By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards discussing topics such as Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor, the legacy of Mayweather, the career of James Toney,  Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin, Jermell Charlo vs. Erickson Lubin, and more. 

What do you think are Floyd Mayweather’s greatest accomplishments, performances and where does he rank in each of the divisions he’s reigned in? I also have him top 25 All Time but what do you think he could have done to rank higher.

Bread’s Responses: Floyd Mayweather has always taken the argument out of who can beat him as far as the competition that he faced. In his two controversial fights he gave immediate rematches and won both more convincingly.

So defeating every fighter he has ever faced without controversy is a great accomplishment over a 20 year span. Winning the junior middleweight title 3 times may be his greatest accomplishment…. Besides Terry Norris no other fighter in history has won the junior middleweight title more times than Floyd. To top that off he won the title against a Hall of Famer each time in Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez. Let’s remember 154 is his least effective weight and ceiling weight.

Floyd’s greatest performance was against Diego Corrales. It’s one of history’s perfect fights. Not just was it a great performance but it was also a perfect fight. That’s very rare. Floyd had the perfect gameplan, perfect application and got the perfect result vs a legitimate undefeated killer.

After the Corrales fight I like his performances vs Zab Judah and Shane Mosley. Zab Judah is one of more talented fighters of the last 20 years. Judah was “ON” the night he fought Floyd. Judah had a history of being hot and cold but against Floyd he was dead on. Judah got off off to a great start and unofficially dropped Floyd. I thought Judah won 3 out of the first 4 rounds. Floyd still won going away. That’s a great fighter for you. The one thing no one can ever call Floyd is a Front Runner.

Against Mosley, Mayweather was the most visibly hurt he had ever been in his career. Instead of running and taking the air out of the fight. He walked toward Mosley and took all of the fight out of him.  Floyd showed another thing in that fight that people questioned, his heart and toughness.

Mayweather has a case along with Julio Cesar Chavez Sr and Alexis Arguello as the best junior lightweight of modern times. He had a great reign at 130lbs and he should be in the top 5 ever in the division. Depending on how far you go back.

At lightweight Floyd had a few tough fights. Emanuel Augustus, Victor Sosa and Jose Luis Castillo all gave him tough scraps at 135. But his victory over Castillo in the rematch could be his best victory over a prime fighter and his performance vs Phillip Ndou was breathtaking.

At junior welterweight He only had 3 fights. They were all dominant but not enough to be an all time great in the division. He destroyed DeMarcus Corley, Henry Brusseles and Arturo Gatti. If he would’ve stayed at 140 in that form he would be one of the best junior welterweights ever.

Welterweight is where he stayed the longest and for the last 12 years of his career. It’s weird because historians don’t rank him as one of the best welterweights ever despite him spending more time in this division than he did any other. He unified a few times at welterweight vs Maidana and Pacquiao. He beat some great fighters in the division in Pacquiao, Mosley, Marquez and Hatton. He beat a very good one in Maidana.  I think he has a reasonable case for a top 10 welterweight ever, at least top 15. It wasn’t Oscar or Leonard’s run of prime greats but it was very, very good.

He only fought 4 times at junior middleweight. Each fight was a little tough in the beginning. But as usual he took over in the 2nd half of each fight vs De La hoya, Cotto, Alvarez and McGregor. I won’t say he’s an all time great junior middleweight because the great junior middleweight are probably too big for him but his work at 154 is serious.

So in a nutshell Floyd is an all time great at 130. He’s among the best ever at 147. And he’s hell on any fighter head to head from 130-147.

What's up Bread?

