The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards tackling topics such as Jose Ramirez turning down a Regis Prograis shot, Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence, weight issues in boxing, the career of Daniel Dubois, and more.

What are your thoughts on Jose Ramirez turning down the WBC title shot vs Regis Prograis because he didn’t think the split was fair? From reports he didn’t think 35% of the pie was fair and he thinks he deserves 50%. I know he’s more popular than Regis but Regis is the champion. I thought it would’ve been a great fight and wanted your thoughts on the fallout.

Bread’s Response: First off, I think Ramirez has a great team around him. Great manager, great trainer and great promoter. They have done a great job in building him as a big time attraction in Fresno. But in this case I don’t fully agree with them. If they wanted a bigger slice of the pot, then Ramirez’s promoter could have ensured him a bigger slice of the purse. The fight didn’t have to go to purse bids. For the casual fans, fights only go to purse bids when the two parties can’t come to an agreement. So in this case, they couldn’t come to an agreement so the fight went to purse bids. Purse bids are WON by the HIGHEST BID.

In no way is that Regis Prograis’s fault or responsibility to make sure Ramirez gets more money or meets his contract MINIMUM which all championship level fighters have. That contract is between Ramirez and his promoter. Regis has to worry about himself and he has the advantage as the champion in terms of who gets the larger %. So they followed the WBC rules, the same sanctioning body that has allowed Ramirez to be #1. The same sanctioning body that Ramirez was champion of in the past….

There isn’t a champion in boxing that would allow a fight to go to purse bid, then let a challenger get 50/50. Let’s be honest and serious. Regis would be the favorite in the fight. Ramirez is a big draw in Fresno but he’s not an Oscar De La Hoya level superstar by any means. Regis shouldn’t have to give up 50/50 for a purse bid fight and he’s the champion. 

Now, if Ramirez’s promoter somehow came up with say 4 million dollars and told Regis that he had to split the package 50/50 which would be 2 million apiece, then that’s a totally different story. But that’s not the case in this fight. I think this basically comes down to Regis holding his ground as the champion. Ramirez is the one who allowed Prograis to get the fight anyway by withdrawing because of personal issues. I believe he was getting married, which is understandable but he still did it. So now Regis is supposed to give up 50/50 and he’s the champion. Again, no champion in boxing would give that up to Ramirez.

I have seen cases where the challenger makes more than the champion but not through purse bid fights. There are other ways to generate money than the license fees. There are live gates, sponsors, PPV etc. Ramirez could generate money in other ways, the 35% of the purse bid is not his salary CAP. From my understanding usually the purse bid of this sort is 75/25 in favor of the champion. But in this case it was adjusted to 65/35. So Ramirez got an extra 10%.

I don’t like to say what a fighter is worth. They risk their lives for our entertainment. However, I think anywhere from 65/35 to 60/40 is reasonable. I believe this is a case where Ramirez and his team have to find a way to get him his number that he’s comfortable with and make the fight if they want to fight for the title. It really comes down to that.

I think there’s been a huge shift in power in the Errol Spence-Terence Crawford negotiations. In my opinion, Crawford is in the driver’s seat now. The reason? Welterweight rankings and mandated fights. Spence has been ordered by the WBC to fight Keith Thurman, by the IBF to fight Jaron Ennis and by the WBA to fight the winner of Vergil Ortiz and Eimantas Stanionis. It just so happens that Ortiz, Ennis and Thurman rank first, second and third in the December WBO rankings. That means if Crawford doesn’t get everything he wants in negotiations and waits on the Spence fight again, Spence will be forced to clear out Crawford’s biggest hurdles to a potential super fight payday. And if Spence loses to one of those three fighters, it doesn’t even impact Crawford’s payday in an undisputed unification at all. A Crawford-Ortiz, Crawford-Ennis or a Crawford-Thurman undisputed showdown would be just as big as a Spence-Crawford undisputed showdown. In fact, Crawford might have more leverage in those negotiations. I was wondering if you see this shift in negotiating power as well.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Bread’s Response: You know I didn’t do the mental gymnastics you did to come up with your reasoning. But I won’t disagree with you. I think it comes down to a few things? Will Team Spence move faster in their next negotiations with Crawford because Crawford walked away before? Or will they not trust Crawford and make him a lower offer? Mandated fights done mean much to me if the sanctioning bodies aren’t stripping anyone. On top of that both have expressed the desire to move up. Here is something else. I don’t care why they fight. I just care that they do fight sooner than later while it still has historical significance. Let’s see what happens.

