In this week's Mailbag, Stephen "Breadman" Edwards answers questions about Jake Paul-Gervonta Davis, Moses Itauma's readiness for Oleksandr Usyk, whether trainers choose specific fighters, and more
Thanks for column and your insight. Do you think Gervonta Davis will take the Jake Paul fight seriously? I’m guessing he doesn’t train hard and won’t be in peak physical shape. I also think this fight will be a real stinker to watch. I see Paul using his height, reach and jab and Davis really not trying hard to get close enough to land anything significant. I think Davis’ goal will be to not get hurt and collect a check, not win an exhibition or KO Paul. Paul may try to hurt Davis in the last round or last 20 seconds of the fight if he has the gas to attempt it. Even with the height-and-weight difference I think Davis is good enough to school Paul but just doesn’t care enough and doesn’t care what the media and public thinks to try to hurt Paul or win the fight bc he would have to take some risks to do so. I think Davis gives a poor account of himself and doesn’t fight again, but maybe I’m just really down on him because of how poorly I felt he performed in the Roach fight. How do see this fight going down?
Bread’s response: I don’t know “Tank” personally, so this is a tough question for me. But I’m going to assume that Tank is very prideful. I’m going to assume that he doesn’t want to give a bad performance versus Jake Paul. I’m going to assume that he wants to shut Jake Paul up for saying some not-so-nice things about him. I’m going to assume that Tank’s trainers will be on top of him as far as training is concerned. I’m assuming Tank’s team want smaller gloves so he can knock Jake Paul out or put a hurting on him. But this is just an assumption, it’s not something I know for a fact. Let’s see what happens.
Whether it’s reading your mailbag or watching your YouTube breakdowns, your takes always feel fair and grounded. Still, I’m curious — has there ever been a time when you watched back one of your videos or read one of your own takes and thought, “Maybe I was a little biased there”? I know how passionate Philly folks are, and it’s only natural to want your hometown team or fighters to win.
Pablo, from Haiti
Bread’s response: No I haven’t. I’ve looked back and thought I was wrong a few times, but never biased. I told a friend just today that I was wrong about Dmitry Bivol. I thought “Canelo” would beat him pretty convincingly and not only did the fight go the other way, Bivol handled Canelo and went on to be a hall-of-fame light heavyweight and possibly an all-time great. So I look back on that and openly admit I was wrong. It was just an off prediction – that can happen. But I thought that Canelo was actually cherry-picking Bivol – I’ve never once said to myself that I’m being biased.
If you’re referring to me liking Philly fighters, that’s an overstatement. Since I’ve been doing my mailbag, I’ve only stamped four Philly fighters as prospects. Those fighters were Julian Williams, Tevin Farmer, Stephen Fulton and Jaron Ennis. I’ve never once pumped another Philly fighter as a future world champion; I’ve never said I gave a Philly fighter a close fight that they didn’t really win. I’ve never taken up for a bad performance. Believe it or not there are plenty of Philly fighters I don’t care for in terms of their abilities. I just don’t think highly of them. I don’t say a word about them – good or bad. I just keep quiet. I also given props to fighters I don’t care for as people. Fighters who have said racial slurs; fighters who I know for a fact duck tough fights; fighters who treat their teams poorly. And you guys would never know I felt a way towards those fighters because I know how to separate my feelings. So, no, I’ve never looked back once and said to myself I was being biased for any reason.
Hello Bread,
I love your work, dedication, insights and fairness, giving us a unique article every week we look forward to. One fighter I think could have been on your best-recuperative-power list is Matthew Saad Muhammad – some of the best comebacks of all time.
Thanks
Bread’s response: I’m glad you wrote in. When I’m asked a question, I try my best to answer off the top of my head. My mailbags are time sensitive and I have to send them in by Thursday night or Friday morning. So in my haste I forgot Saad. I am sorry. He should’ve been first. Saad is the epitome of that type of fighter. There is no one that can recover from being clinically hurt better than Saad. I apologize to the Philly legend and hall of famer. I forgot, and I’m upset with myself for forgetting him. Thank you for reminding me.
Hey Breadman,
Let’s say you never got the opportunity or chance to train and coach boxers and you wanted to do something else. Which other official role within boxing, aside from that of competing as an athlete, would you choose and why? Do you ever see yourself in that other role in the future? Lastly, how did you get the nickname “Breadman”?
