Daily Bread Mailbag: Thurman vs. Garcia, Verdejo, VADA Testing

By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag Returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards discusses topics such as father/son combinations in boxing, Felix Verdejo and his career struggles, the VADA testing system by the WBC, and a lot of fight predictions.

Whats good Breadman? I like to bet heavy money on fights and I respect your boxing opinion more than anybody in the business. I was wondering how you see the following fights playing out to see if you agree with me.

1: Thurman vs Garcia... Thurman (-260) by decision or late stoppage

2: Golovkin vs Jacobs... I think the over/under on this ight is going to be somewhere in the ballpark of 7.5 rounds. I heavily lean under.

3: Joshua vs Klitschko... Joshua (-225) by KO

4: Spence vs brook assuming it happens. This is the big one for me. I expect Spence to win somewhat comfortably with Brook struggling to make the 147 lb limit.

5: Last one Canelo vs Chavez over 9.5 rounds... I think Chavez lasts the distance due to his size advantage and the fact that he will be forced to train hard now that he must make 165 lbs.

Thanks for all you do for the sport. I wish we had more people like you covering the sport instead of people like the guy from ESPN and other fanboys in the game.

Bread’s Response: 1. Stay away from Thurman vs Garcia especially Thurman by ko.  As we all know “anything” can happen in a boxing match. But Danny Garcia has an intangible quality about himself that outweighs his parts separately. Until he gets stopped I wouldn’t bet that anyone stops him.

2. Golovkin vs Jacobs will be a middleweight shootout of the likes of Pavlik vs Taylor and McClellan vs Jackson. Betting the under would not be a bad bet. I believe both guys have the ability to stop each other. If you do think it will be an early stoppage then you also believe Jacobs has a great chance to win. Because the consensus is he’s super live early.

3. I love your Joshua pick. Out of all your bets that’s what I’m most comfortable with.

4. I like Spence too by tko. You can’t struggle to make weight with a kid like Spence. He’s too relentless and his body attack is too much. If Brook wins this fight he’s truly Special.

5. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chavez lasted the distance. The fight is at 165, he’s going to train his butt off and he can take punishment. Canelo can punch but he’s systematic in his destruction. I can see a decisive decision win for Canelo. I’m not super confident in a ko. One more thing to determine is whether there is drug testing in this fight before you put your money down.

This Is Robert Jackson Fight Expert predictions.

Adrien Broner by Decision

Lamont Peterson is going to lose by Split Decision because he doesnt perform well in Big Stages.

Errol.Spence Tko Kell Brook Within 4rounds .

Triple GGG by Ko Daniel Jacobs. Within 6rounds.

Keith Thurman Beats Danny Garcia by decision.

Danny is going to hurt him and Keith Thurman is.going to drop him.

Canelo Alvarez Beats Chavez by Tko Round 11.

Manny Pacquiao Beats Jeff Horn by Ko within 8rounds.

Bread’s Response:  I like Broner too I think he can get a stoppage.

Spence by mid to late tko.

I wouldn’t bet against GGG against anyone at 160. But Jacobs is live.

I still haven’t figured out Thurman vs Garcia. But something tells me Garcia will be stronger and Thurman will have to resort to “boxing” to win.

Canelo will win.

Pacman should get his 1st ko since Miguel Cotto.

 What in the hell happened to Felix Verdejo? It seems as though most of the experts overrated him. If Top Rank has to slow you down like they have been him they must know something. Do you think it’s the coach, Verdejo just not being the goods or something else? He’s still undefeated but can he bounce back? What other prospects do Top Rank has that are the goods?

Bread’s Response: Felix is Verdejo is super talented, he looks the part. But there is definitely something missing in his application of his talent. It could be lots of things but I really hate to see a young man catch so much heat. This is a tough sport so try to stay positive.

Sometimes in life and in sports you can just hit a bad funk for whatever reasons. I think Verdejo is in one of those funks. Unfortunately in boxing sometimes these rough spots can be unforgiving. From what I can see Verdejo is overthinking. He’s just not comfortable in the ring. He’s not doing anything with confidence. It’s actually the worst thing that can happen to a fighter. Verdejo needs to understand that “it’s going to be what it’s going to be” and just rumble.

As far as his coaching I don’t know who his coaches are. But if they were the coaches who led him to be the Prospect of the Year I wouldn’t blame them. Every mishap is not a coach’s fault. Verdejo seems like a distracted fighter and he has to find it within himself to hone in.

Yes Top Rank does the best job at bringing fighters along with purposeful matchmaking. If they slow a fighter down or relegates one to off tv undercards then you have to know the fighter is not progressing the way TR thinks they should. I have a feeling Verdejo will have to “fight” this year. For the record Kelly Pavlik took a little longer than most to develop but when he did breakthrough he made great money and went on a good run. Let’s see how this plays out.

