In this week’s mailbag, Stephen “Breadman” Edwards answers numerous questions about Saul "Canelo" Alvarez-Terence Crawford, tackles the difficult issue of race, and more.
Hey Breadman,
Hope all is well. Huge fan of you not just because of your boxing knowledge but your measured response to all controversial topics – especially race. I’m half Puerto Rican and grew up in a largely white community in the 80s. I’ll be 51 on Friday, so similar age to you. At the time I was growing up racist comments weren’t uncommon, and they also weren’t met with outrage… My old man gave me permission to swing away when someone came at me if it pissed me off, and I did. And I left it there when it happened because we were young and dumb and I’m friends with all of those guys now… No hard feelings because that’s how it was in those days. Question for you – the comment made by Greg Hackett on social media is the first time I’ve seen you make a public comment that can be interpreted as disappointment in a black man for not stepping up for his race. Am I reading that wrong or are you genuinely disappointed in him?
I know where you stand on “Boots” Ennis – and I agree about his talent – so I was surprised to see a comment on this post as if he did something wrong in choosing to spar with “Canelo”. There were times as a skinny Puerto Rican I was made to feel like shit and was backed into a corner where I had to fight out of it. But I’d never pretend to compare it to growing up as a black man – it’s simply different, and you are faced with way more obstacles so I wouldn’t pretend to understand your perspective. Which is why, although I don’t understand why you’d have a problem with Rashidi over this – great kid by the way; met him and he’s hard not to like which is maybe why I’m defending him – I do want to understand it. As I said earlier, you’re extremely measured on the lightning-rod topics so I value your opinion greatly and would love to hear your perspective. Other than that, thanks for the weekly mailbag – it’s become my church, brother.
Bread’s response: Let me be very clear. You definitely read that comment wrong. I have zero issue with Boots being in camp with Canelo. Nor do I have an issue with the Ellis brothers being in camp with Canelo. I’ve personally sent fighters to camp with Canelo. I think it’s ridiculous that Boots is getting racial criticism for being in camp with Canelo because Canelo is fighting a black fighter in Terence Crawford. Crawford has Latino sparring partners and I haven’t heard one word about it. We have some sick fans and media in boxing...
Boots and Crawford had a good chance of fighting. I’m confused at the criticism that Boots shouldn’t spar Canelo because both he and Crawford are black. So it’s ok for Boots and Crawford to actually fight each other but it’s not ok for Boots to spar Crawford’s opponent? I understand that boxing is a racially driven sport but to me this is fake outrage.
If Canelo was openly racist and he openly disrespected black people in general, I could see the outrage. But to my knowledge he has not done any such things. We have fighters in boxing who have used racial slurs towards black people and those fighters get free passes to say and do whatever they want and black people still associate with them and promoters still put them on. Do I need to name them?
Black American fighters have been historically the most polarizing and accomplished fighters in history. Yet it’s become more and more difficult for them to be signed these days. Does anyone realize that? Both Terence Crawford and Jaron Ennis have both been overlooked throughout the years. I believe if both had been another race they would’ve been superstars earlier in their careers, so they should know first hand. And now for Boots to get this type of criticism – it’s not only misguided, it’s malicious. They’re trying to ruin his image because he’s sparring a Mexican fighter who is fighting a black fighter. Think about that.
I get what’s at stake for this fight. I get that fans usually stick with their own. I understand that the Mexican-versus-black PPV module works. I actually genuinely think that Crawford wins this fight. But people turning on Boots because he’s sparring Canelo is just lunacy. I’m actually embarrassed that I even have to talk about this.
Good afternoon Mr Edwards,
I read that Turki Alalshikh was considering offering a cash bonus for a fighter who wins by knockout. What are your thoughts on that? Has this existed before? I follow Muay Thai as well and, in Thailand, it does exist – that said, those fights are usually three or five rounds.
All the best to you and your family,
Gabriel, Ottawa
Bread’s response: I like the idea. He’s incentivizing what he wants. He wants action and knockouts, so that’s what he’s incentivizing – I like it.
I believe 2025 has been an incredibly disappointing year for boxing. The heavyweight champion of the world will end up fighting once this year and it was a fight no one wanted. The first “Canelo” Alvarez fight of the year was unwatchable. An all-time great boxing accomplishment by Manny Pacquiao was marred by a questionable draw. Boxing’s biggest future star, Gervonta Davis, is cashing out on his name to fight Jake Paul. Davis will probably get knocked out and it’s going to be really embarrassing. As a boxing fan, I wish we could do 2025 over and do it a bit differently. How do you feel about 2025 so far?
