The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards tackling topics such as IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis, David Benavidez vs. David Morrell, unified champion Terence Crawford, Deontay Wilder, Gervonta Davis, and more.
Hey Mr Edwards,
Great mailbag last time and thank you for reminding me of my long-windedness. Briefly agree or disagree with the following (men’s boxing):1. Fighter of the Year: Terrence Bud Crawford.2. Fight of the Year: None3. Worst Referee of the Year: Tony Weeks in Rolando Romero v Ismael Barroso. 4. Worst boxing Performance of the Year: Jermell Charlo’s weak challenge of Canelo Alvarez. 5. Upset of the Year: Joseph Parker v Deontay Wilder. 6. Best pound for pound Fighter of the Year: Terrence Bud Crawford. Some people want to think Devin Haney is Fighter of the Year. He needs to beat more than two fighters who are past their prime to earn that. Some people think Naoya Inoue is the best pound for pound Fighter. Are Paul Butler and Marlon Tapales on Errol Spence Jr’s level? Boots Ennis? I feel sorry for Boots. He was irrelevant all year and the picture doesn’t look good in 2024 unless he goes to 154. What do you think?
I liked how you dealt with the mystical match-up between Floyd Mayweather and the late Aaron Pryor. Last question: is the heavyweight division the widest in boxing right now? Seems to me anyone can beat anyone. Is that a good thing?
MM: Salvador Sanchez v Sandy Saddler. Is it a case of what could have been versus what was? Both had career ending accidents. Sanchez’s was before we really knew how good he was. Saddler’s was after he had left his legacy. Saddler was long, rangy, hit like doomsday and once went on a streak of 73-0. Sanchez was poetry in motion and had many angles with perpetual power combinations. I can’t pick a winner. Mr Edwards?
Happy New Year Keep punching in 2024.
Katlholo – Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bread’s Response: Fighter of the Year- I like Bud Crawford also. I know he fought just once but his performance vs Spence was the best performance of the year vs a fighter as highly touted as Spence. But if anyone picked Inoue I wouldn’t argue hard but for me it’s Crawford.
Fight of the Year- Let’s say Beterbiev vs Yarde
Worst of Referee of the Year: I don’t know. Let me think on it…
Worst Performance of the Year: Um there have been a few.
Upset of the Year: Parker beating Wilder was shocking to me. I know Wilder gets his share of criticism but I thought Parker had seen better days. I wasn’t expecting him to defeat Wilder so easily. Very shocking in my opinion.
Best Fighter: I think it’s Terence Crawford. But some will argue Inoue. My eyes tell me Crawford’s skillset is slightly superior, while Inoue is probably a little bit more gifted in terms of physical ability.
I think Boots just needs someone to say very loudly what the people around him already know. Talent usually prevails but 2024 needs to be a big year for him. Boots may be the best the fighter in the world. That’s how good he is. He needs a chance to prove it.
I don’t know what to think about this era of heavyweights. It’s literally like no one wants to be an ATG. Very strange era. Maybe Usyk will stamp himself, he’s the most consistent and already the most highly regarded legacy wise.
Geez you want me to pick a winner between Saddler vs Sanchez. Both had iron chins. Both were indefatigable. Both came up big in big moments. I can’t call it. This is an even a fight as anyone has ever given me. Flip a coin. Today I say Saddler wins 1st fight and Sanchez wins the rematch.
Hi Bread,
Ennis…If we check the last four opponents of this era’s welterweight world champions, they are actually shallower than Ennis’. Thurman, Porter, Spence, Brook – the level of competition wasn’t higher. But the struggle was. Hence the expectations for Ennis. Also people subconsciously feel like they have to rebalance things. Ennis might be the Jordan of boxing. Somehow people have a hard time accepting. Interestingly enough, every great has a tragic flaw, one could say. What would be Ennis’ biggest one? Something that eventually could prevent him from reaching TBE/ATG status? As pure talent goes, who else reminds you of him? Not in style but raw talent and ability. 2 years ago, him and Vergil Ortiz would have been amazing. Maybe the most violent fight of aggressive young undefeated dedicated fighters. Edge for Ennis for variability. Now it seems far. Morell. Would you say Morrell is top 2/3 mot talented current boxer? He is impressive but would you bet on him vs Benavidez? I feel like the separation – in grit and experience – would come late in the fight. I say Benavidez by stoppage in a Corales type of performance with David Benavidez having to go to the burger and risk it all, showing us the gear he never had to show yet. Would you accept the fight for Caleb?