First time writing in, but long time reader (from the BT days!) Today I felt the need to write in because of the last writer in your previous mailbag Curtis from Cincy. He was insinuating that there was a conspiracy for Floyd to win when Robert Byrd pulled MacGregor off of Floyd in the corner after a "legal" shot to the body. This guy has clearly been listening to the "boxing expert" known as Skip Bayless. When Skip is wrong about a prediction, he tries to make excuses as to why he was wrong or cry for a conspiracy. All week he has been pushing the narrative that Connor hurt Floyd with the two punches before the low blow, and that the shot was legal just because Al Bernstein and Mauro Renallo said it was (those two guys wanted to see Floyd lose in my opinion after listening to the way they called the fight). Skip has been calling Robert Byrd "Dirty Byrd" because he saved Floyd when he was hurt and he didn't want the MMA fighter to beat the boxer. If you look back at the fight, after Robert Byrd separated fighters, Floyd took a few steps to shake off the low blow. If it were a legal body shot, that reaction would have been unnecessary. Don't get sucked into the conspiracy foolishness. Floyd was never in danger in that fight. Connor fought better than most expected, but he didn't have enough to beat an all time great BOXER in a boxing match. He can take what he learned in this fight and apply it to MMA and be a better fighter in the UFC.

Now that I got that off of my chest, I have two questions for you.

1. How do you see a mythical fight between Aaron Pryor vs Terrence Crawford playing out? I say Crawford has the early edge keeping Pryor at a distance but Hawk starts walking him down mid fight and stopping Crawford.

2. Who wins the Rigo vs Loma fight? Too tough for me to call.

Keep up the great work brotha!

Nigel from Toronto

Bread’s Response:  Skip Bayless hates on Floyd Mayweather and Lebron James to a degree where I think it may “scripted”. I don’t listen to a word he says about boxing.

People became so invested in the fight when their own predictions or subjective preference didn’t happen they came up with conspiracy theories. For example people who thought McGregor would win say he took a dive. People who said McGregor wouldn’t land a punch, say Floyd let him. People who said Floyd would ko him within a couple of rounds, say Floyd carried him.

Until I see more proof I say Floyd took his time, broke him down, took him in deep water and drowned him. It’s exactly what he does in all of his fights.

Pryor vs Crawford is tough for me to call.  I love Terence Crawford but the best fighter he has faced is not remotely close to Pryor. I would assume it’s Yuriorkas Gamboa or maybe Victor Postol. So it’s too soon to match him hypothetically with Pryor.

Loma vs Rigo is 51/49 in Loma’s favor. Size, age and volume favor Loma but Rigo is the better puncher and he’s so special he’s not over his head.

Whats up bread !

Just wondering ur picks on the top 5 most physically gifted fighters ever! That regardless of the coach, would of excelled!

And the opposite, the top 5 fighters with limited physical gifts but were "coached up" and excelled due to their relationship or system they believed in .......Drew,Erie Pa

Bread’s Response: 5 most physically gifted fighters ever um….Sugar Ray Robinson, Roy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Guillermo Rigondeaux.

5 most successful with limited gifts…Rocky Marciano, Gene Fullmer, Dick Tiger, Joe Frazier and Glen Johnson.

First things first...you are one of the best boxing writers to have ever come down the pike.

You're insightful...well informed and even when opinionated, you're thoughtful and fair.

Kudos to you my brother.

Now....last month I was on tour in Italy...it was AFRICA hot!

I went to a local gym expecting some AC and cool air and it was even hotter!

I stood there and thought,

"...damn...I could lose weight just standing here!...".

It got me to thinking about the stories of how hot the legendary Kronk gym was.

They say Emmanuel Steward kept it OVEN hot in there and I wondered Breadman...did any Kronk fighter ever lose his title on the scales???Did any of them EVER come in overweight?

Thank you - please keep on writing, the game needs you.

"...Love and Blessings for us all...." - CJS

Bread’s Response: Thanks my man appreciate it. But I don’t consider myself a writer. I don’t write stories or do interviews I just answer questions in a mailbag. Maybe a boxing mind or historian but definitely no writer.

That’s a great question I don’t know if one of the Kronk fighters ever lost a fight on the scales. If there was a time when they did I assume it was a rare occasion. That heat in the Kronk was legendary.

Hello, Bread!

