The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards tackling topics such as the ongoing debate regarding the outcome of Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson, Ryan Garcia heading to trainer Derrick James, and more.
Ssup Bread,
What do you think should be the logical next step for Haney and Loma? I wanted Haney to win and think he is a nice kid who just had a lot of pent-up anger due to how he was treated and that kinda vented out during the pre-fight phase. Unfortunate as it might be but people have turned him into a heel. i think he should just embrace it like Mayweather did help it to propel him into stardom. Loma should move down to 130. He can’t repeat that performance again. He just has to try too hard at this stage and I do not see him preforming this well in the rematch (if it does happen). He for sure won’t be able to beat Shakur and Tank will not take that fight, given his risk averse nature. I don’t think he is beating Zepeda either at this stage. He should try to be undisputed at 130.If you were managing both of them, what next steps would you ask them to take?
Regards, Saurabh
Bread’s Response: Next for Haney. I would suspect a move to 140lbs. I assume that making 135lbs has taken it’s toll and you don’t want to keep pushing the envelope. I suspect that was too close of a call to keep trying make the weight and I suspect he felt it somewhat. Devin seems like a fighter who doesn’t care who he fights. I can see him going after the Taylor vs Lopez winner right away.
But Bill Haney is smart. He knows there is value in Undisputed Champion so I don’t expect him to rush to vacate.
Everyone says Loma needs to move down in weight but he hasn’t made 130lbs in 6 years. Who knows how he will feel at 130lbs at this point. If he fights Shakur I think he loses again. Shakur is special, in his prime and I don’t think Loma will get UP again like he was for Devin. Loma has to tread carefully because if he cares about his record it could get littered with losses very soon.
Breadman—I recently saw an Instagram post with Pernell Whitaker’s masterful defense featured. I used to enjoy watching Sweet Pea fight, but the footage connected me to some of his best footage, whereas in my mind I remember seeing him in his latter days such as when he lost a close decision to De La Hoya. After I challenged myself to think of 5 fighters in the last 25 years that could be mentioned as having defensive and counter punching skills that could be credibly compared to Whitaker’s. At first I said, no way and then i came up with these 5. Mayweather, Rigondeaux, Shakur Stevenson, Lomanchenko, and Mark Johnson.
Are there 5 people you would mention? I want Devin to win on Saturday, but the way he is talking about the fight in the press, I think he is word to Rudy Tomjanovich, “underestimating the heart of a champion” while also underestimating lomanchenko’s skills and processing ability both of which i rate at the master boxer level. Devin is long, skillful and has an excellent jab, but I don’t think he has proven that he is a master boxer yet. i think he will either prove it on Saturday or get humbled. Loma will have to dig deep and like Ray Leaonard did in the first Hearns fight, i see him stalking the longer boxer and walking through fire like he had to against Linares. what is your prediction?
Loma seems to hate being held or clinched and has a weird method of snatching out his arms. Who fights through and wins the battle of infighting will be the fight within the fight. with that said i think infighting and working out of clinches are a lost art. I think Mayweather, Andre ward, b-hop, James toney and Evander Holyfield were some of the best in the last 25 years and Stephen Fulton is one of the best today, why is this a lost art and who are the top 5 infighters today?
Billy Bomaye
Bread’s Response: The 5 best defensive fighters/counter puncher of the last 25 years so since 1998…. I agree with you. Mayweather, Rigondeaux, Stevenson, Lomachenko and Too Sharp. I would put James Toney in that also…
Ok I’m thinking off the top of the my head I think you’re right. Grappling and fighting on the INSIDE. Mayweather, Ward, Bhop, Toney and Holyfield. I think agree again but Whitaker and Fenech are in the argument. But maybe that’s more than 25 years…
Stephen Fulton has the GRAPPLE game down pact. He’s going to be on the list soon enough.