In a sense he has bigger fish to fry in 2 rematches with Canelo and Bena. He also deserves big money fights. But one could argue that to deserve the rematch he needs to get back to the top 3 and who is better than Morrell? Seems high risk low reward though. Caleb should win against Charlo and I’m sure you’re licking your chops. Final thoughts; To be the greatest trainer ever you need to get the fighters matching. So far we know you as one of the best minds in boxing. And a top top trainer. And your boxers are excellent but « flawed ». Yet you transcend them and they all outperform the expectations. Your strength is your mind and convictions. One could only imagine what you could do with a Morrell, Ennis, Inoue, Crawford type of genius. Mount Rushmore. My gut feeling tells me Ennis will get his welcome party to Amazon and a long reign. He’ll transcend his « normal » persona by his highlight reel streak. If he doesn’t fall in the pride trap and can be a Canelo/Floyd type of hard worker with 50+ millions in the bank, only light top heavyweights in a few year could make him struggle. I say after a while his team gets it, signs with Haymon and you train/co-train with his dad. End of the loop. ATG trainer.
Cheers, Diego
Bread’s Response: Ennis’s competition has only been declared awful because they couldn’t compete with him. Lipinets was an excellent fighter when he was giving Mikey Garcia a good scrap. Custio Clayton was a good fighter when he got a draw vs Lipinets. Roiman Villa was a tough out when he beat Rashidi Ellis. But because Ennis destroyed those guys, the media and fans devalued them. The same exact thing happened to Roy Jones Jr many years ago. But you’re correct, his competition is not big names but capable solid fighters. Let’s see someone do to them what he did…
A flaw isn’t TRAGIC until someone exploits. As of now no one has exploited anything with Ennis. But I will think outside of the box and say what I think may be some flaws. In the boxing ring Ennis is very violent. Sometimes he wings shots. Anyone can be clipped. But being good enough to fire with him is a different story.
Ennis also throws vicious body punches. But because of how he delivers the shots. And his naturally long arms. I can see an opponent MILKING low blows that may or may not be LOW.
Outside of the boxing ring….I wouldn’t say it’s a flaw just yet. But in 2024 Ennis has to find someone to give him the promotional PUSH he deserves.
Raw Talent….Ennis reminds me of a mix Roy Jones and Mark Too Sharp Johnson.
Ennis and Ortiz is a big fight in 2025 if Ortiz can get a title at 154.
Morrell is very talented for sure. But I don’t know about top 2 or 3 in boxing. I have to see more. I say he’s one of the top 2 or 3 most talented guy at 168lbs. But overall in boxing you have guys like Inoue, Ennis and Crawford..
I think Morrell is live with Benavidez. He has a great shot to win that fight. But no I wouldn’t bet on him. I don’t know enough about him and I don’t know how he’s going to respond down the stretch when David starts cooking and hitting him to the body.
I believe in Caleb Plant. Whoever he has to fight I will come up with a game plan and we are going to fight our butts off. But I don’t accept or reject opponents for him. That’s NOT my job on his team.
I’m not licking my chops for Charlo or anyone else. I don’t pick Caleb’s fights and All fights are tough at this level. If the call is Charlo, Morrell or Godzilla I’m ready to go. It doesn’t matter to me.
I appreciate your words towards me. All I can say is I’m doing my best. And Whatever is meant for me, will get to me.
Dear Stephen,
Happy holidays, and I hope you and your loved ones are doing well! I have been a massive fan of Bud Crawford since watching his coming out party against Briedis Prescott on HBO in 2013. I want your opinion on my Bud Crawford take. My take is that I’ve watched boxing since the fight of the century, Frazier vs Ali 1. I’ve watched a tremendous amount of boxing through the years. I think that Bud is the most talented boxer ever. I know you know Bud’s intangible, but here’s the list as I see them.1. Switch hitter, power in both hands 2. Lateral movement, good feet 3. Fight off the bounce 4. Fight off the front foot 5. Fight off the back foot 6. High IQ, cerebral 7. Inside game 8. Excellent finisher 9. Good chin 10. Good defense 11. He has never had a close decision.
In my opinion, Bud’s intangibles arguably make him the most talented fighter ever and possibly the 2nd most remarkable 147, historically behind Ray Robinson. Bud has stopped every 147 boxer that he’s faced. There are cases for others at 147, including Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker, and possibly Floyd Mayweather, although his best weight class was 130. I’d love to read your perspective. Thanks in advance, and happy new year!
