION table after the De la Hoya fight..ever!

No way could I see Mayweather fighting a fighter FOUR times particularly after seeing how strong Marquez was in the THIRD fight lol. His team has always put him in the best position to win a fight before the fight ever starts. Now here we are and he is fighting Bradley for a THIRD time smh. A fight that I favor Bradley in particularly after coming off of

the Mayweather loss. I just don't think a fighter can beat a Tim Bradley type of guy with one foot out of the door. I have a few questions for you...

1. If you were Pacquiao's top adviser during the Mayweather "saga" would you have allowed him to still take that fight after the Marquez KO?

2. Do you think that the Kovalev/Pascal rematch will end in a brutal KO?

3. If Amir Khan and Danny Garcia cross paths again in the ring, who do you favor in a rematch?

4. If Shannon Briggs would have actually got the Klitschko fight..do you think he would have gotten the upset?

Keep up the great work as always and hopefully we see J-Rock get that title shot man!

Mike B

Jacksonville Fl

Bread’s Response: You’re 100% correct. It’s one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. Pacquiao was the biggest star in boxing after Mayweather retired in 2007 and he was always making the counterproductive move in my opinion.

1. Yes I would have let him fight Mayweather after the Marquez ko. To make that kind of money after a recent ko is just a no brainer. But I wouldn’t have let him fight Marquez a 3rd or 4th time. Especially with no blood testing…. I still can’t believe he did that.

2. YES!

3. Danny Garcia knocks him out again. Danny punches too hard and Khan does not have the IQ to beat Danny for 12 rounds. It’s just too long for Khan to be in the ring with a puncher like Danny.

4. Briggs would have had a great shot. Wladimir I believe is a little spooked by Briggs. You can’t trust Wladimir’s mental state. 

I am really high on Felix Verdejo. I think he’s the best prospect/contender in boxing. What are your thoughts on him and what is his upside? Agree or disagree.

Bread’s Response: I am also high on Verdejo. He’s extremely talented. He’s very fast, he has good power and he’s big for a 135 pounder.  I have to see more to determine his upside but I do believe he will be a titlist at 135.

But I don’t agree he’s the best prospect/contender in boxing. I believe he has the best PR push behind him. There is a big difference. The BIG bosses can sort of make who they want a star. Oleksandr Usyk, Errol Spence and Julian Williams are all more advanced and better than Verdejo is at this present moment. Now I’m not saying his upside isn’t higher but if we go by right at this moment analysis I think in a p4p fight they would all beat him and can beat more people.

This is no offense to Verdejo at all but media perception and platform play a huge part in these things.  In fact there are two kids close to or at Verdejo’s weight that you may not have heard of that could be better than him now. Robert Easter and Andy Vences. But they don’t have the same kind of “I want him to be a star” media push behind them so the perception is they aren’t. But that’s not the case. Look out for those kids. They are right there with Verdejo neck and neck as far ability.

I want you to study the Prospect of the Year Winners in ESPN or Ring over the last decade or so. Then tell me how many of those guys that actually panned out to a top p4p type. Then tell me how did “they” miss Andre Ward, Tim Bradley and most recently Terrance Crawford. A prospect usually wins this award between there 2nd and 5th year as a pro. Now without me pointing anyone out, observe who won the awards during Ward, Bradley and Crawford’s 2nd - 5th years as pros. And then tell me did the best fighter at that time win or was it the most marketable. Research young man, research…. 

 Why is that we see single digit fight phenoms in certain fighters but in most cases a guy has to wait until about 20 fights in order to break through? Is it matchmaking or just natural ability?

Bread’s Response: Great question. There are many reasons but the main one in my opinion is weight class. These fighters usually campaign for the most part below 140 and over 168. Think about that for a second.  The reason is it’s easier to come along below 140 and over 168. More people are between 140-168 therefore it’s a deeper field in those divisions. So you have to move those prospects slower. You don’t often see a guy 8-0 fighting for a middleweight title.

The second reason is amateur experience. Top level amateurs are usually brought along faster. Especially Olympians. They fight better competition in their international bouts than most do in their first 15 bouts so often times it’s no need to go through the usual process.

Quick prediction for Wilder vs Szpilka.

Bread’s Response: Wilder by early KO.

Send Questions to dabreadman25@hotmail.com