By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards answering questions about Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux, Gerald Washington vs. Amir Mansour, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Sugar Ray Leonard, pound for pound standings and more.

Bread,

As always I hope you are doing well and I appreciate your breakdowns on boxing topics the way you do sir.

Chad Dawson.. I know he has passed his best years but I think people don’t appreciate his resume. This man beat Tarver 2x, Bhop 2x, Glen Johnson when he was dangerous and Adamek in his prime. Those 4 wins alone really says a lot about his skillset I believe. I don’t think Chad is a hall of fame fighter but just off those wins man that’s pretty impressive. Could you break down his resume?

Fighters like Juan Diaz, Leo Santa Cruz and Kassim Ouma always impressed me because their punch output always so high(Ike beaubuchi for heavyweight). Do you have any insight on how some fighters can keep a pace like that? Are they doing something different in training?

I’m really looking forward to this Tuesday fight between Washington and Mansour. I haven’t seen much of Washington but I like the fact he took such a dangerous fight. Mansour in his last fight seemed to light to me and think he’s better in the 220-230 weight range. Washington has height and seems athletic but Mansour’s resume and from outside looking in seems to have the edge in this fight by KO. Can you breakdown this fight?

Thank you

Jerome Hundley

Bread’s Response: Chad Dawson would have been a HOF if he beat Andre Ward. That’s how accomplished he was. Unfortunately for him because of his drop off and him not being immensely popular he probably won’t get in the HOF.

It may not be fair but fighters who are least popular have to better in the ring…

Fighters who fight at high volume usually have natural stamina. Everyone is not created equal. Some people just have higher lung capacity. It’s not 100% but often times these fighters are not heavily muscled and they don’t try to punch hard with every shot. Rarely have we seen power punching high volume fighters. But it does happen. Manny Pacquiao and Joe Frazier fit that bill. I also notice another characteristic that high volume fighters have. None of them are scared of contact. You can’t be throwing that many punches.

I think being a high volume guy is the hardest style to execute because it takes so much energy. You have to train harder and longer because you burn more energy. That’s why they rarely have longevity but at their peaks they are as tough a style to beat as there is. Especially the ones with great chins because if you can’t hurt them, they outwork you. It’s simple.

Gerald Washington vs Amir Mansour is an excellent match up. Mansour has been in tougher and he has more experience. I also think he’s the bigger puncher. But Washington is much taller and longer and he’s much younger.

I’m always attentive to performances of a fighter in his late 30’s and early 40s. Mansour is in his early 40s. A few years ago he would have probably been too much for Washington at this point who is a little green at this point. But Washington has a great coach and he’s a smart guy. I would assume they saw the Steve Cunningham fight where Mansour was able to hurt Cunningham but he also missed often and badly. Mansour doesn’t work his way inside like say Joe Frazier. He lunges often and he leaves his feet. Unless he can back Washington up to the ropes I can see him missing badly all night. Mansour is a southpaw but he has a great right hook. Washington has to leery of that when he’s turning out. I’m not sure what kind of punch Washington takes…I expect him to fight a very tepid fight. I don’t expect him to exchange often. I think it will be close with some controversy. Kudos to both of them for taking the fight. I really expect a drawish type of outcome.

Jermaine110kg from London England

Really enjoy reading your opinions

168lbs division is the UK bread and butter "best division" over the years, was a massive fan of Roy Jones but a bigger fan of Eubank and would of love to of seen that fight.

My question is out of Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Joe Calzaghe, Steve Collins, Carl Froch and James DeGale who would of stood a better chance of beating a prime Roy Jones and why?

Bread’s Response: Great question. I don’t know enough about James Degale yet but he does have a sneaky looping left hand that he could have landed on Roy. But I will reserve my judgment of him.

Carl Froch would have had the less chance at beating Roy. It’s just a bad style match up for Carl. He’s just too slow for Roy. He would get picked apart and probably dropped a few times.

Chris Eubank wouldn’t have had enough for Roy either. He just didn’t do anything well enough to bother a prime Roy Jones. Eubank wasn’t a super tall guy. He didn’t have a super jab. He had decent speed but nothing phenomenal. The best thing about Eubank was his chin and confidence. I think Roy wins a decision.

Nigel Benn was a monster and he improved once he got to 168. Benn from around 93-95 would have given Roy all he wanted and then some. He was a brutal puncher and he attacked in frenetic way that sort of forces you to fight him and not just box him. I think Roy beats him but Nunn was brutal on Americans and he had the ability to fight over his head some nights.

Joe Calzaghe was probably the best of the bunch but I think Roy would have clipped him if they fought in their primes. But I want to say something about Calazaghe. He has that Floyd Mayweather type of game raising ability. He fights as good as he has to on fight night. It’s a shame he took so long to come to America. We would know more about him.

Believe it or not I give Steve Collins the best chance to beat Roy Jones. Collins improved from his losses to Mike McCallum and Reggie Johnson early in his career at 160. Collins was a volume punching demon. He had a great chin and he was riding as high as any fight around in the mid 90s.

People underrate his exit from the game. He finished his career on a 15 fight win streak and he was the WBO at the time of his retirement. He also beat Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank twice during his reign as champion.

If Collins were around today people would question if his run was PED enhanced considering his early slip ups at 160. I’m not questioning him at all I’m just complimenting him on how he finished his career. The fight with Jones was supposed to be all set and Jones didn’t take the fight.

Historians give Jones lots of flack for his supposed ducks but I don’t. I think they get exaggerated over time. I think Jones’s true misses were Michael Nunn, Nigel Benn and none other than Steve Collins. He had a shot against Roy in 96 or 97. I know Americans will call me crazy but I know what I saw in Collins around that time. He is indefatigable and impossible to discourage.

How long is Lemieux going to last with GGG? And what is your p4p top 10? Does Roman Gonzalez deserve the top spot?

Bread’s Response: I like GGG by 6 or 7th round TKO. His jab is too much for Lemieux. Lemieux doesn’t have enough sauce to beat the good boy.

I love Roman Gonzales. He’s active, he’s a 3 division champion and he’s in his 20’s. He also beat a great fighter in Juan Estrada. I think he’s definitely top 5 in the world. I don’t have a problem with him being named #1 p4p although I think Andre Ward is. But Ward is inactive so out of sight out of mind. For the record I think the p4p champion will change often in the next few years. No one will have a 10 year claim like Floyd Mayweather from this era.

My p4p top 10. Andre Ward, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Roman Gonzales, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Wladimr Klitschko, Terrance Crawford, Canelo Alvarez, Juan Estrada and Kell Brook.

Mythical Matchups. Ray Leonard vs Floyd Mayweather. Roman Gonzales vs Mark Johnson. Terracne Crawford vs Vernon Forest.

Bread’s Response: I like Leonard vs the field at 147. The only one I favor to beat him is Ray Robinson. Maybe Henry Armstrong. Leonard is a killer with a smile on his face. He’s the best fighter since 1980. I think Floyd would rumble but I don’t like him over Leonard.

Gonzales vs Too Sharp is a great fight. Man o man. High volume, high contact boxer punching at it’s best. I really can’t call this. I’m leaning Too Sharp but he looped his punches sometimes and Gonzales steps in with brutal short shots. Gonzales punches on the move as good as anyone I have seen. He’s the ultimate tracker. I really can’t call that one. I need to learn more about Gonzales.

Crawford is not a welterweight so it’s not a valid comparison. Let’s see how he does at 147 first.

Send questions to dabreadman25@hotmail.com