Meredith Miller – Orlando, Florida
Bread’s Response: You think Bud is the most talented fighter ever. He sure looked the part vs Errol Spence.
Here is my description of Bud. He has neat talent and athleticism. His speed doesn’t jump off the screen at you like Ray Leonard’s, but you look up and he’s always the faster fighter. His power doesn’t jump off the screen like Beterbiev’s but he always seems to hurt everyone. He just as good in either stance so it’s nothing to nitpick there. His defense is solid. It’s not spectacular like Whitaker’s or Mayweather’s but his counter punching ability and IQ are spectacular so that helps his defense.
I’ve seen him literally fight every single style and employ every tactic to win fights. He’s led and been a killer like he did vs Lundy. He’s boxed like he did vs Prescott and Postol. He’s counter punched like he did vs Brook. He used a devastating jab like he did vs Spence. And he’s brutal to the body with everyone.
Bud is one of the top 5-10 most well-rounded fighters I have ever seen. He’s on Leonard’s and Sanchez’s level in terms of being a boxer with a nasty ko thirst to him. I don’t rate him as the 2nd best welterweight ever. But I do think he’s a top 10 Junior Welterweight and he’s ascending at welterweight. But 147 is such a historically great division he’s not quite top 2 yet for me. I would have to research forensically to tell you exactly where but I’m pretty comfortable saying not top 2 yet.
He has a strong case for top 10 and that’s high because welterweight is history’s greatest division in my opinion. There isn’t a division in history where the top 3 fighters are as highly regarded as Robinson, Armstrong and Leonard. Overall I say Bud has a case for being the best switch hitter ever. The best fighter of the post May/Pac era. A top 10 fighter at 140 and 147. Firmly within the top 100 ever which makes him an ATG. And a leading candidate for Fighter of the Decade of the 2020’s.
Hope the holidays are treating you proper, Bread Many are claiming they knew NOW but I’ve never been huge on Wilder. My experience as a teenager in the 70’s and a 30-plus year military veteran (includes modest boxing experience in overseas smokers) has shown me that loud men are not to be feared. Men that threaten over the top (bring a pillow to the ring?) are trying to talk their way to victory, silent men with “kill” in their eyes are more menacing and threatening. I get it though…it sells fights. So it’s no huge shock that Wilder lost, his best win was a 40-year-old Ortiz. Defeat and pain show a man’s true colors, but I don’t hold Wilder’s post-fight comments of still being a happy, smiling fighter against him – realest thing I’ve ever heard him say. “Real” deserves respect. Seems that becoming rich and famous is difficult though. Does becoming champion really make a fighter “better”? Or does the hype take a fighter off their grind? There’s a life lesson in that too. That’s my first question, sir – how do you, as a trainer, keep successful fighters from believing the hype and stay handling business? Also, if Wilder was Fury’s best win, what does his domination do to Fury’s legacy, which was thin to begin with? Finally, if Wilder continues, what would be your opinion on a move to cruiserweight for an immediate championship fight?
Respectfully, VINCENT HOWARD
Command Chief Master Sergeant (USAF, ret)
Bread’s Response: I don’t believe that being a champion makes any fighter better. I believe being a champion makes great fighters become better. Others get spoiled. Others are simply not good enough to beat the competition when everyone is gunning for them.
I TRY to keep fighters grounded by simply telling them the truth. It’s harder to DEFEND belts than it is to win them. I also explain to them that they have to keep getting better because flaws show up on video and the bigger you become the more trainers study you.
I don’t want to devalue Fury’s wins over Wilder. In my opinion beating one of the best heavyweights of your era in a memorable trilogy is a worthy accomplishment.
I think Fury hurts his legacy on his own with his antics and fight schedule. Beating Wilder is the best thing about his legacy.
Wilder is 37. He already has very skinny legs. We watched him go from 219 when he won the title. To 212 in the 1st Fury fight. To 231lbs in the Fury rematch. To 238lbs in the 3rd fight. To 213lbs vs Parker. I don’t know if I have ever seen a heavyweight fluctuate weight so much. I wouldn’t suggest moving down to 200lbs at this stage of his career his legs already seem shaky so losing another 13lbs may hurt him.
On top of that Jai Opetai is at Cruiserweight and I don’t know if you want to lose weight in your late 30s and mess with him. That kid can GO!!!
Hi Mr Edwards!
