Daily Bread Mailbag: Golovkin-Jacobs, Canelo-Chavez, More

By Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards, who answers questions on Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko, Badou Jack vs. James DeGale, Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs, and more.

Bread,

Between Wilder, AJ, and the Fury cousins, the heavyweight division is a lot of fun again.  I know you regard Wilder and AJ highly, but my question is, provided Tyson Fury can overcome his demons and get back to the fighter who beat Wlad, who do you see as the best of the bunch? Do you see any of these guys being able to clean out the division over the next two years?

Thanks man!

Bread’s Response: I think Joshua is the best of the bunch. But I can see a scenario where they all take turns beating each other. At Heavyweight fights can end in one punch.

The form that Fury had vs Wlad will be tough for Wilder and Joshua to overcome. Fury is an accomplished boxer and his rhythm and cute moves are not easy to deal with. On top of that he’s 6’9 and over 260. The problem for Fury is, after his career defining performance he sort of lost it mentally. I have never seen this happen to a heavyweight champion in his prime. I don’t know if he can overcome that. I hope he can I’m a big fan. But, When the smoke clears I expect Joshua to be the best of this era. 

Thanks Breadman for your assessment grading clarification last week regarding GGG vs D Jacobs.  Your view certainly makes great sense although I still envision DJ catching GGG with something significant while DJ utilizing his excellent fluid foot work in the early rounds.

Would you agree in regards to Floyd's latest comments, the only fan type who would pay to see a potential boxing style agreed upon match with Floyd & McGregor are the fan type of WWF? I understand that type of market fan base although the earned dollars that would be involved for this bout and the mismatch it would be, becomes such a travesty for the sport of boxing.  As we understand Floyd would never agree to MMA rules with any MMA fighter, a boxing match with McGregor would require no fight preparation for Floyd.  You would probably agree, Floyd would handle McGregor without a fight plan or camp, a corner or cut person and would dominate McGrgor while dealing with a case of pneumonia as would any other professional boxer.

Thanks again for your insightful feedback!

Curtis/Cincy

Bread’s Response: I agree. I see Jacobs landing big shots early. GGG brings it in a way where a sharp shooter will hit him. The problem is no one has yet to discourage him or win more than 2 rounds against him…..

But let me go on record to say this. When fighters become infatuated with specific physical gifts it usually shocks them to a point of no return when someone exposes this gift. In the fight this weekend between Immanuwell Aleem and Ivghen Khytrov.  Khytrov was a guy who acted as if he “couldn’t” be hurt. Aleem knocked him out. GGG seems to have that same way about him. He invites punches.  He needs to be careful doing that to Daniel Jacobs. Any man can be hurt if he hit in the right spot at the right time.

I didn’t read Floyd Mayweather’s comments about his fight with McGregor. But I agree if he said that the fan base would be WWF type.

But I disagree with you if you think Floyd does not need preparation to fight McGregor. Floyd has made it in this game for so long because of his preparation. He’s going to train his butt off if he fights McGregor. McGregor can’t beat Floyd in a boxing match but McGregor is a worldclass combat athlete. Floyd knows that. I think Floyd would destroy McGregor in a boxing match but his preparation would be top class. You can’t play around and take anyone for granted regardless of what the fans and media may think.

Hey Bread,

Hope you're well.

We already discussed the How-good-he-could-have-been Chavez Jr case earlier but we only talked about a GGG fight.

I think Chavez Jr is (and was) underestimated because of 1) the father comparison 2) the spoiled attitude 3) the lack of dedication and 4) the weight thing.

I like to judge results and I think that Chavez Jr was rock solid when trained by Roach and conditioned by Ariza. His fight against Lee proved it. A 6.1 bulldozer with an iron chin, who cuts the rings, pressures you like hell and with amazing body combinations. 

We know he wasn't serious when preparing for Martinez and even though he would have been out boxed, he might have done better in the Lee fight shape.

Now that the fight with Canelo is signed, he's seen as a huge underdog, and I get why (inactivity, less talent, weight and dedication issue). But from what you've seen, and imagining he trains again with Roach and for at least 3 months, do you think the fight can be better than what people expect?

Even with everything, I wonder how Canelo is gonna react against a taller and heavier fighter who's probably gonna be able to take his shots and keep pressing the action.

I also think Canelo doesn't like to be hit on the body.

What do you think of these fight at 160 with the 2012 Chavez?

Thanks a lot.

Best,

Diego

Bread’s Response: The Andy Lee performance was Chavez’s career defining victory. Chavez was excellent that night. But that was a long time ago in “boxing years”…

There are lots of things to consider when analyzing this fight. For one what kind of drug testing and when will it start. It’s a dark subject in boxing but …..you know the rest.

After that is determined if you look at the fighters I see two different classes. I know Chavez is huge with a rock solid chin but the pressure he puts on is not frenetic. It’s not like a sick Jeff Fenech pressure where you will break at some point. He’s walking you down but it’s nothing an elite talent like Canelo cannot handle. Chavez does have size but when you have size and no defense then you are a big target. In my opinion this fight will look like the first 9 rounds of Cotto vs Margarito 2 not one 1. With Canelo being Cotto and Chavez being Margarito. 

I say Canelo lights Chavez up to the head and body. The only intrigue will be is if he can stop him or force his corner to do so.