Hey Bread,
I hope we can talk in absolute transparency and without biases. First off, Haney did amazing. Solidified his world class status. Very impressive and mature performance. But he didn’t win. The point goes beyond. The point is, there was a narrative. Loma was too small and too old, and historically, baring a Duran performance, he was going to be outclassed. Yet he wasn’t. He actually, in truth, put a masterful performance. One for the ages. And his moment was stolen. Yes, the fight was competitive and close. A lot of swing rounds. Yet, internally, wether it’s from fighters, fans, analysts or the press, there is an overwhelming majority, close to 90%, thinking he won. I know you picked Haney, but regardless of the judges, and Moreti, were you impressed by this level of performance from Loma? The tragedy here is that we knew. We all saw Loma upsetting Haney, yet none of them thought the judges would give him the fight. Let’s address this Bread. Eastern European fighters often get screwed in the US, especially Vegas. It becomes systematic. No the fight was not a robbery. But it is reminiscent of GGG Canelo. Kovalev Ward 1.
Anyways. I hope you won’t fight this overwhelming feeling from the world because of your pick or personal taste. Loma in fact pulled the performance you were calling. And he would have entered history, so would have GGG and Kovalev were they not robbed. If a fight is competitive but the entire world sees it going one way, there is some truth somewhere. Again, congrats to Haney, excellent fight and not a robbery per say. But when you see round 10 scored for Haney by a judge, a round that could have been a 10/8, you know they score without watching. Even the crowd was going crazy. There is no way to give it to Haney. Yet it happened. It’s like Canelo GGG again. But it feels wrong. Loma pulled a historic performance. And he won’t be able to operate at this level. And despite Haney being undisputed, I don’t know anyone who sees him above number 3 or 4, Shakur, now Loma, maybe Tank, above. And don’t think he plays with Taylor, Teo, Prograis, Russel, at 140. Love the kid but he is not the world’s best 135. And Loma should have been, before retiring. Ps: he f—– up in the 12. But even winning it he would have had a majority draw.
Cheers, Hugo–Hugo Diego Garcia
Bread’s Response: I was impressed by both fighters and if Loma would have won I wouldn’t be upset. It was a very close fight. I know more people think Loma won and that’s fine. My opinion was I didn’t know who won. I would die on that hill. It was a tough fight for me to call.
It’s not that I picked Haney. A pick can be right or wrong. I’m not bragging that I got it right. I just couldn’t call some of the close rounds and I wasn’t scoring the fight I was enjoying it. By naked eye again it was too close to call.
I also think you’re underestimating Haney. I think he’s going to improve because of this fight. I also think he’s very determined and ambitious. Because of this I don’t count him out at 140lbs.
Hey Mr Edwards,
Firstly, thank you for your update in the last mailbag regarding Richie Sandoval. I really think he could have gone on to have a Hall of Fame career but it turned out the way it did. I think since I took you up on your challenge to call fights before and not after when I initially wrote to your mailbag, I’ve done reasonably well with my predictions. I saw a troll once say I’m trying to get on your good side but I must say my knowledge of the sport and the ability to break down fights have increased tremendously since I read your mailbag and trolls can go jump. I think I was spot on with Loma -Haney. I said Haney would win a close and controversial decision and would likely get off the floor to do it. Well, he didn’t go down but Loma had him in a spot of bother in the 11th round.Here’s my question. Did Haney make things difficult for himself by boasting how dominant he was going to be?
And does that now have something to do with people saying Loma was robbed? I’m struggling with medication now and often fall asleep watching the fight (which has had repeat airings in my country), but everytime I’ve watched, I believe Haney won a close decision. I don’t agree with the other score card but 115-113 is just about right. I also think the other judge should have scored it that way for Haney so that it’s a close but unanimous decision. Haney did some good body work in there, something I did not think he can do, and I think it swung it for him.It was not even a split decision because Loma did not do enough in my book to earn one of those 115-113 scores but what he did prove is that a year or two ago, he probably hurts and stops Haney late. Finally, I don’t know about Haney. I’m not really big on him as you saw in my last write in and I think Tank Davis annihilates, let alone beat him.
Shakur probably boxes his ears off. He struggles with weight too much at 135 but I don’t think he has enough power at 140. Regis Prograis, Teofimo Lopez, Josh Taylor, Jose Luis Ramirez, these guys will just walk right through him at 140. I have a funny feeling his career is going nowhere but fortunately he seems to have made a lot of money. Am I overreacting?I think Loma should bring down the curtain on his brilliant HOF career. He’s clearly no longer the same and those people who think he could be dominant by dropping to 130 are nostalgic. Navarette, Cordina, Garcia and Foster are not jokes and I don’t think there’s enough money in those fights for Loma to risk his health and legacy. What do you think?Finally, you overlooked my mythical match up of the Monster and Orlando Canizales last time. I’m also interested to find out if you believe Ezzard Charles beats Archie Moore at light heavyweight. Keep punching, Mr Edwards
Bread’s Response: I actually think Canizales would give Inoue fits. Canizales is very durable, he’s smooth and calm. He would need all of that against the dynamic Inoue.