I hope you had the greatest and safest festive season. What do you think of Wilder’s performance against Parker?? For me Parker is a good boxer and I think everyone overlooked him while Wilder doesn’t possess any danger except for the bomb right hand, if any fighter can avoid that the whole night he’s getting the decision, but props to Parker for the win, and what’s next for him? I have been re-watching Spence vs Crawford both the whole fight and their all access epilogue, Crawford had so much respect for Spence and he was totally locked in from camp up until fight night, he knew that the fight meant everything to him, even during the his post-fight interview he said it’s all about whom he took the belts from, I don’t know if Crawford can pull off another great performance like that unless he’s fighting Boots or Canelo because I see him giving those guys the same respect he had for Spence in the first fight. The biggest mistake for Team Spence was their thought Crawford was just a normal fight and their decided to do the same routine in camp and during the fight. If the rematch happens we gonna see one of the greatest fights of this decade because Spence now knows what he’s up against. What do you think of Josh Taylor vs Haney and which fights must be made during the first half of the upcoming year for Boots, Plant, Canelo, Benavidez, Joshua, Tank, and Shakur
Bread’s Response: I was honestly shocked Wilder lost to Parker. I thought Parker had seen better days and Wilder would clip him. But props to Parker he did a great job.
I realized something after the fight. Wilder is often compared to Tommy Hearns because of their body types and right hands. Emanuel Steward used to say that Hearns had trouble with swarming fighters. Sugar Hill is Steward’s nephew and the trainer of Tyson Fury. Andy Lee is Joseph Parker’s trainer and he was once trained by Steward. I now see a direct connection to WHY they fight Wilder the way they do. Emanuel Steward is the GOAT. His teachings are still evident.
Parker will make BIG money in his next fight no matter who it’s against. He’s always taken tough fights so I expect him to take another one.
Very rarely in history have fighters fought perfect back to back fights. Very rarely. For example look at Salvador Sanchez’s next performance after he defeated Wilfredo Gomez. It was a Split Decision win vs Pat Cowdell. Sanchez was a little off that night.
Monster Inoue just fought after his perfect fight vs Stephen Fulton. He won in impressive fashion but he was a little off. You guys know how great I think Crawford is. But I don’t expect him to perfect in back to back fights. That’s like expecting Michael Jordan to get his career high in back to back games vs the best team he’s ever faced. Expecting these type of performances over and over are not fair to the fighters.
When Tyson Fury signed off on the 3rd fight vs Wilder. I told everyone who would listen that Fury was perfect in the 2nd fight and no way he would be THAT good again. He almost lost the 3rd fight. So if Crawford vs Spence II happens. Obviously Crawford will be the favorite. But I don’t expect him to look EXACTLY like he did in their 1st fight. Let’s see what happens.
I think Haney beats Taylor. Haney has Taylor’s old coaches in Ben Davidson and Lee Wylie on his team. He would have too many advantages over Taylor at this point. Youth, momentum, natural talent and now competitive advantage because of the corners.
Boots needs a top 5 type of fighter to showcase his skills, maybe Stanius. The big names will come but he needs to stay in the public’s eye.
Plant needs a fight in the first quarter of the year. It doesn’t have to big a mega fight. But it should be a solid fight vs a name opponent.
Canelo will fight Jermall Charlo or Jaime Munguia on Cinco De Mayo. He’s the BOSS he can do whatever he wants.
Benavidez doesn’t need Morrell but if he took him that would be insane. And I love insanity.
AJ should fight Deontay Wilder.
Tank can fight Frank Martin.
Shakur can fight Raymond Muratalla.
Bread,
Have you ever had the opportunity to go back and score Lomachenko v. Haney with pen and paper? What an absolute travesty of boxing Watching it live I felt like 8-4, scoring it now at 9-3 is depressing. Competitive and beautiful boxing, but not close. Kellerman had it right. The 10th and 11th rounds were abusive. Beautiful but abusive. Do you legitimately see a “tossup” that maybe Haney actually won? For me it was less close than Golovkin v. Canelo 1, which was a comparable robbery. Secondly, have you ever trained a Heavyweight? How are the nuances different than training a smaller man? Besides not having to make weight I suppose you must be much more careful in how you handle a big body – the wear and tear of the knees and back etc must pile up and mitigating that is the art?
Merry Christmas, Don in Houston
Bread’s Response: I watched it again but I didn’t score it. It was close. I think Lomachenko won his rounds by a bigger margin than Haney won his rounds but it’s still a 10-9 round. I was very impressed with both fighters. More people that I know think Loma won. But my eyes still tell me it was a drawish type of fight and I stand on that.
