The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards tackling topics such as Emanuel Navarrete and his recent win over Liam Wilson, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Adrien Broner vs. Michael Williams, Women’s boxing, Rolando Romero, and more.
Hey Bread, hope all is well with you. Good luck with Caleb Plant for the upcoming camp. Question regarding high level boxers you have come across, Do you see common personality traits among the guys at the highest levels? For example are these guys naturally analytical? Any common denominators?
Thanks in advance,
Sean in Ireland
Bread’s Response: I think most elite athletes have an analytical side but I don’t view that as a common denominator. From my experiences training fighters, the elite and best have the ability to utilize and organize their resources the most. I have seen very talented fighters that can’t sustain their success because they don’t do this. I don’t know what it’s called but the very best are willing UTILIZE and ORGANIZE their resources.
Grit is a quality that all successful people need to be successful but you can have all the GRIT in the world. And if you don’t utilize your resources you will just be a gritty fighter with inconsistencies. As I type maybe the common denominator is DISCERNMENT. Discernment allows you to put your judgement in place in terms of your resources.
Navarrete vs Wilson was an absolute thriller, no doubt about that. I think if Wilson stepped on the gas a little bit more, he could’ve gotten Navarrete out of there. Even in the next round, it seemed like Navarrete took the first half of round 5 off because he still needed to recover. Then Wilson had him hurt again at the end of the 6th.Navarrete’s experience came through and he had a smart gameplan as the bout went on. Go to the body of the bigger boxer in Wilson. Towards the end, Navarrete targeted the body hard and I think that was the difference. It made Wilson very fatigued and that’s what got Navarrete the stoppage, which reminded me of his previous bout against Biaz. He scored a KO off of a perfect body shot in that bout. So that’s 2 bouts in a row where Navarrete targeted the body which leads me to my question or questions. How good is Navarrete as a body puncher? Is he one of the best body punchers in boxing today Does that just come with the “Mexican style,” or is that something that comes more naturally to certain boxers? And why don’t more boxers go to the body?
Bread’s Response: Props to Navarrete for showing composure and getting past his moment of distress. But I want to touch on a few things. Wilson got screwed over. I don’t think the referee was corrupt. I think he was just confused. Nevertheless it was his responsibility to maintain a level playing field. He didn’t.
The term is 10 count, is NOT 10 second count. So as long as a person is counting, the 10 count will never be EXACTLY 10 seconds. But the referee took too long and it allowed Navarette to recover. When a fighter spits out his mouthpiece. It’s a simple fix. Deduct an extra point. And do NOT wash the mouthpiece off. Put it back in the fighter’s mouth and make them fight immediately. If the mouthpiece is not within reach, make the fighter fight without it. But don’t take away the advantage that the fighter earned it by scoring the knockdown.
Wilson is already an underdog. It’s already a tough obstacle for him. He may have won that fight if not for the blunder.
Navarrete is an excellent body puncher. I think that’s just his thing. Some fighters are willing to go to the body. Others aren’t. It depends on temperament, body style and skillset.
Like Saad Muhmmad would actually hit Harold Johnson…Really? Watch Harold vs. Paul Andrews on youtube. PERFECT one-punch right hand….
Bread’s Response: When I get questions, I literally have 4 days to answer them. Often times I answer off of the top of my head….
I believe Harold Johnson and Matthew Saad Muhammad hover around the same area as All Time Light heavyweights and great Philadelphia fighters. Johnson had the unfortunate challenge of coming along at the same time as Archie Moore who bested him 4 out of 5 times. But Saad made his bones in a great era at the weight as well. Saad was a huge puncher and one of the most exciting fighters ever. Some will pick Johnson because he was the better boxer and would most likely beat Saad head to head on their best night. But Saad had a better title reign, was more exciting and arguably had a bigger impact on the Philly boxing scene. Saad is the more celebrated fighter in terms of Philly legends. Both deserve mention but I saw Saad fight. Johnson was before my time. So in tough, close call, I went with the fighter who I was more familiar with.
Hello Mr Edwards,
I’ve been reading your column for a few years now and would really appreciate your incite on why most fighters compete at the lowest weight possible. I understand that they need to do so to compete physically with an opponent doing the same but there are clearly downsides. The amount of time in camp used to cut weight rather than harness skills and strategy is the most obvious. Late round stamina is also a factor and the ability to maintain a busy schedule. Could you detail the pros and cons of weight cutting and the percentage benefit or disadvantage of each category to winning a fight?
Many thanks, Dean Hall.