Bread’s response: I think this is the worst era of boxing overall since I started watching boxing. But I try to look at the glass as half-full, instead of half-empty. We got Bivol vs Beterbiev in 2025. We got to see “Bam” Rodriguez quietly do his thing. Usyk has continued on his all-time-gret run. Inoue is still Inoue. Benavidez is making his mark at 175lbs. Shakur looked really good in a good, hardcore fight. We are getting Canelo vs Crawford, which is a super fight, in September. November looks to be a huge month for boxing. And one last thing – I don’t agree that Jake Paul will knock out “Tank” Davis. I know there is a size difference but Paul will have to adjust to Tank’s trap setting and superior punch release. I don’t believe Paul will engage Tank too often because of this. So don’t be so sure he KOs Tank. I personally think the fight goes the distance but if a KO is scored, it will be by Tank not by Paul.
Sup Bread,
Just thought of adding my two cents to the Jones-versus-Mayweather controversy. First, let me cover the part where I am with Mayweather supporters. Boxing as a sport is a bit like the casino business. As in, the house always wins. This is true for all boxers, but twice as applicable for black boxers. Floyd beat the house. While his fights broke even for sure, promoters and networks did not make anywhere near the kind of money that Floyd himself made. Showtime needed him to beat HBO and they gave him a pretty one-sided deal. Add to that, he retired undefeated. His style was not very popular but his fights sold like crazy. Plus, his health is intact. There have been equally big stars but no one beat the system in every round the way Floyd did. This leads to jealousy. Let’s cut through the bullshit. Lots of criticism of Floyd by analysts, journalists and especially the fighters of yesteryear is due to one or the other factor I have mentioned. What this has led to is extreme polarization. All the modern-era black boxers with a counterpunching style relate to him. These fighters, along with some veterans who were ignored for bigger fighters of their era and some media members who are rightfully aware that a lot of criticism of Floyd is due to him beating the system go to crazy lengths to take Floyd’s side in any argument. That is why an Andre Ward or Shakur will never pick against Floyd in a mythical match-up, and why some media members totally refuse to acknowledge that extremely one-sided deals in favor of fighters will leave then etworks with no incentive to showcase boxing. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with this assessment?
Regards, Saurabh Kumar
Bread’s response: I agree with almost everything you said. But where I disagree is the specific reason about why Floyd and Roy are beefing. I’ve never heard Roy Jones attack Floyd Mayweather. What I heard was Roy Jones defending Muhammad Ali who is dead and can’t defend himself. It’s important to never lose context. As to who’s right or wrong? I don’t get into it. I just think it’s a shame that this is a public feud.
Hi Breadman,
I pray God is blessing and continues to bless you, your family and the fans of your mailbag and their families. The business of boxing is destroying the sport of boxing. How did a novice like Jake Paul, who is nothing more than a journeyman in the sport, become the face of the sport? I understand Caitlin Clarke, because she is a top-20 player, Tiger Wood when he was at his peak or Serena Willams, but Jake Paul? He isn’t even a top-100 fighter. I don’t get it or his appeal. I’ve only seen highlights of his fights, and he is not must-see TV, and the people who run boxing ought to be ashamed of themselves for not being able to promote their sport when this guy has come in and is outdoing all of them. It is shocking that Tank Davis will make more money fighting Paul than he would Lamont Roach – that alone tells you the state of boxing today. It is mind boggling and shameful. Crawford is one of my all-time favorite fighters but I’m not enthusiastic about him fighting Canelo based on the fact he didn’t look good at all versus Madrimov, and he is going up three weight classes from his normal weight category. After seeing Jermell Charlo’s dreadful performance against Canelo, I would at least have liked to have seen Crawford fight at the weight at least once. Canelo has also been very lackluster since he got emasculated by Bivol and should have fought him at a rematch at 168 – which Bivol was willing to do – or fought Benavidez, who is getting royally screwed after defeating Plant, Morrell and Andrade in his past three fights.
I wanted to really see an all-Mexican war, which would probably have been brutal and ended with Canelo’s end. I really wanted to see Crawford versus Boots and Ortiz but, as usual, no one cares what a boxing fan like me wants to see. The powers that be do what they want and couldn’t care less about the fans. Thanks for the great job you do with the mailbags. Sometimes they are more entertaining, fun, and better than the actual fights.