I’ve been around some very fit heavyweights in Bryant Jennings, Tony Yoka and Steve Cunningham. But I didn’t train them. I finally trained a heavyweight about 2 years ago and I knew their endurance and work loads were less than smaller fighters but the heavyweight I trained work load was lower than I expected. Even after I cut the load by about 25% I found it difficult for him. On top of that he had asthma and he needed an inhaler. This is not a criticism it’s just what it was.
For context, He was in his mid 30s, he had over 20 fights and he had been through multiple trainers. It wasn’t a bad experience because you learn from everything if you’re wise. Ideally I would like to train an athletic, mean heavyweight who is very young. Maybe a teenager. Someone closer to 220 than to 250. That way I would have a blank canvas to work on and not have a guy so set in his ways.
Boxing is a cardio sport and men over 250lbs don’t usually have elite cardio. So that’s the dilemma training a big guy. Hence why Usyk is so successful at heavyweight. Hence why Ali is the best ever. Hence why Holyfield could fight guys 250lbs at 210lbs. Because the bigger guys simply can’t keep up. Hence why Jai Opetai would chew up 90% of these heavweights.
Heavyweights don’t need the punch variation that smaller guys do. So they don’t throw usually more than 3 punch combinations. They also can use their arms as their defense and they don’t have to slip and duck as much. So the pad work is much more simple. The biggest issue is finding quality sparring.
Overall I would like another crack at a heavyweight but it would have to be the right guy. I would also put him through a fitness test before I decided to work with him.
There is definitely a wear and tear on the knees. The heavyweight I trained told me he hated running distance. But he didn’t mind swimming. I was flexible and told him we would sprint and do some 300M and 400M and not do the traditional 4-6 miles. I didn’t mind him swimming but you don’t fight in the water, you fight on your feet in the ring and not running at all is an issue for me. So you have to look out for that also.
Dear Bread,
Some quick questions following the event in Riyadh: 1) Can Dubois ever win a world title or is he simply not at that level? 2) You have said in the past that Joshua is on the verge of the Hall of Fame. Do you think beating a tricky Wallin so conclusively pulls him over the line? If not, what more would he need to do? 3) If both retired now, who out of Joshua and Wilder would have had the better career? 4) Has Wilder lost his edge? Either physically (he’s 38) or psychologically (he used to have an anger about him that seems to have gone now)?5) If Fury showed the world how to use a size advantage to beat Wilder, Parker has now created a blueprint of how to beat him when being the shorter man. He kept his head moving in the mid-range and so didn’t allow Wilder to line up his killer shot. Then he smothered Wilder on his way up close and fired off big looping shots to make contact. Credit must go to Andy Lee. How can Wilder get round this if there’s a rematch? Many thanks for all your continued insight.
Ed, UK
Bread’s Response: 1. Yes
2. The top 2 heavyweights of every era are HOF. Often times the top 3. AJ has a shot to go in right now but one or two more nice wins he’s in. It doesn’t mean he’s an ATG but HOF worthy is at his finger tips right now.
3. Joshua. Wilder needs to beat Joshua head to head or at least beat someone who beat Joshua. Wilder hasn’t done either as of yet.
4. It seems that way but before we rush to judgment let’s see his next fight.
5. Wilder has to keep it simple. Get a better jab to break Parker’s forward momentum and most importantly keep himself in POSITION to land his right hand. Wilder doesn’t have a Joe Louis right hand where he can ko you from a short distance. His right hand comes from an exclusive long distance for the most part. He needs to put himself in THAT position as often as possible and not worry about the critics who say he can’t BOX. Because being able to WIN is more important than being able to box. He tried to prove he could BOX and now those critics are killing him even more.
Sup Bread,
Writing after the Day of Reckoning and the parity in the heavyweight division is crazy. When I look at the big 4 of Fury, Usyk, AJ, and Wilder I see lots of parity and vulnerability against each other so I’m curious how you rank them. It appears that Fury has Wilder’s card and Usyk has AJ’s. But after tonight’s event, how do you feel about Usyk/Wilder and AJ/Wilder?How do you rank those four right after Day of Reckoning? Is the winner of Fury/Usyk number 1 of this generation of heavyweights (post Wlad)? It’s clear AJ has some legs left and can elevate his status but humor me.Lastly, how did you feel about Wilder’s gameplan against Parker? I can’t figure out why a guy with an all-time first step and all-time right hand was moving around so damn much…establish the jab, throw it off the step and land that right hand. Keep him honest with your hook and keep it pushing, no? Feels like Malik reinvented the wheel a little bit.Thanks Bread,Marcus from Roc–Master of Science – Business AdministrationSimon Graduate School of Business 2011University of Rochester
Bread’s Response: I rank Usyk as the best of the 4 overall but at heavyweight, I say 1. Fury 2. Usyk 3. AJ 4. Wilder. Let’s see what happens when Fury fights Usyk.