Thanks
Bread’s response: Good question. I like doing this mailbag. I don’t consider it work. Although I get paid, I consider it more of a passion or hobby. I also could see myself as a manager-advisor, or doing some type of commentating. But believe it or not, I would love to be a talent scout for a promoter. I just feel like the promoters miss the ball too much on talent. They go for guys who are deemed marketable instead of guys they deem talented. Getting to the top is hard enough, but imagine trying to get there and you don’t have the talent. I feel as though I’m pretty good at evaluating talent and its potential. I’ve never been completely off on a talent evaluation.
Bread, I need your top 10 pound-for-pound list. I’m assuming there has to be some movement with Canelo losing and Bivol winning his rematch with Beterbiev….
Bread’s response:
1. Terence Crawford
2. Oleksandr Usyk
3. Naoya “Monster” Inuoe
4. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez
5. Dmitry Bivol
6. Artur Beterbiev
7. David Benavidez
8. Jaron Ennis
9. Shakur Stevenson
10. Junto Nakatani
Breadman,
Your answer about Golovkin going to the hall of fame was disappointing, but who cares about that? I’m what you guys call a “casual” – baseball’s my sport. Emanuel Steward trained big tall fighters with good jabs and straight right hands (Hearns; Kenty; McCrory and Klitscko). Angelo Dundee had Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leoard. Do trainers seek out a certain style of fighter, or vice versa? It seems as though there would be a lot of misses if that was the case.
Emory
Bread’s response: I can’t really remember each emailer. So I’m assuming you said “GGG” was not a Hall of Famer. And I said that notion was ridiculous. But I know I didn’t call you a casual. That’s not a word I use too often.
I grew up playing baseball too. (Philadelphia) Cherashore Braves from 1985-1990. City Champions in 1988. Pitcher, two baseman, short-stop.
Most trainers have their preference of body style, fighting style, race, ethnicity, etcetera. Emanuel Steward trained fighters out of a Detroit recreation center. I don’t know if he said I want all of the tall skinny kids in the neighborhood to come to me. I think that’s just how his fortune was and then when he was in the position to choose, he chose a certain type because of his early success.
But here is the thing – Steward didn’t just train tall, rangy KO artists. He trained Miguel Cotto, Julio Cesar Chavez, Aaron Pryor, Cornelius “K9” Bundrage, and Oliver McCall to a KO over Lennox Lewis. Steward is the greatest of all time for a reason.
I’ve trained all types of fighters. I don’t have a style preference, although I’m most known for training Julian Williams and Caleb Plant, who fight a little similar. I didn’t give them their styles. God did. I just tried to enhance their styles, but I surely didn’t give it to them. I actually trained a pressure fighter at 122lbs – Romuel “Cuco” Cruz, who stopped boxing last year at 11-0. He was a monster – ask any of the fighters in the gyms in Philly about him. Strongest kid, pound-for-pound, I ever trained. I used to ask for sparring and the trainers would bring two fighters instead of one because it was tough to box him for six-to-eight rounds alone. Cuco got stronger and stronger as the work went on and he was heavy-handed.
I train a kid named Erron “JYD” Peterson 12-0 with 11KOs, and he fights like a more polished southpaw version of Iran Barkley. He’s nothing like J Rock or Caleb, who have classy boxer-puncher styles. What I found is I like a certain temperament and attitude more than a specific style. If you have a good character and are non-confrontational with me then I can train you. I want a kid who I can tell to run through a brick wall and he tells me to meet him on the other side of the wall. I want a kid I have to hold back, not a kid I have to push forward.
As far as body type, I like athletic, fast-twitch guys who can punch and can mentally process fast. I look at height and length. But it’s not the end all be all. Ability matters more to me than physical dimensions. I’ve seen tall pressure fighters and short outside boxers. Character and discipline mean more to me than anything.
I don’t seek fighters out. But I can say that if fighters see a trainer has had success with certain type of fighters they flock to that trainer. Caleb Plant and Kyrone Davis sought me out because they saw similarities in their style and Julian Williams’. I observed that Kevin Cunningham has had three really good southpaws. First Cory Spinks, then Devin Alexander, then Erickson Lubin. So I think that’s more so where the dynamic lies. When the fighters and their managers see a trainer do certain things with specific fighters, they project that style on to themselves and usually seek the trainer out.