Bread’s Response: To get to the lower weight as possible allows a fighter to be as accomplished in as many weight classes as possible. In direct terms of competition if a fighter finds a way to get down as far as possible in weight and then rehydrate at a functional weight and perform, he’s not going to give that up especially at the beginning of his career when he’s younger and his metabolism is faster.
The downside is fighters try to do it but they misjudge how far they should get down in weight. A fighter will see he’s the same height and has the same reach as another successful fighter and assume they should fight at the same weight. But he doesn’t factor in bone density and genetics. I’ve also seen fighters simply not utilize their resources. They cut massive amounts of weight, without a proper nutritionist or diet and their performances suffer. Last but not least they stay too long at the artificial weight. It lowers the testosterone and it screws up the nervous system. And even when they move up their performances are compromised. I see that fans and media make an issue of this but I have a different perspective.
I feel like that weight cutting separates the level of fighters. If a fighter does this the right way he will be successful. If he stays too long at a weight, then the same things that once benefitted him will now hurt him. When I see weight bullies make excuses about struggling with weight. I always say what about the fights where you had the advantage of being 15lbs-20lbs naturally bigger than your opponents. So it goes both ways. No complaining, no excuses. Just perform.
Adrien Broner is scheduled to fight Michael Williams Jr. this month. This will be the first time Williams is scheduled to go 10 rounds in his career. Williams has only fought a boxer with a winning record one time. He was knocked down half-a-dozen times in four rounds before the referee stopped that fight. Adrien Broner is a former four-division world champion. He is one fight removed from challenging Manny Pacquiao for a world championship. I fear for the safety of Michael Williams Jr. Am I overreacting?
Bread’s Response: I don’t know Michael Williams. I’ve never seen him fight. But here is the thing. Every opponent does not have to be elite in order to be approved by a commission. He just has to be competent. This is a comeback fight for Broner. This is a showcase fight for Broner. Broner has taken some incredibly tough fights in his career. So he’s fighting a showcase fight. This doesn’t really offend me like it does everyone else. If it was being passed off as title fight then I wouldn’t like it. If this was an eliminator and Williams didn’t deserve his ranking, I would have an issue with it. But if this is a Mike Tyson vs Peter McNeely type of fight, I don’t see what the big deal. It allows the star fighter to work off some rust against a showcase opponent. I think you’re overreacting. Plus I think you’re not giving Williams any credit. He’s a man with 2 hands. And Broner is 33 years old. Anything can happen in boxing.
How do you feel about the talk that Women’s boxing is running the game? That the women will fight each other but the men won’t? Is this a real thing or hyperbole?
Bread’s Response: I think Women’s boxing is doing great. I find myself watching the big fights. I’ve recently watched Taylor vs Serrano, Baumgardner vs Mayer and Shields vs Marshall. All great fights between P4P fighters. So the interest in women’s boxing has peaked. But if you start comparing the two sports, then it opens a can of truth. The truth is we shouldn’t be comparing. We should just let the women do their thing and have their moment.
Anytime I hear a comparison of anything without CONTEXT, I can tell it’s coming from a bias POV. The POOL of women’s elite fighters is just so much less than the men’s. It’s the same as in high school when teams get ranked. You have A, AA, AAA and AAAA school depending on the enrollment in the schools. So we all have to be careful with these comparisons. The truth is the women have to take 50/50 fights in order to get paid. The men don’t. This is not an excuse for either but it’s just the truth.
I wish bigger fights in men’s boxing were made. I wish we saw all of the super fights that we yearn for. But I’m not going to try to shame the men by saying the women fight each other and you guys don’t. Because the pool sizes and money are so drastically different, the comparisons are not even apples and oranges. It’s vegan and steak. I don’t want to get to the point where women and men fight each other. I don’t want to get to the point where the year end awards and P4P list are combined. They are two different sports and should be RESPECTED as such.
Have you seen the Rollie’s sparring footage of him getting stopped? Do you think it’s a carry over because of his ko to Tank. The scene in the gym seemed chaotic. Is that normal for a world class fighter to get stopped like that in the gym?
Bread’s Response: Yes I saw it. All I can say is, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. A lot of these fighters like posting and bragging about sparring. Well you can tell from the angle that the person who caught it on video was not hiding. He/she was up on the ring apron. It definitely seemed chaotic in the gym but I don’t know what happened before that. Maybe there was smack talk. Maybe there was a side bet. Who knows. From my experience, Vegas is like the Wild West in terms of gym etiquette. Hustlers will try to charge you $25 for pad work. You got guys trying to “invest” in fighter’s career as they walk in and out of the gym. And the fighters and their teams will do anything to “GET ON”. Anything! And if that means showing clips of sparring and violating trust, then they will.