I don’t want to criticize Malik Scott because I know how hard it is to tell a man what to do, who has to pay you. In no other sport is this dynamic true except boxing. I also don’t know what they worked on in camp. So I want to be fair to Malik.
What I will say is Wilder’s tactics were counterproductive. He was moving side to side and Parker’s instincts let him know it was safe to attack. Wilder doesn’t punch well going side to side. He also doesn’t have a good left hook. And his right hand for as hard as it is, is a leverage right hand. He needs ROOM to build the momentum of it, similar to the one he hit Brezeale with.
I think the critics got to Deontay. They criticized him so much about his lack of boxing ability, he tried to show them he could box. It’s why I tell fighters to stay off of social media but it’s almost impossible. But I try.
If Wilder was an NFL running back he would be Jim Brown. A simple but effective North and South runner. But against Parker he tried to be Barry Sanders and it didn’t go well for him.
I think accepting what you are as a fighter is humbling because everyone wants to get better. You can get better, but you can’t change your foundation. Wilder is a fast, 1-2 puncher with a quick 1st step. It’s actually a compliment to be so successful with such a simplistic approach.
I’ve always respected and praised Wilder and I never bought the notion he needed to change drastically. Everyone says he needs a better hook. But a hook is not an easy punch to learn when you haven’t developed one this late in your career, especially when you’re built like Wilder. If he tries to hook the wrong way, it would come off gangly and a shorter hook is going to ko him.
I think a SLAP hook not meant to hurt anyone but to steer them back into to the right hand would be more welcomed by Wilder.
A straight right hand to the flank would be the real punch I would add because fighters are now slipping UNDER his big ko right hand to the head.
Other than that, just keep him off of the ropes and in punching position. Wilder has only lost 3 fights in 15 years. He’s a solid fighter. He has his flaws but he doesn’t need a complete overhaul. Last but not least. Just keep him MEAN. Being mean and truly spiteful as a ko artist is very important.
By your comments I can assume you aren’t 50 years old yet. But your wisdom is beyond reproach. In your interviews you’re careful what you say. You haven’t commented on Jermell Charlo’s domestic situation. You actually never comment on fighter’s personal issues like other media. Your call on Dubois over Miller was on point. I thought Miller was going to walk him down until I heard your prediction. Again very wise. Dubois has been fighting real fights against the likes of Joyce and Usyk and Miller has been inactive and he’s over 300 pounds and he’s a volume fighter. Great call. I didn’t win money but I surely didn’t lose any.My question to you is about religion in boxing. Do you think it matters? And what are your thoughts on Gervonta Davis converting to Islam? I’ve heard several jokes saying that his momma named him Gervonta so they’re going to call him Gervonta. I’m not sure how I feel about that, if he hasn’t legally changed his name. Do you have an opinion on that either way?
Bread’s Response: You know I learned that I don’t need to have or be the first to express my opinion. My opinion just my opinion. Some people think too much of themselves and they feel like their opinion is the absolute truth and it’s not. In my 20s I could be stupid and I would say things that I didn’t have to say. I’m sure I hurt some people with my words and my views. So I’ve been more careful as I’ve gotten older. It’s just evolving, nothing more and nothing less.
As for religion, My grandfather who was in the Korean War, once told me that there are no atheist in foxholes. He told me under enough duress you will find something to pray to. It always stuck with me.
Later in life I told the same thing to a young fighter who was in search of spiritual guidance. I don’t talk about religion often but I do believe in God. In my opinion religion is private. And it’s just not something I’m comfortable overly talking about publicly but again I definitely believe in God.
What I will say about Gervonta Davis is I’m happy for him. Finding religion is a good thing. It’s definitely not something to joke about. And whatever he wants people to call him I will call him that. I haven’t heard or read anything where he states that he wants to be called his new Islamic name. But if he says it, I will respect it. Ignorant people made jokes about his name but they don’t understand that all Muslims get attributes. It doesn’t mean they’re legally changing their name although some do. But even if he didn’t legally change his name, I would call him whatever he wanted to be called.
I don’t know why that’s an issue for some people. Other than that I don’t have much to say. His religion is his business and we should all respect it. You never play with a man about his religion, his children, his mother or his money.
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