Daily Bread Mailbag: Kovalev-Ward, Canelo-GGG, Crawford, More

By Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen 'Breadman' Edwards giving his thoughts on Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev, the unification at junior welterweight between Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol, the situation between Saul 'Canelo' and Gennady Golovkin, and more.

Breadman,

How is it going? I want to get your take on the build up process for the Ward vs Kovalev fight. First, I will give you my Take.

I think HBO is making a huge mistake in their approach to building up the mega fight. Here is my rationale.

1) I do not feel that people are emotionally connected to the fight.  I consider myself a boxing enthusiast and I am a big fan of both fighters.  How is the mainstream going to latch on to this fight, if normal boxing fans are not that excited about the fight. We know the fight is going to happen and we are not sure who wins but the emotion is missing.

2) Anticipation in boxing increases when there is a story line, so far we don't have the story line. There is no antagonist or protagonists. Who plays which role really doesn't matter but it gets both fan bases engaged in the upcoming fight. They both have decent fan bases too.

3) The fight might be too early, the anticipation at best is luke warm. I believe HBO should let Ward get settled in and become the undisputed people's champ in the light heavy weight decision, then take on the destructive Russian.

The build up for the Canelo/GGG fight is really starting gain momentum. They can do the same for the Ward vs Kovalev fight but so far it's not happening. You have a lot more insight on the intricacies of developing a fight. What do you think is the issue? Do you think there is an issue?

Take care,

Nick

Bread’s Response: Great comment. But I don’t want you to take my comment personal. I think too many fans overthink boxing. They care too much about behind the scenes issues instead of just embracing great fights. Ward vs Kovalev is a great fight. Embrace it.

Both guys have already built excellent legacies. Both guys are in their 30s. No way is it too soon. I agree the promotion and build up is lagging behind Canelo vs GGG. But let’s not penalize Ward and Kovalev. They aren’t promoters they are fighters. Their promotional teams need to get it going a little more but as for the fight. I want to see it this year. No need to wait any longer.

Mr. Edwards,

Hoping all is well with you and yours.  First I'd like to get your take on Crawford vs.Postol.  I think Crawford is the real thing and should prevail.  I don't think its an easy fight for him though.  i don't know too much about Postol other than his stoppage of Matyhsse but I think he could be dangerous.  I'm thinking his team could have waited on this one.  Too me it benefits the promoter way more than the rising star.

Just wondering if you could speak the value of good sparring. Managing a world class fighter dictates that training camps get the right sparring.  I think these guys are invaluable probably will never get the recognition or credit they deserve outside of the boxing brotherhood.  Some guys probably make better money going to camp than they get in certain fights. Like to hear your perspective.

Peace,

Tony T,. from Harlem

Bread’s Response: I also think Crawford is the real deal. He’s one of the 10 best fighters on planet earth. But this is a real fight. Postol is a better puncher than his record indicates and he’s supremely confident. If Crawford has a flaw it’s his defensive eyes early. For some reason it takes him a few rounds to adjust to the “incoming” fire. Once he does adjust he’s a monster but nevertheless there is an adjustment process in each of his fights. If Postol gets it going early I’m curious to see if Freddie Roach can guide him through the Crawford adjustment.

Sparring is important. Camp management is even more important. You can burn a fighter out mentally and physically in sparring. You can also make the sparring too easy and cause him to not be ready for the real fight push.

You have to have a good mix. Some killer sparring, some guys to sharpen up on and work on the gameplan. And the most important thing is knowing at what point in camp do you need certain guys. You want the killer work while your fighter is peaking. The sharpen up work at the beginning and end of camp. Most camps are 8 weeks so the process is tedious.

Hello to you all,

I pray you and your families are doing well. You can’t blame the fans for being outrage by not getting Canelo vs GGG . It is not just because what Fraud  did waiting for Manny’s prime to end and making the worst fight in the history of boxing. The backlash also is because of the history of boxing  not giving the public the fights that it has wanted over the years. Either because of politics, promotional ties or alright ducking. It has happened way to often  and it has to stop. Boxing’s popularity is at the lowest point it has ever been in my 54 yrs on this earth . It  has gone from being mainstream to being a cult sport and if the sport keeps disrespecting the few fans it has left it will  done for good. The Fraud vs Pac fight  was almost the final nail in the coffin. I have never heard people talk with such contempt for the sport like I have after this fight. Triple G vs Canelo has to happen and happen soon while the fight still  has a pulse and while the public is interested. Screw letting it marinate. Canyello is just hoping that GGG slows down like Manny did after he got knocked out by Marquez. He is much younger and   a middleweight  so stop being a bitch and make the fight. Thanks for your time.

 God bless and take care,

Blood and guts from Philly

Bread’s Response: Aw man you went in. Love the comment but why would you want to see me vs Dan Rafael? As far as I know the fight was never under negotiations lol.

You named too many to comment on but I always wanted Leonard vs Pryor, Hopkins vs Toney and Jones vs Benn.

As for Canelo I don’t believe he’s a bitch. I think he may be turning into a little bit of a diva but he’s no bitch. I also think he “played” the WBC after they were good to him but that’s no biggie is it. Let’s see what happens.

Yes Breadman

So glad the 154lbs division has come alive at last and now everyone can put food on the table.

Been on the fence about the Charlo twins. Jermall it's been his power, is it real or is he just punching his size and after Saturday night it's just the size. I had Trout winning 7-5, his straight left to the body was a thing of beauty and it setup everything. I expected once Jermall started putting gloves on Trout he would stop him. How did you see the fight? Trout to me has the weakest legs I seen for a world class boxer, when you compare it to the top half of his body it's like he has borrowed them, it's the main thing that has held him back in my opinion. Berto has the same problem. How important are legs in boxing? What can you do to improve them?