Greetings Breadman -I’m a long time reader and first time writer. Just a few things .. Not to dwell on Crawford vs. Spence but I noticed Bud isn’t even ranked top 15 in the IBF, WBC or WBA. How’s that possible? Is there a criteria for organizational rankings? I ask because I think this would force fights to happen IMO. Recently, went to the fight in Omaha with 5 buddies, a crazy environment. I even got to talk boxing with Antonio Tarver (Sr & Jr) in the airport. I’ve only been to about 8 fights live so I don’t have much to go on. What was the most electric atmosphere you’ve experienced as a fan?

Lastly, Mythical Matchup of my 2 favorites (@ 154): Hitman Hearns vs. Tito Trinidad

Happy holidays .. Jamaal, Louisiana

Bread’s Response: I have said several times that sanctioning bodies should rank champions of other sanctioning bodies to FORCE unification fights. The most electric atmosphere I have ever seen at a fight. Um…..Let’s see. There have been a few. Canelo vs Trout was crazy. Frampton vs Santa Cruz 1. Frampton came down to one of the greatest songs I have ever heard. Wilder vs Fury 3 was INSANE.  Benavidez vs Davis was insane. The fans in Phoenix were GREAT. As were the fans in Williams vs Hurd. The DC fans were celebrating as if it was going to be a PARTY. We crashed it. 

Hearns, Tito and Mike McCallum had the best runs I have ever witnessed at 154lbs. Tito of 2000 was an in his prime monster. He would have a real shot at clipping Hearns. Hearns had a great sweeping hook to the body but to the head it wasn't as tight as Tito's. Leonard consistently beat Hearns to the punch when they both hooked and Hearns kept hooking because he's a killer. Tito's hook was heavier and shorter than Hearns. Hearns is my pick but he better be careful.

Dear Breadman, Could you dwell a bit upon weight issues in modern boxing? My first question is why we see boxers weighing significantly more than weight limits when they actually fight? You are probably aware of some historic and organizational issues that has led to it. We would like to know them too. Should not they be weighted just before fight on the same day? This system leads to abuse/or taking advantage as often we see boxers much heavier then their opponent's after rehydration which makes divisions a farce really. It also opens windows for playing up with weights; for instance some organisms tolerate better de-/rehydration than others (generally, the younger the better, but  I am sure there are other aspects to this). Certainly, scientific support and PEDs may play role in making weight too. There is always another side of it:  making opponent drain; which looks good, probably, even for hard core fans as you can put a heavier fighter as disadvantage if you have enough leverage.  PR - wise it looks excellent when you bit someone naturally bigger. Some may argue this is sportsmanship but for me it is closer to cheating than sport, particularly that it gives undue advantage to established stars as if they were not A side anyway. My last question regarding weight is: at present if a  fighter scaled well-below division limit, let's say 2 divisions below or so (or even one division) would he be allowed to fight a championships fight in higher division? If not, why? Do you know any recent examples? What about historic ones?

Best regards and happy Xmas & New Year for all, Marek Wojcik

Bread’s Response: Ok your question is complex. I think the next day weigh in issue came just as much from draining weight as it did from the Michael Spinks vs Eddie Mustafa Muhammad rematch that never happened. The weigh in was the same day of the fight and Mustafa was overweight. Spinks refused to fight which caused a trickle effect because there was a time slot reserved by the network. There can be more than one reason why something happened. “They” can say it’s for the safety of the fighters. But money always plays a part in every business decision. 

We also have the Mancini vs Kim fight that many cite as the reason for next day weigh ins and 12 round fights. I’m going to assume it can be a multitude of reasons.

Weight limits have MAX weights not minimum weights. I can’t think of any off hand but there have been fights where fighters come in significantly lower. As I type Ray Robinson weighed 157lbs when he fought Joey Maxim for the 175lbs title. I don’t think it’s cheating if you can walk around disproportionately big, cut weight, then regain it to fight. It’s part of the game. Elite athletes EVOLVE during their eras. This is how this era is. If a fighter finds that he’s fighting opponents that are too big, he needs to do something about it. Get stronger or move down in weight. It’s that simple. 

What's up Breadman?

I hope you will enjoy this special moments with your family and friends. 2022 provided us some great fights, and 2023 could be an even better year ! As you know the business and politic side of boxing more than I do, could you give us the probability for this fights to happen and on what it depend :- Fury vs Usyk- Crawford vs Spence- Beterbiev vs Bivol- Inoue vs Fulton- Andrade vs Charlo What fights (other than those) are you almost certain of happening next year ?Also what do you think about Davis vs Garcia (Hector Luis) ? It's a risky fight, but do you think if he wins that could give him the edge over Ryan Garcia, who chose to wait for their fight ? I think it really depends on how the first fight goes. Last one, I saw Marshall activated the rematch clause, how do you see that fight? Shields had to go really deep in the first one, do you think she can do it another time with this dangerous opponent? Thanks for your time! Max from France

Bread’s Response: You format your questions, short, clear and precise. All of the fans who write in, I hope they take notes. Doing it This way makes it so much easier for me to sort through.

