Daily Bread Mailbag: Danny Garcia, Lomachenko, Thurman, More

By Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards

Bread what's good bro? We had some good match ups this past weekend. Hard to catch them all with so many different networks, but I went ahead and checked out the HBO double header and also the Andrade fight. I have been high on Andrade for a while, but was disappointed with how long of a layoff he had. I believe this was his second fight back from the layoff and he looked good. I have said for a while that I believe he has the potential to be the class of the junior middleweight division, and I could definitely see a middleweight title in his future. I know it's a small sample size since he's been back, but how would you see a few different match ups with him and his peers at 154 particularly Canelo and the Charlo bros?

Now onto the HBO card. Lomachenko looked sensational against Martinez. Granted he did have a sitting duck right in front of him, but Martinez was completely out of his league. Martinez is no push over and still stood no chance. Great performance by Lomachenko. I would still like to see him in there with Walters but I read that he wants to make one defense and move up to 135. When it comes to Verdejo I have been high on him as well. However, I believe I mentioned to you in the past that he gives up a lot of ground and allows his opponents to walk him down.

I think this is a bad habit especially when you are letting guys that are both smaller and not on your level walk you down. Have you noticed this Bread? I haven't seen anyone else say this so let me possibly be the first one to bring it up. I feel Verdejo's chin is a bit suspect. The eyeball test tells me he panics a bit when he gets crowded and his opponent starts to let his hands go. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something subtle about his facial expression and movements when he gets hit that tells me he may not have the greatest chin. Have you noticed anything with that either? For a guy that seems so big and long for the weight class he doesn't seem to have the physicality over opponents that a fighter like Adrien Broner had at the weight. Do you think it's a matter of Broner being more advanced at the weight or just having a different style?

Chris from Chicago

Bread’s Response: I think Lomachenko is a great talent. One of the ten best fighters on planet earth. But Rocky Martinez was tailor made for him. Every time Martinez is put in with an elite boxer puncher he gets smashed. This was no different.

In the past I thought Lomachenko was a supreme talent but he looked to be too perfect and he did too much. In this fight his moves were more efficient. Maybe he’s growing and improving. I loved what he said after the fight about getting better and needing more fights. He should be fighting four times a year. I’m going on record to say right now that the promoter who starts guaranteeing 3 or 4 fights a year to their top stars will take the balance of power. The vast majority of fighters are getting tired of fighting twice a year at the top level.

Broner is much more advanced than Verdejo was at a similar number of fights and similar age. But that doesn’t mean Verdejo can’t eventually be better. Boxing is a marathon not a sprint. Here is what I will say though. Verdejo is still sort of prospecty in his development and he’s not really an elite contender yet.

I think Top Rank knows it and that’s why they haven’t allowed him to fight for a World Title yet. He could easily have fought for one by now but if that happens then it’s hard to control the contenders he has to defend against. I don’t think Verdejo is adaptable to all styles and available to all contenders as a champion should be.

I don’t know if his chin is suspect but I do get the impression he tries to be effective while worrying about taking punishment. He’s like the player in basketball who settles for the jump shot consistently instead of taking the ball to the basket forcefully. Verdejo has one of the quickest first steps I have ever seen. If he can’t catch you clean with a big shot from the outside then instead of adjusting he keeps trying for the shot over and over. This is something that can be corrected. IT just has to be recognized. I still think he has a future but he has to start now. He’s 23 yrs old and he has 22 fights. Every year Verdejo keeps getting older and people keep calling him a baby. He’s a young fighter but he’s no longer a baby. He has over 20 pro fights and he has Olympic pedigree.

The Charlo Bros vs Andrade are solid match ups. I think Andrade would be the slight favorite over both but it’s nothing substantial. Willie Nelson is not athletic, easy to hurt, slow and very easy to hit. Jermell and Jermall are both better than Nelson by a considerable margin. Andrade would be the favorite but he would have his work cut out for him.

Canelo vs Andrade is an interesting fight. Andrade could try to move and win the fight from the outside but the question would be will the judges give him credit. Or he could engage Canelo. I think Canelo is a harder and better puncher as far as technique. That’s a great fight and at this moment I would say 50/50. 

Yo Bread.... Lonnnnng time without writing you man.. Hope everything is going good with you & your love ones.. Questions 1 : At this particular moment who do you pick if they fight: Loma vs Rigo?? 2 Crawford vs AB?? 3 Chocolatito vs that bad ass Japanese guy(forgot his name) thanks..peace!!!!

Bread’s Response: Tough question. Let’s see at this particular moment my mind has changed about Loma vs Rigo. I see a fighter in Lomachenko who seems to be in his prime about to peak. I see a fighter who is extremely ambitious. I think his ambition outweighs Rigondeaux’s talent. I have been a supporter and apologist for Rigondeaux for quite some time now. But objectively speaking Lomachenko has surpassed him in my opinion.