Jermell has looked like a good boxer until I saw him lose to Vanes Martirosyan. I worry for the twins once they move up in competition. Who would you say is the better of the twins?

If they all keep fighting each other I see the final two being Andrade and Lara. Who do you see being in a final with J-Rock? Julian Williams very tricky case to judge cause at first he doesn't pass the eye test until you study the repeat and hasn't fought a world class fighter yet but looks like his style will look better vs better competition. Who would you say is top8 and in what order as things stand?

Jermaine from London

Bread’s Response: 154lbs is the most talented division in boxing. It just has no star power. If Canelo or Cotto decided to fight at 154 then boom there would be an explosion. They would be the two biggest stars but neither would beat everybody in the top 8.

I don’t know which twin is the better. They have to cement their legacies then we can look back and access correctly. I will say that Jermell has faced better opposition…..

The top 8 fighters at junior middleweight/super welterweight are Erislandy Lara, Demetrius Andrade, Julian Williams, Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo, Austin Trout, Michel Soro and Liam Smith. That’s in no particular order because styles make fights. Erislandy Lara is assumed to be the best fighter in the division but I’m not sure he can beat all of the guys up under him in presumption. Vanes was very competitive with him and there are better fighters in the division……

 PEDs

Shortly after the Badou fight, I remember you questioning Bute, implying possible PED. It really looks like he was on PEDs for the Degale fight as well.

I know very little about PEDs, but by logic VADA seems to be catching more, and costs less. So, right now, anyone who takes tests that is not VADA should be under suspicion. Unless VADA results could be tainted (so far I haven't heard anyone questioning VADA procedures and results), the price alone would make VADA as the preferable choice. Floyd; though he's retired, his insistence on a much costlier USADA and the confusion regarding IV is eyebrow-raising. I'm surprised Pascal didn't get much slack for his insistence on an expensive unknown non-VADA (forgot the name) testing agency. I found it funny when Kovalev called his bluff and suggested cheaper VADA, he's gone quiet. Pascal's relationship with Memo Heredia raises further suspicion.

What's your stance on allowing steroids in all sports? Wouldn't it cause much less controversy if it was legalized! Alcohol and marijuana used to be illegal at certain points in history. From what I've read, steroids are unhealthy to the consumer but less harmful than tobacco, alcohol, marijuana.

Ward

LHW and below, who do you give the most chance against Ward (could you rank the fighters and give explanations)? My pick would be GGG. He's one of the best avoid/neutralize clinching, whereas Kovalev needs certain distance and resets too much. I think a pressure fighter will always give Kovalev problems, however, there are no effective pressure fighter at LHW.

"should retire"

Lastly, I hate when people and even boxing experts very often use "(he) should hang them up" "should retire" when boxers lose badly and often. There are thousands of journeymen, average boxers, contenders, champions who have no other means of income. It seems like critics and boxing experts don't consider the fact that boxers have financial problems, and that many boxers are trying to generate income during the short boxing career. Also, men like competition in any sport, no matter what age they are. And no, sparring (in boxing), regular weekly games (basketball, volleyball, golf...) is not enough. Official games with set rules, referees and judges can make it like the real thing and cause pre-match nervousness/anxiety. What's your take?

note: I wish you were a boxing analyst/commentator or journalist. I have yet to see a totally non-biased writer... even guys like Dan Rafael, Doug Fischer, etc show negativity toward and even mock "boring fighters" Floyd, Rigo, Lara, etc.. Even if it's their opinion, they should at least try not to mock boxers and their styles... that's just unprofessional.

Regards,

Amarbayasgalan

from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Bread’s Response: VADA is the gold standard of PED testing in boxing. VADA has actually stopped fights!

I never accuse fighters openly of being PED users who haven’t tested positive but I do have my suspicions of several fighters. One of my red flags is when I see a fighter in his mid 30s take some bad losses, then come back and rejuvenate himself against elite level fighters. I’m not saying it’s impossible because it’s not. But in this era with PEDs circulating like water it’s a red flag. I have many more but that’ relevant in Bute’s case.

No PEDs shouldn’t be legal. They tear the body up later in life. Your god given talent is what should be legal. Mark this down. In the next 20 years. The stars of this era will have some bizarre illnesses that they will suffer from. That will be another red flag of who was using in the PED era.

I favor Andre Ward over every fighter in the world 175lbs and below. But 3 fighters stand out to me to have a reasonable chance to defeat him. GGG is a middleweight and no other man who can make 160lbs would even be in consideration to defeat Ward. But GGG seems to have the physical strength, punching power and underrated boxing ability to hold his own.

Krusher Kovalev is the best straight power puncher in boxing. The best way to get from point A to point B is through a straight line. I favor Ward but this is really a 50/50 fight.

Adonis Stevenson is not a media darling. But his straight left hand is one of the top 3 or 4 weapons in boxing. What makes it special is he doesn’t try too much of anything else. So his margin for success is greater than most because he doesn’t need to be successful at multiple things. Ward is an inactive  fighter these days and timing Stevenson’s left hand shot is will be a task.

I have used the term that a fighter needs to retire from time to time. I use the term when I see a fighter suffering severe physical damage. When I see them talking with a slur and walking in potholes. When I see them get hit from standard punches and they go to sleep for 10 or more seconds. At that point, money is not worth it because you won’t be able to spend it.

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