I know what Inoue is. I think they would have to fight 3x. Most would pick the Monster. But Canizales never received his just due and by the time he got on HBO he was past his best. I’m not making excuses for him. But I saw Canizales early in his reign at 118lbs before he moved up to 122lbs and he was every bit as good as Inoue.
You seem like a smart guy but I have to correct you. One person can’t view a fight as a split decision. A fight becomes a split decision when two people see the fight one way and the third person sees it the opposite. So one person just sees a close fight not a split decision.
I sort of agree about Loma retiring. I don’t want to see him get too many losses. He seems to have too many critics and they talk about is record WITHOUT context. The guy is 13-3 in title fights throughout 3 divisions. His title record is actually better than guys like say Juan Manuel Marquez who’s an ATG.
Ezzard Charles beat a prime Archie Moore 3 out of 3 times and stopped him once. For years Moore was considered the greater fighter. Charles who was younger, had a bad career slide after he was kod by Joe Walcott. So Moore lasted longer as an elite fighter. But prime for prime and head to head Charles was a little better. Over the last 20 years or so, I guess historians realized Charles was better.
Hey Bread. . .Love your take on all things boxing. Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts with the boxing community. You mentioned something in last weeks article that caught my curiosity. To paraphrase, “Canelo ducking Benevidez” doesn’t take a lot away from his overall legacy.” Along those lines, are there some specific fights that did not happen that would change any of your ATG rankings if they did? I stumbled upon an article that listed the top 10 fights that never happened. I wont list them all but rather the ones that intrigue me the most. Who do you think would win and would the win move the winner up on your list of ATG’s? Sugar Ray vs Pryor. Bowe vs Lewis, Floyd vs. Margo, Duran vs Arguello, Eric Morales vs JMM. Lastly. . If you were the boxing commissioner and had full control of setting match ups. . .What are some fights you would set for the remainder of the year?
Thanks.
Big Sips
Bread’s Response: I would set Usyk vs Fury, Tank vs Devin, Matias vs Russell, Canelo vs Benavidez and Beterbiev vs Bivol.
Ray Leonard by decapitation. It would have been a great win but you have to remember the times. Pryor became a big star after the Arguello fight in November of 1982. If he would’ve fought Leonard before that when it was offered to him it would have looked like Leonard was picking on a smaller fighter. In his interview after his fight with Lenox Blackmore on youtube. You can hear Dave Jacobs tell Pryor to NOT mess with Leonard and stick to fighting the little guys. Jacobs used to train Leonard. He knew.
Duran, Hearns and Benitez were all more highly regarded than Pryor was in 1980-81. You may say Duran was a small guy too. But he was a legend at 135. He was the #1 P4P fighter in 1980. And he was 8-0 at welterweight and beat HOF Carlos Palomino in the lead up to the Leonard fight. Duran was also the #1 WBC mandatory. Pryor never moved up and established himself at 147. Great fighter, but the myth has been accentuated in this era to justify ducking.
There was NO duck of Aaron Pryor by Ray Leonard.
Bowe vs Lewis is tough for me. I thought in 1992 Bowe was a little more advanced. But Lewis turned out to be the greater fighter. He beat him in the amateurs and he WANTED the fight. I say Bowe’s window to beat Lewis was smaller than Lewis’s window to beat him. The timing of this fight would determine winner.
I think Floyd would have edged Margarito but because of the struggle vs Castillo in 2002 at 135lbs and Margarito’s size at 147lbs and killer attitude would have been intriguing.. Again timing is an issue. Margarito from 2005-08 was a SAVAGE. He would have been a hard night’s work but I favor Floyd. I think Floyd’s stab to the belly button would have been key.
Duran was a little too big and had too much physicality for Arguello. Arguello is a good size 130 at his peak. Duran is a big 135 who was able to fight middleweights. Arguello couldn’t do much past 135. Although they fought at similar weights, there is a size difference. When the bigger man, is faster, more dynamic, more athletic, faster and equally or more skilled it’s tough to overcome. I say Duran wins in a brutal shootout. Arguello may be the best puncher in history 135 and below. But Duran is too much.