I think Lomachenko is just too big, too good and too ambitious at this point. I didn’t like what I saw from Rigondeaux in his last 2 fights. I can contribute it to ring rust but he’s consistently inactive. When you fight once a year and struggle two fights in a row, you’re officially struggling. Maybe he will rise to the level of the competition. But the last fight I saw a fighter who is not used to being hit anymore. He’s already a defensive pearl so he barely gets hit anyway. But now you couple that with the reluctance to get hit and you have a problem. I won’t say Rigo is done but he needs to get his career together asap. I know some things aren’t his fault but he is responsible for some of his career halt. Right now Loma is the guy.

I would take Crawford over Broner. Hard work over talent when talent don’t work hard.

Naoya Inoue is the fighter you speak of. This is a tough fight for Gonzales because I think he’s still in his prime but not at his peak. There is a difference. I also think there is a difference in the physicality of the two. Inoue will be a bigger more imposing person in general even if they were regular people.

Gonzales is extremely skillful and he’s a really hard puncher but I don’t view him as a super athlete. He sort of like Chavez and Arguello. Inoue is extremely athletic more like Manny Pacquiao. Usually the skillful practitioners don’t have the same high ceiling as far as moving up in weight. Gonzales has already moved from 105 to 112. He wears a sauna plastic suit during all of his workouts, which is absolutely terrible for recovery. He looked drained in his last fight.

On top of that high energy pressure fighters usually don’t carry their peaks into their 30s. Gonzales could be on the other side of his prime at 28. Right at this moment I would probably still favor him over Inoue but this time next year at 115lbs I may think differently. This is a really tough fight for Roman.

Bread,

Loving the mailbag after all these years still.  My question is about Danny Garcia...while he is undefeated and has made millions I am thinking he is an underachiever.  I think after beating Amir Khan he has had 8 fights and only 2 of them Matthysse and Peterson are opponents worth talking about.  Do you think he has been managed and promoted well in the sense that with his skills he is not a household name or PPV attraction?  Or do you think his promoters are hiding something from us?
--

Marlon

Bread’s Response: I don’t think Danny is an underachiever. I actually think he’s an overachiever. He’s not the most talented fighter around but one more significant win and he could be a HOF.  Before anybody laughs let’s remember Ray Mancini just got in the HOF. Danny Garcia has had a better career than Ray Mancini.

As for hiding him I don’t know…. But I would like to see Danny clean out 147 or attempt to. There are some really big fights at 147 for him and most of the opponents are accessible. Let’s see if the fights get made…Then we can judge Danny properly.

I have Shawn Porter beating Keith Thurman by split decision.

Bread’s Response: Precise and to the point. Man this is a tough fight for me. Early I was leaning Porter. Because of his workrate and Keith’s inefficient movement. Then all of a sudden Thurman puts out a video of the sparring session and the odds are -200 for Thurman. Those little old men in Vegas are right 805 of the time. Last week when Rances Barthlemey was listed as favorite over Mickey Bey in a fight I thought was 50/50 I told people close to Bey most likely he loses a competitive decision.

I can’t really call this fight but because of the odds I’m scared to pull the trigger on Shawn. Let me think about it a little bit…

Thurman is a guy who at times looks like he’s being walked down.  I can see what happened to Acelino Freitas vs Diego Corrales and Juan Diaz happening to him someday. If he can’t walk you into a bomb he will over move and keep trying because he doesn’t fight well from the box or the step. Keith catches his rhythm from the outside off the bounce. He also punches harder from out there. He’s not confident sort of posting up like Kell Brook did to Shawn. He’s also not confident infighting. If Keith can’t hurt Shawn or cut him badly I can see him losing.

Shawn on the other hand is one of the few true pressure fighters of this era. He never stops. He’s extremely conditioned and physically strong. He flaws are his defense, he’s prone to cuts and his not an accurate puncher. Shawn can be timed while he’s on the attack. He’s so eager to get in at times he forgets his defense. He asl punches off the mark. If you look at his fights rarely do you see clean eye catching punches. His offense is more of an overwhelming onslaught and a sharpshooting one. An aggressive fighter who’s not accurate is easy to counter. What gets Shawn over is he’s so rough. He will crash into you and knock you off balance. He’s so threatening while attacking often times his opponents try to hold him and not punch with him.

This fight is really close for me but by a twist of the arm I say Thurman is leading early. He’s landing clean shots and he opens a cut on Shawn. But somewhere around the 4th or 5th round Shawn starts grinding him and gradually swinging the fight. I think Thurman’s boxing starts to look like running as the fight goes down the stretch and Shawn pulls out a close and controversial decision.

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