BG, from Philly
Bread’s response: I get your frustration, my Philly brother. But do me a favor and just take my word on this. Canelo versus Crawford will be worth the watch. I feel like Canelo will start out on fire. I believe he may hurt or drop Crawford. But at some point Crawford will get mean. He’s going to flip a switch. And I believe he starts attacking Canelo and stepping to him. At that point we will see a great fight, with Crawford pulling away down the stretch.
Hey Breadman,
Now that the referee and officials have been announced for Crawford versus Canelo, do you still believe that Crawford can get a decision?
Bread’s response: I would like to say I hope he can. It’s a shame that you have to ask that but it’s a valid question. In full transparency, I was a little shocked that the officials were announced so early. I’ve never seen that before. Hopefully everything is fair for both fighters, and the fighter who earns the win, gets the win.
Hey Mr Edwards,
It looks like Canelo is getting some good sparring. I saw that Boots was in his camp. Not sure for long though. Who is Bud sparring? Have you heard anything? Who do you think could provide Crawford good sparring while emulating key aspects of Canelo’s style? Isn’t that what you look for as a trainer?
Another aspect of this fight that has me intrigued is that both Canelo and Crawford appear to have great chins. They’ve both taken good shots from good fighters and been a little buzzed, but neither has ever been on Queer Street or gone down. It seems like this fight is destined to end in a decision. What are your thoughts? My all-time great chins would include, in no particular order, Panama Al Brown, Kid Gavilan, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Eder Jofre, Carlos Monzon, Sugar Ray Robinson, Barney Ross, Pancho Villa, and Floyd Mayweather. All of them knew how to fight through adversity and became even more stubborn when they took a good shot. If Canelo and Bud retire without ever having been put down, they’d be worthy of this list in my opinion. Anyone else you could add? Obviously I’m getting very excited for the fight. But I’m not yet ready to make a firm prediction. How about you?
Peace! Sincerely, Kevin G Little
Bread’s response: If I were fighting Crawford, Boots would be the fighter I’d bring in to spar. Boots is not an exact replica of Crawford but he’s a close enough fit for sparring. I wonder how many rounds and sessions Canelo is doing with Boots. That matters.
I believe that Vergil Oriz, Charles Conwell, Christian Mbilli and Carlos Adames are good looks to replicate some of Canelo’s style. I think this fight will have a knockdown. I’m not sure about a knockout but I see a knockdown – especially if Canelo starts fast.
I love your list of great chins. But I want to add some – Muhammad Ali, George Chuvalo, George Foreman, David Tua, James Toney, Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez and Salvador Sanchez.
I like Crawford to win. I think he pulls away late after being hurt early. I also don’t rule out a stoppage or him visibly hurting Canelo to the body.
Hey coach,
Long-time reader, first-time writer. I always enjoy your mailbags so I figured I’d ask a few questions and see if you could give me your thoughts. Not sure if he’s been a part of the full camp or if it’s a one off, but Boots has an Instagram post that indicated that he had worked with Canelo. After that I saw a clip where Greg Hackett didn’t think bringing in Boots was a good idea because he was a potential future opponent. And also because what if he potentially beat up on Canelo? I would have to disagree with his statement – I feel like Canelo is never going to consider facing Boots – too much risk there at this stage of his career. In my opinion Boots’ star power is still not fully there as he’s a name with the hardcore community but not the casuals yet, so again – too much risk for Canelo. Boots will be a star and a household name. I just don’t think Canelo will be active by then, in my opinion. With that being said, how do you feel about this camp? And also, in your opinion, is Hackett correct? You have stated that Boots is the best you have ever seen in the gym. So would him being there potentially hurt Canelo if Boots ends up touching him up? Or does it really help Canelo if he ends up doing great in sparring against a younger and bigger guy who most people say is the closest thing to the great Bud Crawford? Boots will probably counter-punch quicker than Bud at this stage, so Canelo will get to work on defense and timing with a top spar in Boots. Being that counter-punching was one of your main reasons for picking Bud to win, I’m curious if it changes your opinion on the outcome or causes any concerns for Team Crawford if Boots is really in the Canelo camp.