Morales vs Marquez most would pick Marquez because of his success over 135 and how well he fought Pac. But Morales was considered better for a large chunk of his career. He won a title earlier, despite being younger. Marquez also fought Pac great but he came back down to earth vs other fighters and struggled somewhat with his other elite opponents. Today I say Marquez edges it but it’s close.
Anytime you beat an elite opponent it enhances the legacy. All of these fights would enhance the winner’s legacy’s.
Good day Bread, I’ve said this before, but I despise mythical matches because guys always pick some fighter from 100 years ago to face a fighter today instead of more realistic matches that we didn’t get. I’ve heard two schools of thought: 1. The fighters of yesteryear are more advanced, tougher, more active etc. 2. They can’t beat today’s fighters due to modern science & medicine. What is your take?. I don’t like Ryan Garcia going to Derrick James. He has too many high profile fighters now and someone is bound to suffer from a time perspective, plus I never liked Mexican fighters being trained by Black coaches and vice versa, not because of race, but because of style and attribute differences. However there are cultural differences and subtleties where as you can tell a black fighter something and they get it, like an unspoken language, but it goes both ways for Latin/European fighters though as well. Lastly I see Terence Crawford kids do track and so do yours. Do you think kids of athletes are more likely to succeed because of genetics or coaching/expectations from there parents. Which plays a bigger factor? Lastly can you name some boxers who were better then their Fathers that fought?
Bread’s Response: Many fighters have been better than their fathers. Have you ever heard of Floyd Mayweather? Felix Trinidad? Cory Spinks?
I don’t like comparing eras but if I am forced to I used common sense. If you don’t use common sense or apply context than you’re purposely being bias. If you want a modern fighter to beat an old school fighter it’s easy to make either case because that’s what you want or vice versa. But you’re objective you use common sense.
I think today’s fighters are more athletic because they have privy to modern exercise, diet and recovery. They also can be larger and make smaller weights. I think old school fighters are smoother, have more skill and they are better late round fighters. The emphasis today is on athleticism. The emphasis back in the day was being good. I believe a truly great fighter would be great in any era. No one can help when they’re born but great athletes adjust.
Rocky Marciano is often looked at as too small for face say Tyson Fury. But in context Marciano would be a Cruiserweight or Light heavyweight in this era and era for era he was better. Common Sense.
I personally would love to train a Mexican fighter. Someone like a Salvador Sanchez, Ricardo Lopez or even Juan Manuel Marquez. I hear what you’re saying. And I have heard even black coaches say it. But I don’t adhere to that. It may have some truth in certain cases but I believe I could train any race of fighters as long as we had chemistry. I’m sure I could because I would be able to tell the other race why he’s having fits with certain things. It’s not something that people talk about openly but it’s a real thing in boxing. It’s why you often see the trainer and fighter being the same race.
I think Derrick James is the truth as a coach. And if he doesn’t work with Ryan Garcia it will be because of Ryan not him and nothing to do with race. Derrick is from Dallas, so I’m sure he’s seen hundreds of Mexican fighters. Ryan has a unique, talented skill set. That won’t be an issue for Derrick.
As far the size of his stable, that can be an issue that they will have to manage that. But Derrick only has Spence, Charlo, Martin, Joshua and Garcia as far as top fighters. Garcia can spar Spence and Martin he’s right between both of them in weight. Garcia just lost to a black fighter who was a southpaw. Derrick has two excellent black southpaws. Come on man! You’re being cynical. This can work if Ryan allows himself to be trained.
Genetics play a big part in athletes obviously. But after the genetic advantages, you need resources, coaching, parenting and discipline. I think athletic parents who can afford to pay for the resources give their kids the most advantages. My kids run track because running is the basis of all conditioning. I don’t force them to run but I coach them to run if that makes sense. My kids are always the most conditioned kids when they play other sports because of the conditioning from running. Track is not my son’s #1 sport. But it happens to be my daughter’s #1 sport.