Sup Breadman,
Love the mailbag — always appreciate how you break things down beyond surface-level takes. I’ve got a question about the word “talent”. When people say a fighter is “more talented”, what does that actually mean in your eyes? Are they referring mainly to physical gifts like speed, reflexes, and power — or does it also include things like natural instincts, rhythm, timing, and ring IQ?Some guys seem “gifted” physically but limited mentally; others don’t look flashy but seem to have every intangible working in their favor. How do you define talent when evaluating? Can you give some examples of both? Also, right now who do you think is the most fundamentally sound boxer in the world — not necessarily the most talented, but the most technically complete from stance, balance, and punch selection perspectives? Who’s the most “talented”?
A few mythical match-ups. The very “talented” Roy Jones Jnr versus the technical genius Andre Ward at 168? How about Lomachenko versus Chavez Sr? Pacquiao versus Crawford? One that intrigues me very much is Inoue versus Rigondeaux.
Thanks in advance, Breadman, Hope you and your family are doing well.
Bread’s response: I look at talent as what god gave you; what you were born with. It can mean anything God-given. It can mean a physical measurement. Or it can mean unique hand-eye coordination. It can mean unusual stamina. But it’s something that comes naturally.
I don’t want to say who I feel is physically gifted but lacks the mental fortitude to be great, because I simply don’t like insulting fighters. But Tim Bradley is a guy who I can say wasn’t the most athletic or physically gifted but had so many other things working for him that he turned out to be a hall of fame.
The two most fundamentally sound fighters in boxing right now, in my opinion, are Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Oleksandr Usyk.
The most talented and gifted fighter right now, in my opinion, is Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
I love your X account. It’s the best sports follow on the app. I just read your comment about Usyk and Itauma and I agree 100 per cent. Usyk shouldn’t care if Itauma is ready or not. If Itauma’s team put him in there, then that’s on them if he’s not ready, and it’s Uysk’s job to prove them wrong. Who is Usyk’s most hardest and most deserving challenger? And what do you think of Joseph Parker’s chances against Usyk?
Bread’s response: I love the way Joseph Parker has turned his career around. And he definitely deserves a shot at the champ. But he’s not the fighter that I’m most intrigued about. I’ve seen Parker compete at the top level several times. I feel like I know what he is. The two fighters that intrigue me the most are Moses Itauma and Agit Kabayel.
I think Kabayel is the most deserving in terms of who he beat. On top of that, Kabayel is the game’s best body puncher and some think Usyk’s weakness is defending his body. I want to see it.
I am also intrigued by Moses Itauma. I know Itauma doesn’t have the resume yet but he has the talent. But I actually think he’s the most talented challenger to Usyk. Talent can overcome experience if the talent is special. Every young heavyweight champion in history had less experience than the fighter they won the title from. Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, etc. All of these guys were 24 or less and beat good or great fighters who had more experience than them to win the title. I would love to see Itauma versus Usyk. I don’t care what anyone says. I know talent when I see it. I’m not saying Itauma can beat Usyk right now, but I am saying I’m intrigued by the fight. And if Itauma’s team feels that he isn’t ready, he may be ready before Usyk retires.
They can get him ready by upping his activity. Itauma’s fight schedule has slowed down since he turned professional in 2023. In 2023 Itauma fought seven times. And in 2024 he fought four times. This year he has only fought twice so far. I think Itauma should have stayed on the pace he was on in 2023 and 2024. He should be fighting, basically, every other month until he gets a title shot. He should be clearing out fringe contenders like he just did with Dillian Whyte. There are too many to name, but you know the type of fighter I’m talking about.
If Itauma fights six times in 2026 and clears out the usual names I’m referring to he would have significant momentum going into his challenge of Usyk. But fighting twice a year at this stage won’t create the buzz that he would need. I never understood why handlers scale back on a fighter’s activity so early in this era. It’s counter-productive.
As for Usyk, I think he’s an all-time great. I love everything about him. But I disagree on his sentiments about Itauma not being ready. If Itauma’s team puts him in there, then it’s up to Usyk to show them he’s not ready – not tell them he’s not ready. If Itauma becomes Usyk's mandatory challenger, then he needs to honor the ranking and take on the challenge.
What if Sonny Liston told the 22 year old, 19-0 Cassius Clay that he wasn’t ready for a title shot and didn’t give him one? We mightn’t know how great Clay was. He needed his chance to prove it. I personally don’t know if Itauma is ready or not. But I’m saying this loud and clear – Itauma has the skill set, jab, body punching prowess and fast-twitch reactions to give Usyk fits. Usyk may beat him but this is no walkover. Mark it down.
Send concise questions to dabreadman25@hotmail.com