I'm a big fan of Lights Out Toney. And perhaps even a bigger fan of Roy Jones. In some interview, when asked about the most regrettable moment of his career, Toney said it was his loss to Jones and added something like "should've never lose to that guy". I watched their fight many times and obviously Toney was in bad shape. He struggled making the weight and looked sluggish. I'd love to see their rematch with both at their best. Do you think it could be a different story with 100% Toney? And why they never met at 175?

Thanks.

Bread’s Response: Here is the thing James Toney struggled to make weight is entire career. He was a highschool football player. He struggled at 160 so he moved up to 168. In his only super fight of his career everyone says he struggled to make weight because of how one sided a 50/50 fight was supposed to be. I just don’t get it. He was active at the time and making 168 wasn’t easy for him but I don’t believe he struggled anymore than he did for any other fight at 168. He was on his career best run at the time and he was 26 years old. I just think he ran into a prime special fighter who had a difficult style for him. I can remember during the telecast they said he rehydrated up to 184 the next day after the weigh in. Well that’s the norm for bigger guys, the sweat down then have the advantage on fight night.

Toney lost but he did some good things vs Jones. I think he could have done better in a rematch because unorthodox fighters like Jones you need to see more than once. But it never happened so…

They would have met at 175 if Toney didn’t lose twice to Montel Griffin and go through a career slump.

Hey Bread,

Thank you for suggesting an opportunity to clarify my take with the beginning of round 9 low blow call from this week's Mayweather-McGregor mail bag.  If you really look through the start of round 9 and ask yourself two what ifs, you may then agree with me the potential of a totally different outcome of this bout.

# 1 what if? IF Referee Byrd was in better/correct position as he clearly couldn't see the body punch from where he was at start of round, he would have seen the body shot Floyd complained about was a clean legal shot, not low, upper part of belt connection.  Floyd was legitimately hurt.by this punch and needed some time to recover.

# 2 what if? IF McGregor doesn't lean on Floyd in the corner as Floyd backed up trying to recover giving Referee Byrd the opportunity to issue a lean on warning and listen to Floyd complain of low blow which was not low but a legal clean shot ultimately giving Floyd the time for recovery and finish round 9 exceptionally.

Basically I'm saying and please let me know if you agree somewhat, this bout could have and should have ended in TKO win for McGregor IF, 2 crucial mistakes were not made as in, Referee Byrd missing the correct call on the clean body punch and McGregor not leaning on Floyd.  A true boxer would have not leaned on Floyd causing a Ref warning and true boxer would have possibly finished Floyd in the corner as he was legitimately recovering giving the Referee no option but to step in as Floyd may not have been able to continue or at the least, forced Floyd to take a knee/knock down.

Two mistakes avoided = different outcome?

Thank You!

Curtis/Cincy

Bread’s Response: No I don’t agree. I don’t think Floyd was ever in danger of getting stopped. He took some decent shots that got his attention but getting stopped is something different. The reason why McGregor leaned on him is because he was tired and inexperienced. I have seen the blow and I still can’t tell if it was low or not. I respect you bro for writing in but I think you are looking too deep into this. McGregor was spent in the same round you speak of. He wouldn’t have had the energy to finish Floyd.

Question for you kind of adding to that last comment about the body shot right at the start of Round 9. Having seen all of McGregor’s MMA fights, and being aware of him tending to gas out at times, especially after burning some extra energy like he might have done putting up some resistance again in round 8 after getting pushed around for a few rounds. How you think an 8 round fight would have played out ? Meaning the fight was for 8 rounds not 12. (OK forgetting the business metrics, if that would have hurt PPV buys).

Floyd maybe doesn’t take off round 1-3 and we see some actual stand in the pocket banging starting from round 1 from both guys? Floyd bangs to defend boxing’s honor, and McGregor because he thinks he might have enough gas to go 8 rounds letting the heavy stuff go. KO from Floyd in 4 or 5 because McGregor STILL gasses but because of the high intensity?