Yes you’re about the 10th person who has told me about Crawford’s kids. I see his daughter is very fast, I think she may be younger than my daughter who is 12. Terence is smart. He knows how important conditioning is. He’s giving his kids a built in advantage very early. The main thing a parent can’t be is LAZY. You have to be dedicated to getting your kids better in whatever they do. They can have all the genetics in the world but if they aren’t taught to work hard and smart then it won’t matter once the competition steps up.
Hey Bread,
Narrative is powerful. Sadly, Loma was robbed tonight. In a competitive fight where nobody will complain. But he won. All the press and commentators had it a draw or a Loma win. Outlanded, hurt Haney. But Haney put on a great performance. They should have given it to Loma. It was his last chance. The rematch would have probably gone to Haney. Because it was close, people won’t complain as for the Rolly fight. But we all saw what a 35 old rather inactive featherweight did to « the king of the lightweight » tonight. As you said, it’s sad when we recognize patterns. We all saw Loma taking over live. Yet, deep down we knew he was going to get robbed. 8/4 Haney is sad. We are robbing Loma from his Duran comeback.
Best, Diego
Bread’s Response: The thing that I find interesting is celebrities, fellow boxers, the media and fans are far more on Loma’s side. My initial impression was that the fight was razor close. I’m not saying the public is wrong. But I just find it interesting because I literally couldn’t tell who won. I try to take ALL of my feelings out of watching a fight. I watch to appreciate the fighters as a priority.
Dear Stephen,
While I still read with great pleasure your weekly mailbag, it has been quite sometime that I have not written myself. I guess that you will be flooded with messages about the fight Loma vs Haney and so I cannot be sure that my message will be selected. However in case my message does get selected, hereunder are a few points, on which I would like to have your opinion–
1/ the controversy of the result–like many people I have Loma winning the fight by a close margin (I have 115-113 for Loma).What bothers me and which I guess bother many people is not the fact that Haney was given the victory (this was a very close fight and Haney winning 115-113 is not outrageous), but it is the fact that very strangely, the decision was unanimous in favor of the fighter which many thought lost the fight.
On top of same, the fact that the judge Moretti was allowed to judge this fight so close after his ridiculous score of 10-10 in the round 2 of the fight Garcia vs Davis, and that also he scored the round 10 in favor of Haney when this round was a clear Lomachenko round, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. It seemed like Loma had just zero chance to win a close fight, and it made me think of the fight Canelo vs Bivol. When Bivol beat canelo, the majority of people had Bivol winning 118-110 or 117-111 but the 3 judges gave a ridiculous way too tight 115-113…However Bivol was so dominant that the judges finally could not take the victory from him.
I think that for Loma, on Saturday, unfortunately the only way to win was to be as dominant as Bivol was against Canelo and that otherwise he had absolutely no chance of winning the fight…What is your view on that ? and who do you think won the fight on Saturday?
2/ Loma and the atg status–On your last mailbag, you said that if Loma, who was the clear underdog for fighting the champion much bigger than him, and 10 years younger, this would elevate him to atg status. So if you think that he did win the fight despite the judges, surely this should be the case ?Or you were considering that only a very dominant victory would have elevated Loma to this atg status and that the fight last Saturday was too close for you to consider that Loma is now an atg ?
3/ the judge Moretti issue–Like you on the fight Garcia vs Davis I scored the second round 10-8 for Davis. 100 pct of the people with whom I discussed the fight scored the second round 10-8 in favour of Davis.
As such, this was quite a surprise that 2 judges scored this round 10-9, but ok lets give them the benefit of the doubt and admit that a judge could consider that Garcia was dominant enough before the knockdown to only lose 10-9 (even if i dont agree at all…)But then what about the 10-10 from moretti ??? – there can be no other explanation that, either this man is totally incompetent or corrupted as it is just impossible for any sensible person to put 10-10 for that round…One would have expected that this judge would be serioulsly questionned about that scoring and that he would not be allowed to judge anymore for quite sometime…But guess what, irrespetive of that, the guy is nominated for one of the biggest fights of 2023 just one month after the previous fight…Sorry but i can only see one explanation why he was nominated, and that is that people who have nominated him, knew that they could rely on him to score according to their wishes…What is your views on that ?
What is really depressing is that both Haney and Loma delivered a high quality fight, but that at the end people are only left with the feeling that once more the boxing world is totally corrupted, and that unfortunately this will always be the case, and that nobody can do anything about same. I even feel sorry for Haney who did well, and which do not deserve to be blamed for something on which he had no control. In case that my message is selected, I look forward to your kind reply.