For whatever it was, Rollie and his team will have to address it. Maybe it’s part of their everyday gym culture….. Personally I don’t let anyone video my fighters to my knowledge because of exactly what happened to Rollie. You don’t need that video going around. It devalues the fighter, even though it was “just sparring.”
I can’t say if this carried over from the Tank fight. If it did though, Rollie needs to see a neurologist. The fight was last summer. If one punch did that much and damage where he’s still being dropped in sparring, he has serious issues moving forward. It could’ve just been a hard shot that he’s open for.
Let me explain….Every fighter has a rhythm. And in that rhythm he has an opening. Rollie loads up on right hands and when he comes back with his left hook, he raises up. So after his right hand, and before his hook, is his OPENING. So he can be hit with big hooks. He has to improve in the gym. It will be up to him if he does, off camera or on camera.
Hey Breadman! I got a lot on my mind for this week’s mailbag. First, have you seen the trailer for the upcoming George Foreman movie? I’m excited about that! A part of me feels like the actor who plays him looks more like Ron Lyle than young George Foreman or more like Earnie Shavers than old George Foreman. Otherwise, I’m excited!! I feel like it’s about time we got his story up on the big screen! Hopefully they can start bringing the lives of other boxers to life on film. Second, saw last week you did a list of the greatest fights per weight class. I was curious, could you do a list of the single greatest rounds of all time? Like greatest round 1? Greatest round 2? And so on to greatest round 15? I feel like that would be an interesting list. I feel like Hagler-Hearns Round 1 is the greatest (though the first round of Pryor-Arguello I also has the case of the greatest first round).
Thoughts? Greg K.
Bread’s Response: Yes I saw the Foreman movie trailer. I loved it. I’m glad Big George is getting is flowers. He deserves them.
It would take me too long to go round by round of the greatest rounds ever. It’s no way I could do that. I would take more than a month worth of research. But what I will do is tell you some of favorite rounds. Rounds that I feel like were amongst the greatest I’ve seen.
Mancini vs Frias round 1.
Corrales vs Castillo round 10.
Gatti vs Ward 1 round 9.
Gatti vs Ruelas rounds 4 and 5.
Chacon vs Limon round 15.
Pryor vs Arguello round 1.
Hagler vs Hearns round 1.
Barrera vs Morales 1, round 12.
Bowe vs Holyfield 1 round 10.
Duran vs Barkley round 11.
Toney vs Jirov round 12.
Please don’t tell me that Davis vs Garcia is not happening. I thought this fight was done. Have you ever heard of a rematch clause for a non title fight. From your experience what do you think went wrong.
Bread’s Response: I don’t think the deal is DEAD just yet. But yes I have heard of rematch clauses for all levels of fights. This is obviously a fight where loads of money will be made and both sides want to secure the advantage in case of a loss. I don’t have an issue with that. I just think that this should have been cleared up before the fight was announced as DONE.
If Davis vs Garcia doesn’t happen the responsibility will be on BOTH sides. I still think it gets done. This fight has the ingredients for a big hit. Black vs Mexican. East Coast vs West Coast. Big Puncher vs Big Puncher. PBC vs Golden Boy. This is a huge fight!
Hey Breadman,
Thanks for all the work you do. I am really glad Plant vs Benavidez is going down in March. It seems like a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush (the Usyk Fury fight and the Tank Garcia fight being in the proverbial bush). Anyways, I was wondering how you see Canelo’s next two years going. Considering his monstrous 2021 with that 70k Texas crowd in attendance vs BJS, followed up the box office smash that was the Caleb Plant fight. I felt he lost some steam in 2022 but do you think he will be able to return to his #1 P4P spot where he was firmly in place for several years in my book. Also, who do you think has the best jab right now in boxing.
Peace, MRC
Bread’s Response: I think Canelo peaked out in 2021. I don’t believe he gets back to the #1 P4P fighter. I think he can stay in the top 10 but #1 again will be tough. Canelo has almost 60 fights. 175lbs is his highest functional weight class. And the field of opponents at 168 and 175 are deep. Bivol and Beterbiev are the 2 champions at 175lbs. Caleb Plant, David Benavidez, David Morrell, Demtetrius Andrade and Jermall Charlo are the big names he can fight.
So out of the names that Canelo can fight. Most are younger, fresher or bigger. That’s a lot to overcome, while dealing with nagging injuries and you’re about 60 fights in. So to answer again, I think Canelo will lose again if he fights the line up I named. He won’t lose them all but he’s going to lose……………….
The Best Jab is boxing right now, comes down to Errol Spence or Devin Haney. Flip a coin or keep them both, since one is a southpaw and the other is orthodox.
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