You are the most talented man as far as breaking down matchups is concern...you nail it again with Davis and Jack..nobody equal to your age today has that amount of talent and you will soon cash on with that talent of yours and it's gonna be sooner rather than later...and it's gonna be BIG bread.....Keep Spreading Jeff from Canada

Bread’s Response: Thanks bro. Now send me some of that Canadian mula you won on those bets.

Wow, wow, wow! I saw your convo with Errol Spence on Twitter saying you liked Davis. I thought to myself no way. Then you told Spence to take a draw in Degale vs Jack but you slightly favored Jack. Wow! That’s exactly what happened. Davis won! Then Jack vs Degale was a draw but most felt Jack won. Those are the best picks I have ever seen. I hope Errol sends you a tip fee. I bet big on fights but I’ve been in a slump lately. Can you give me your picks on Joshua vs Klitschko and Garcia vs Thurman? I know those are tough fights but also what upcoming fights stand out to you. Also what are your methods on picking winners.

Bread’s Response: I’m not that good bro but thanks. Errol is a Cowboy’s fan so he probably won’t be sending me anything lol.

Some fights are easy to pick and some are hard. Davis was an easier pick than the Jack vs Degale fight.

The first thing I find out is if there is “extra” testing being done. After that, I breakdown performances and circumstances. When the fight was first talked about I was leaning Pedraza. But after a careful review I noticed that he probably peaked before he even won the title. All of his recent performances seemed to be some sort of struggle. I thought he lost to Edner Cherry. Then I read his comments about how unhappy he was with his inactivity. Then I looked at his body type. He’s very tall for the weight and he loses about 30lbs to make 130. After almost a year off the last thing you want to do is to mess around with a fast, sparky young kid dropping hydrogen bombs. Davis should have been the opening favorite! Disgruntled, inactive fighters who struggle to make weight, rarely perform well vs athletic fighters. See Nicholas Walters.

With Degale vs Jack. Fundamentals and a steadfast approach gets lost in this era of flash. Jack’s steady approach is so unappreciated. He has 3 draws and in only 24 career fights. That’s telling. I also understand A side, B side scores. I don’t need to get into that. Last but not least let’s look at Degale. He’s good but he’s not efficient. Fighters who over move and do too much like he does usually finish poorly. I don’t think he’s a front runner he has huge balls. I just think he doesn’t realize he’s burning himself out. He’s one crazy high strung dude. But his wide punches and inability to relax on defense will always hurt him vs a steady killer.

Carl Froch would have been a nightmare for Degale. I heard him say he wants GGG. If GGG can carry 168 he’s all wrong for Degale. Some mentoring from the great Joe Calzaghe will help. Calzaghe had that high pace frenetic style but he took something off of his punches. You expend less energy when your punches have less force. Degale tries to punch too hard for his style and it kills his posture late in a fight. So I knew Jack would close like a SOB.

For upcoming fights I feel really good about Anthony Joshua. As much as I respect Klitschko I think Joshua kos him. I know he doesn’t have a lot of experience but he’s so calm under fire I think he will be ok.

Garcia vs Thurman is a tougher pick for me. I know everyone is picking Thurman but to me this is a closer fight. I can envision Thurman’s feet being too fast with his in and out pot shots. But I can also see Danny timing him and dropping him a few times then holding his own in the other rounds and squeaking out a decision. Thurman power punches on the move. So he’s easier to time than say a guy like Calazaghe who is just trying to score with that style. Don’t rule out a Danny Garcia victory in that one.

But a more confident pick is Mikey Garcia. I think he goes to Zlatician’s body, breaks him down and stops him. Garcia has top three, jab then right hand combos in the game right now. It’s fast, efficient and brutal. And after some hard body work it will slow down the champion’s reflexes and he will be susceptible to the old (1-2).This will be a war but I like Garcia big in this one.

Did you watch the ESPN interview with Floyd where the analyst made a list of the top five boxers ever? The order from one through five was Ali, Robinson, Louis, Mayweather and Tyson. Then one of them said that Floyd moves up the list if he beats Connor McGregor. What in the world is boxing coming to? ESPN needs to hire more competent people when discussing boxing this was an outrageous comment.

Bread’s Response: I didn’t see the interview you speak of.  So it’s hard for me to assess the content and tone of the interview. I will assume you are accurate in what you say.

Without being disrespectful, list are subjective.  So you have to respect whoever made the list. That being said a panel of responsible boxing experts would not agree with the list. But the list was not the worst list I have ever seen.

What’s more irresponsible is the comment that if Floyd beats McGregor he moves up the list. I hope you got that part wrong. Floyd Mayweather has accomplished too much in boxing for someone to suggest that beating an MMA fighter in a boxing match enhances boxing legacy. I can’t even describe how wrong that is. Although it’s an opinion it’s just insulting to anyone that knows better. Mayweather is an all time great and he doesn’t need to fight Connor McGregor to enhance his legacy. Whoever said that insulted him and the sport of boxing.

And although I didn’t see the interview I’m willing to bet Max Kellerman did not make that comment. Kellerman is a true historian and he would never make that mistake and abuse his platform. In my opinion Kellerman should be ESPN’s “go to guy” when it comes to boxing. He’s one of the best in the world in talking boxing and he’s definitely the #1 guy at ESPN.

Send comments & questions to dabreadman25@hotmail.com