All the best
Chris from France
Bread’s Response: I feel both Devin and Loma. I feel for Loma because I think that was his last hurrah. I don’t believe he will be able to get up for another effort like that. I suspect Loma will end his career with less than 20 wins and more than 3 losses which will cause moron critics to discredit his career.
I feel for Haney because he fought his butt off and he’s not a judge. He EARNED his case for winning the fight but everyone is focusing on the 10th round. I didn’t like the feeling of the 10-10 second round in Davis vs Garcia. I didn’t like the feeling of the 10th round being scored for Devin. And I didn’t like the same judge being responsible. If you remember scenario happened in Pacquiao losing to Bradley in their 1st fight and Mayweather vs Canelo. Boxing has to be very careful assigning judges at this point…
I consider Loma a HOF. I consider him an ATG fighter at 130lbs. I believe firmly he’s one of the ten best fighters of that specific division. I’m not sure if he’s an ATG overall. I wouldn’t argue either way to be honest. He’s on the CUSP. A victory over Haney would have solidified it.
I can’t recall a fight where one of your guys had received a decision which was perceived as a robbery, so this may not be something that you have personal experience of, but I am sure you have some insights. How do you think the fallout affects the winner (or the guy who got gifted the decision)? Now I don’t think Haney was gifted that fight. I think it was razor close and for me Loma won 7-5. No robbery, and if Dave Moretti’s card wasn’t so flawed (R10 – DEAR GOD!), I think the outcry would be much lesser than it is. No way should Haney get any blowback, but he will. That’s now the narrative. Especially on social media where people can be brutal and stupid. Devon has probably just put in a career best performance and he’s going to get a load of sh!t of the back of it.
One guy who I think has really struggled is Josh Taylor. Now that was a robbery. Clear Catterall win. Josh has taken it bad. Reacted terribly for me and I think it may contribute to his slide which may have already begun (we’ll see June 10th). He feels victimized, but that victim mentality can go either way – spur you on to better things (canelo vs GGG) or drag you down. If Josh really wanted to put it right, he should have taken the rematch and smashed Catterall to bits. Guess a lot depends on the individual. I can guarantee you Rolly isn’t worried about what ppl think. He’s going to take his luck and ride it out. I have a begrudging respect for his attitude! MM – Zab Judah v Ricky Hatton (both prime 140). Zab should be too skilled, but he wasn’t mentally rock solid could the Ricky who beat Tszyu pressure him to death?
Bread’s Response: You’re correct I have NEVER been on the winning end of a controversial or razor thin outcome. My guys have always had to WIN outright in order for us to get it. I thought Julian Williams beat Vladimir Hernandez. I thought Kyrone Davis beat Anthony Dirrell and Junior Castillo.
I’ve had fights where we won but the scorecards may have been a little wide. I’ve told them the TRUTH that we got a little mercy but never a GIFT. I don’t want anything I haven’t earned. I think the fallouts are tough on the fighters. They aren’t PR reps. And they usually spin it with arrogance. Most can’t say I lost but I was gifted a decision. And I understand that. But the gifts aren’t just for the fighter, it’s for the promotional company who pay the judges a per diem. It’s just bad all the way around. Boxing lacks integrity.
I would have to flip a coin on Judah vs Hatton. I can see Zab running him into something, most likely an uppercut. And I can see Hatton mauling and smothering him.
Gd day Bread from down under. Big fan of your mailbag, your common sense and consistency. As a fan of boxing skills, technical beauty of setting traps, ebbs and flow, psychology and IQ of fighters, I’m deeply troubled by horrible decisions and officiating in the game. It looks like Loma did a wonderful job of negating a very skillful and young Haney and win a close hard fight. Please tell us boxing fans how to handle such atrocious judging in this great sport.
Almost giving up on boxing,
Vince
Bread’s Response: I don’t think the decision was atrocious. At the end before the judges scorecards were announced I didn’t know who won and I thought it would be a draw. I only knew Devin would win when I heard 116-112 because I felt Devin had an early lead and I felt he would get 8 rounds before Loma who I thought lost some early rounds.