Fury vs Usyk 70%

Crawford vs Spence 75% I know I’m optimistic but I think it will happen in 2023

Beterbiev vs Bivol 80%

Inoue vs Fulton 0%

Andrade vs Charlo 0%

I am as certain as I can be that Plant vs Benavidez will happen in 2023. I’m also fairly certain Davis vs Garcia will happen. 

I think Shields is a rare athlete. She has fast twitch muscles to go along with endurance muscles. She’s fast but she doesn’t get spent from being fast. She also has unique determination where she will be able to get through whatever she has to get through to win. If Shields was past her physical peak I would say it would be tough to fight Marshall again right away and dig that deep. But Claressa Shields is special. She can do it again if she has to. I think another question is can Marshall push her that deep again. It’s a 2 sided coin.

Hey Bread,

I was just reading about how Daniel Dubois tore his ACL in his fight against Kevin Lerena. I hope that everyone who wrote Dubois off as a quitter after his loss to Joe Joyce are taking note. Against Lerena, Dubois got caught with a wicked shot on the top of the head, was totally disoriented, TORE his ACL, and still managed to pull out an exciting and excellent KO. Yes, Lerena isn't the best heavyweight in the world, but Dubois had his back to the wall, was in a real fight, and managed to bite down and take care of business. No quit in him. My question is this: Do you think Dubois will ever be one of the top 3-4 guys in the heavyweight division? He's pretty young, so he has time. He is certainly vulnerable, and doesn't move his head well. But he is fluid, places his punches well, and can bang. I think he will ultimately fall short of being at the heavyweight kingpin level, but will be in some super fun fights for years to come. Would love to see him fight any of the top 10 guys at heavyweight.

Thanks for your time, Steve from Berkeley

Bread’s Response: I was really defensive of Daniel Dubois when Billy Joe Saunders threw him under the bus for surrendering in his bout vs Joe Joyce, then Saunders quit in his bout vs Canelo. But if I’m being objective, I thought Dubois struggled in his last performance. He won but man that was odd to watch. He also got a little help from the referee if we are being fair. 

I say that to say, sometimes a fighter can lose his way. It doesn’t have to be a heart or skill thing. But losing your way is just as vital. When I say losing your way, I mean losing your mojo. Losing your formula for success. How you went about things. Mentally, physically and the program you had to get you to your highest point of success. I think Dubois lost his way and he has to get it back to be successful at the top level. It’s not that he can’t fight anymore but he APPEARS to be too vulnerable to beat the top guys. Opponents and their teams SMELL vulnerability and when that happens everyone fights you harder because they don’t LOSE hope if you have a couple of good rounds on them. Dubois and Teofimo Lopez are in similar places in their respective careers.

Hello, Breadman.

I was surprised no one wrote in regarding the recent passing of Steve Smoger and Mills Lane, two gentlemen who demonstrated utmost professionalism and job performance in the squared circle and for good reason were the third person in some very memorable fight nights. I personally loved how Smoger was known as a referee who “let the fighters fight.” My observation (as a boxing fan) is these two men were excellent people both inside and outside of the ring. Quick questions: Did you ever have the opportunity to work with Steve Smoger or Mills Lane, and did you happen to know either of them personally?

Thanks. 

Bread’s Response: I’ve met Steve Smoger a few times. I can’t remember if he worked any of my fights but he was a cool respectable guy. I’ve never met the legend Mills Lane but he is in the argument for best referee ever. RIP to both.

I saw your interview on Fighthype about Plant vs Benavidez. Very, very classy. Very humble. You showed Team Benavidez lots of respect even though they have been disrespectful to Plant. My question is where are you guys doing camp, Philly or Vegas? And does it make it a difference. Also I feel like you will get one more run out of Julian Williams. I think Caleb Plant now being your star fighter will light a fire under Williams and bring out a healthy competitive spirit in him to let you know he still has it. I saw him fight many years ago in the Barclay Center and he scored a 3rd ko. He was something else. Not sure what went wrong but 32 is not old. I hope you guys can win one more title before he retires.

Bread’s Response: Thank you. 

We are doing Caleb’s camp in Vegas. The most important part of camp is that fighters have to have organization and resources to run a smooth camp. I could do camp in either Philly or Vegas but Caleb’s resources at this point are in Vegas so that’s where we are doing this camp. 

Julian isn’t done. He has another run left in him. He just has to tap into it and find is old stuff. He has it. I’ve seen it in the gym. We can do it. I don’t care what anyone says. I know what I can do. I know what he can do. We did it before when no one thought we could. I like it when the world is against me. It turns me on! Seriously I’m sick when it comes to that. After Caleb’s fight, Julian will have a big camp and big fight! And we are going to WIN.

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