Best to you and yours, coach. Nes, Phoenix, Arizona
Bread’s response: I can’t say if Greg is right or wrong because we haven’t crossed that road yet. But I suspect by the time Boots becomes a big enough star, Canelo will be retired. The sparring can go one of two ways. It can sharpen Canelo up because Boots is super sharp and he’s active; he’s going to push Canelo’s cardio. Or Boots can get over on him and mess up his confidence. We won’t know until Team Canelo talks about it afterwards.
I think once Crawford heard Boots was in Canelo’s camp, he locked in even more because he knows what Boots is.
Dear Mr Edwards,
Last week you made a brief comment that now is the time for grassroots promoters in major fight cities to step up. I couldn’t agree more, given the consolidation at the top of the sport. However, in order to avoid being pillaged by the powers that be at the top, I believe you need a strategic alliance of sorts. Let’s take the five best fight cities from the east and west coasts with market appeal (roughly speaking). East: NYC, Philly, D.C., Chicago, and Miami. West: LA, Oakland, Phoenix, Houston, and Las Vegas. Again, this is approximate. Okay, so let’s get a strong local promotional entity to represent each city (and cover nearby mid-major cities, i.e. D.C. and Baltimore; Chicago and Detroit). So we’ll have 10 regional promoters get together and sell themselves into a network and/or streaming service as a collective entity. All the matchmaking happens with everyone working hand in hand; cards are staged in different cities, and maybe if everyone’s not too greedy we can get some decent insurance for these fighters. The regional/local marketing/pride thing is key.
I’m not saying these guys are under team names or are wearing uniforms. But they need to play up where the talent is from and, just as importantly, who they’re going up against. Don’t stage the cards on Saturdays. Find pockets of the week during the year where the sports schedule is slow. Right now, Friday night sounds good. You avoid NFL and CFB. Tuesdays and Wednesdays maybe, too. Oh yeah, and all main events start no later than 9pm EST. That’s all I’ve got for now.
Bread’s response: Your idea is brilliant. I’m not going to comment because I want you to get the credit. All I’m going to do is post it and hopefully a promoter sees it and the balls gets rolling.
You know the old saying, “Styles make fights”, right? I’ve been thinking about that for a while. I personally believe that if you’re a fighter, there’s always a fighter out there with a style that will never fail to give you fits. You’re always gonna struggle with some fighters. At the same time, however, I do think fighters have windows of opportunities at their peak where they could probably beat just about anyone who gets thrown at them (at least to a degree). What do you think on this issue? Is there a point where a fighter is so good they could do well against fighters with a style that would normally give them fits? Or will they always struggle? Put another way, with historical examples: is Harry Greb always gonna struggle with Tiger Flowers? Is Willie Pep always gonna struggle with Sandy Saddler? Is Muhammad Ali always gonna struggle with Ken Norton? Or are there windows where, at their best, they could dominate those guys?
Bread’s response: This is a very good question. I get exactly what you mean. When a fighter has a style that troubles him, I feel like he has to fight that specific style at his peak to look good against it. It’s why I picked Floyd Mayweather to beat Manny Pacquiao when they fought because I believe Manny has to be at his absolute peak to beat Floyd.
I suspect this to be the case in Ali vs Norton. I believe the 1964-67 version of Ali beats Norton clearly, but not easily. I haven’t seen Greb vs Flowers so it’s hard to say. But I suspect Pep would always struggle with Saddler. I believe Ali struggled more with Norton because he lost his reflexes and legs in the 70s. Whereas Pep struggled with Saddler because of Saddler’s size and persistence. At any point that they fought, Saddler would be bigger and persistent.
I see more and more people picking Crawford. I really think you were the first, and your opinion has changed the odds. I’m picking Canelo, but I am scared that you picked Crawford. For Crawford’s match up against Spence, you said something that was truer than anything I heard. In an interview before the fight, you said that Spence was the boxer and Crawford was the puncher in the fight. I didn’t get what you were saying but the by the third round, I said Breadman was right. I don’t want to change my pick, but tell me something that you believe to be true that everyone missed in the Spence fight?
Bread’s response: In this fight, I don’t know who the puncher is. Canelo has a big punch and an even bigger chin. But, call me crazy, I think Crawford will be the more physical fighter. I believe not only is Crawford freakishly strong; I believe his strength also lies in his stamina. He doesn’t fade. He stays stronger, longer. I think he’s going to back Canelo up in the second half of this fight and be the stronger and more physical fighter because of his endurance down the stretch.
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