I think it was obvious just based on the sounds of punch impacts that Floyd was hitting harder, but McGregor was holding back a little because he knew he would gas. McGregor seemed to be pushing punches, jabbing more than we ever saw (with a pretty good jab surprisingly), and seemed to know he better take it easy or he never makes 12 rounds. I think they had no business booking a 12 round fight. You agree with that?

Danie

Bread’s Response: I think for a 9 figure payday and you come in on the B side you have to make concessions. If the fight wasn’t in a boxing ring and 12 rounds there would be no fight. Floyd was the A side.

If the fight was 8 rounds like you stated I think the fight would have been more action packed. I agree that Conor purposely took something off of his punches so he could pace himself. But I also think if Floyd would have became more intense earlier then Conor would have became fatigued sooner. I still think Floyd would have won but he would have put himself in harms way earlier by opening up more.

Bread! How's my favorite man in boxing doing?  Been tuning in for some time to catch your excellent and non-biased commentary, and I really love the history! Also, you seem to be about the only guy in boxing speaking openly about PED use in the sport. Jones just got pinched again the UFC, and it's scary to think that there are top guys at the elite level of boxing using just the same.

The big fight is only two weeks away from now. Did you see the public workouts, and if so, who are you leaning towards at the moment? Golovkin has been catching some flack for looking "a bit soft" in the lead up to this fight, but I've never taken too much stock in it. He's 35. I think he looked big and strong at the workouts, real solid. If it had been him fighting Chavez Jr, I don't think Junior would have lasted very long. Golovkin is not far removed from his physical prime. I don't think he has slipped one bit since the Lemieux fight, regardless of what people say about his last two outings. Styles make fights. Brook and Jacobs are elite guys.

Canelo looks shredded. He's built like a damn tank. I know he's a naturally muscular guy, just like Tyson, but do you think he might be a little too muscle bound? Looking like you just won a beach body contest is not always optimal for a  fight. And speaking of bodies, Golovkin has been up for some years now training at Big Bear. Do you think that training at high altitudes for so long might end up shortening his physical longevity? I think it was Victor Conte who said something along those lines. But I trust Abel.

People like to criticize Golovkins career and overall body of work, and I fear that a loss against Canelo would hurt his legacy. I consider Golovkin an ATG at middleweight, and it would be a shame to see him snuffed of the respect he deserves right at the finish line. What do you think?

William from Sweden

Bread’s Response: I give the UFC credit for one thing they actually wanted to catch a star in a legacy defining fight. The stars in boxing actually get to choose whether they want to be tested or not. It’s mind boggling that no one sees anything wrong with a process where someone can decide when to start taking a drug test and when to stop. The test is NOT random if one of the individuals being tested is determining the most important variables. But hey I guess common sense is…..

I have always been a big GGG admirer. I don’t think he would be getting this fight if Kell Brook didn’t win two rounds and didn’t land that uppercut. I think he’s in great shape. He’s just not overly cut up which is often times genetics. Unfortunately for GGG his legacy is on the line in this fight. He needs this one to solidify it. It sucks for his fans at 35 this is what it has come to but the ducking of him for years has been shameful. Let’s see what happens. From my perspective I know a great fighter when I see one. I think he’s a great fighter. But in this era of Social Media and unqualified boxing opinions I think he will get snipped if he doesn’t win.

Canelo does look like a tank but he always does to me. Canelo looks locked in and I expect him to really push GGG. If GGG is not up for the task he will get torn to pieces. Canelo is ready. I know the look he has in his eyes.

You know I have read the same theories on staying in altitude too long. It doesn’t affect Terence Crawford who trains in Colorado Springs but I do see GGG huffing at times during fights. Hopefully he comes down soon enough and his body gets to recover. I also remember Shane Mosely and Oscar De La Hoya breathing with their mouths open in certain fights and they also both trained in Big Bear. Many don’t know the side effects of staying up in altitude too long. Abel is a great coach hopefully he monitors everything he needs to. We shall see….