I think 115-113 either way or 114-114 would have been justifiable. The issue with this fight is a judge giving Haney the 10th round. Not the decision overall.
Great prediction on Haney vs Lomachenko. I saw your tweet saying that Loma may have to work so hard to after being down in the fight that he may run out of steam himself. Well he lost the 12th round. His excuse was he thought he was winning and he didn’t need it. But I think he tried to win it, he was just fatigued because of his output in the 10th and 11th. Real Talk Bread, you need a job with one of the major companies as an advisor or talent scout. I know you having made Spence vs Crawford prediction but I’m dying on your hill when you say Spence is the boxer and Crawford is the puncher. I never thought of that until you said it and it’s exactly how I see the fight now. Spence by decision or Crawford by.
Bread’s Response: Thanks man. Several people have said I need a job with a big company. Well I haven’t been offered one yet. Waiting……I don’t want to get cocky. I may have gotten the prediction right but the fight took me for a loop. Devin threw me off because he was more aggressive than I thought he would be. It worked for him but it also gave Loma a chance to download his rhythm and figure him out. I thought Devin would jab more but props to him for going for it.
Loma simply fought better than I thought he would. I thought he would be competitive but I didn’t think it would be so nip and tuck. I was impressed with both men. Excellent tactical fight.
It’s not so much that I think Crawford punches harder than Spence. It’s just that I see that Errol has been comfortable getting decisions on the big stage. Where as over the last 5 years, Crawford has really pressed for kos and found his groove by scoring beautiful kos. I have no reason to sell this fight. I’m not a part of it. I think we are going to see one of the greatest fights ever.
Why did Loma think he had the fight in the bag and he could take off the 12th? He’s such a privileged, spoiled fighter. I can’t stand it. It was a close fight. I think he may have edged it but to admit to taking off the 12th is just stupid. What are your thoughts on his …..privilege?
Bread’s Response: Ok….I don’t think Loma is privileged. I think he has a superiority complex. He knows he’s special. He’s been made to believe that since he was a kid. But guess what, he is.
He also is not super fluent in English so sometimes things he says get lost.
I also think what he said was not so smart, but it was after a tough fight and again his English is not the best.
I don’t think he took off the 12th round. I think he got tired and Haney got his 2nd wind. Loma went hard in the 10th and 11th. Loma fought for a title in 2nd fight. Let’s be honest 99% of the fighters today would not even take an 8 round fight in their 2nd fight. So yes that was a privilege but that’s different from being privilegED because most of the guys need 3-5 years to build, Loma didn’t need it. Most fighters wouldn’t have went through with fighting Salido after coming in 3+ pounds heavy. So again, that part is not a privilege. That’s Loma thinking his superior. And after getting hit in the nuts all night, he stormed back and almost stopped Salido. Loma is a dog with character.
Then literally with his career on the line he fought Gary Russell in his very next fight on a card where he was the B side. Golden Boy did that show. And that was at a time when Golden Boy was dealing with the PBC. So that’s not a PRIVILEGE. That’s was real work on the opposing promoter’s card. Russell is better than Salido. One fight removed from learning his lesson he went back into the fire. If you remember that was majority decision one judge had it 114-114. Loma won that fight. I won’t say easy but it wasn’t close enough to be a draw.
Then Loma goes on a tear through 3 divisions until Teofimo Lopez derails him at 135. Loma has NEVER received the benefit of a close decision. He’s fought younger, bigger, talented GUNS consistently. Gold Medalist. And need I say it, black talented fighters. Lots of fighters in his position don’t do any of the 3. They don’t talk about it, they just avoid.
Loma may think he’s the man. He may whine when he loses. But he’s not privileged. Privilege is getting to duck Gary Russell, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez and Nicholas Walters. Privilege is getting Salido DQd for the dirty fighting. Privilege is getting the decision vs Haney and Salido and a draw vs Lopez. Again, Loma has lost all of his close fights. He’s a prideful fighter. He’s probably a little conceited. But that dude has taken some real smoke in an era where it’s literally part of the status quo to wait out young guns.
Loma will probably fight Shakur Stevenson next. He’s insane. And trust me fighting Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney back to back at 35 is no privilege. It’s a task that only real fighters take. Privilege is making huge money to take 80/20 fights, so you don’t feel the need to take 50/50 fights or fights where you are the underdog.
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