Andy Vences is the kid in the Top Rank stable I think you should look out for. He’s big for 130, he’s athletic, he has a sick work ethic and he’s super confident. At this point he just needs the right matchmaking to gain the in fight experience to take him to the next level. Three more fights and I think he can challenge and win a world title.

I have some questions about the WBC Clean Testing Program and VADA. Is it the same thing? Also is there testing in the GGG vs Jacobs fight? If so what kind of testing.

Bread’s Response: Great question. The WBC clean testing program is done by VADA. It puts fighters in the top 15 who are ranked by the WBC in a random pool of VADA testing.

But it doesn’t guarantee you will be tested. It just allows for VADA to randomly select you if they choose to. It enters a fighter in a random pool. I think it’s great the WBC did this. Now what Deontay Wilder is doing is slightly different. He’s paying for VADA testing which insures that him and his opponents are randomly tested throughout camps which is a higher level of testing than just being in the random pool.

When I gave Wilder his props a few weeks ago I got a bunch of negative comments. Now that he has caught his second cheater in a row…….Wilder is one of the few A side recognizable names who openly insist on VADA. They have stopped two of his fights from happening. That shows integrity in my opinion. It also shows why 80% of the other top fighters do NOT demand VADA. In 20 years when we look back at Wilder’s legacy we will be able to take it for face value and not have to ponder whether he was on something or not.

The worst part about the PED epidemic in boxing is it can be easily fixed. But with the invested monies in some of these young fighters the “investors” know their products would be severely tarnished if all of the big fights were under constant VADA testing. Sad but true. From my perspective if VADA if it’s not VADA doing the testing, it does not count!!

If I’m not mistaken GGG test under VADA for all of his fights. So I assume his fight with Jacobs will be no different. Let me research it but as of right now I think VADA will be doing the testing for GGG vs Jacobs.

My question is about father/so relationships in boxing. How come they don’t seem to work out and what you think is the dynamic that keeps them from working?

Bread’s Response: Another good question. I actually disagree with you. I think father/son relationships can and do work in boxing.

The problem with father/son relationships is when they break up as trainer and fighter it usually affects their father/son relationship and the world gets to see it. But if you observe closely most fighters don’t have one trainer from the first day they walk into a gym until the last day they walk out. So 99% of the time the break up is inevitable.

I think the biggest problems with young fighters today is their character. Most did not have the proper upbringing from either parent and they can’t take redirection well. Often times their poor character trumps their ability and somewhere along the way they screw up. Here is where a father or father figure comes in. Unless the kid has next level character he needs that.

I look at father/son relationships in boxing and the one thing I notice that most times when the father has an elite son as a fighter. That’s usually his one and only special fighter. That tells me that their bond and relationship made it special and unique. If it didn’t then the father would have a stable of fighters just like his son…...

Let’s look at Joe Calzaghe and his father. That’s special. Leo Santa Cruz and his father, that’s special. Shawn Porter and his father, that’s special. Danny Garcia and his father, that’s special. Floyd Mayweather and his father, that’s special. Robert Easter and his father, that’s special. Erik Morales and his father, that’s special. I can go on and on I’m sure I left out a bunch.

I don’t get why people repeat that father and son relationships don’t work in boxing just because some have not worked. Sure there have been overbearing fathers who are not managers or coaches and they become intrusive. Sure there have been some fathers who have sucked as coaches and they stagnated their son’s growth. But as I pointed out there have been some great father and son tandems.

The benefit of having a knowledgeable father as the coach is tremendous. First off the father is their son’s first hero. A son does not want to disappoint his father. He can provide a camp life in the structure of their home. He can often times get things out of the son early on that a coach can’t. Do you think Floyd Mayweather would have run 5 miles in timberland boots for just anybody as a kid? But his dad made him…..

I never conform to the norm. I think father/son relationships are just fine. I just judge them on an individual basis.

The number 1 thing I see in the gym from young men with no structure is they talk while the coach is talking. They weren’t taught respect. They were brought up in harsh environments that spawn great fighters but they weren’t taught morals. So we have talented fighters that lack character and morals. They disrespect adults, they constantly mess up and they have to pay people to clean up their mess.

Now look at the young men despite their financial status who come in the gym with their dad’s. Same gyms. Same neighborhoods. Just a dad in their corner serving at some capacity. Those young men usually have respect. They usually don’t question authority. They usually don’t talk while an older person is talking. You know why. Because they have their dad’s around. A dad can tell a kid to shot the f#$@ up a little easier than a coach can.

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