Hello Breadman,

I'm a boxing fan from France.

First of all I want to tell you that I enjoy reading you, you have great knowledge (better than mine already !) and you try to be as objective as possible on any subject.

Can you give me your thoughts on an upcoming fight : Lubin vs Charlo.

I think both are skilled, strong fighters , but when "the hammer" accelerate if think he can knock anybody out, the thing is that he might get outbox by Charlo.

I also wanted to tell you that I hope to see Julian Williams come back soon, because he is a wonderful technician with good boxing IQ !

Thanks for your work

Max

Bread’s Response: I think Charlo vs Lubin is a great fight. The narrative is Lubin is too young but being too young and not developed enough is different. Lots of fighters reach their physical peaks earlier than we know. In fact if you watch a 21yr old move around in the gym with a 27 yr old often times you see the difference. I think experience and application are more important than actual age.

I think this fight will be a candidate for Fight of the Year. Jermell Charlo is really believing the style of his new coach Derrick James. He’s showed it in his last two fights. He was down big on points vs John Jackson but he never wavered. That shows he believes in James’s teachings. Then he went out and fought a great vs Charles Hatley.

Charlo has a low ko% but he has scored some nasty 1 punch kos. I think his power is deceptive and I think he’s the puncher in this fight. Lubin has decent pop but not like Charlo. I think Charlo was matched really competitive early on in his prospect stages and Lubin was matched with the same Latino style fight after fight. I think this is a bigger factor than the age.

Lubin was the better amateur and he has better handspeed in close and mid range. Both can be hit and neither is defensive wizards. I’ve seen both hurt and Lubin was dropped by a light puncher. That can happen maybe he got caught unexpectedly...we will see in this fight.

I think Charlo’s jab is better but I’m not sure if that will matter because Lubin is a southpaw. Lubin gets listed taller but he’s really only 5’9. Charlo is legitimately 5’11.

This is a flip of the coin for me but I think Charlo’s experience vs better fighters will come into play. I think he’s sparring Errol Spence which is perfect for Lubin. My guess is that Charlo’s straighter shots will clip Lubin in a shootout between 7-9. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Lubin won. Actually it will show he’s really special because he skipped a step in his matchmaking process and still won vs a legit champion.

Hey Bread,

Legacy defining fight for both but obviously much more downside for a loss for GGG (rightly or wrongly).

Can you recall a legacy fight where a loss hurts both guys the same?

Lastly, even with Canelo's lack of fights at the weight do you see this as a top 5 middleweight clash since 1980?

Thank you sir!!!!

Peace

Ad Rock

Bread’s Response: Hell yeah it’s more downside for GGG. GGG was ducked for 5 years and he’s finally getting a chance at a super fight and the lineal title at middleweight. The odds from this fight went from 4 to 1 to almost dead even. That shows you exactly what the mood is. They are catching him at the right time. GGG is also a grinder who gets hit. So they feel he lost a step. I hope he has not. I hope he’s the same guy who peaked vs Matthew Macklin.

In fights where the fighters are the same age and at the same stage of their careers they usually effect both roughly the same. Hagler vs Hearns. I think the loss would have hurt Hagler the same as it did Hearns in their fight. Hagler was older but they were at the same stage of greatness around that time.

GGG vs Canelo is definitely a top 5 middleweight fight since 1980. It may be top 3.

Who do you think has had the better career achievements as of today? Floyd Mayweather or Andre Ward?

Bread’s Response: Let’s look at the legacies. Floyd has been a pro 8 years longer which is a long time. I don’t give Ward flack for not weight jumping as much because after 147 fighters don’t jump as much. In fact only three welterweight champions in the last decade have moved up and won titles at junior middleweight. Mayweather, Pacquiao and Cotto. The weight jumping becomes even less at 160.

But Floyd has defeated more great fighters and HOF. Floyd defeated Pacquiao, Cotto, De La Hoya, Hatton, Marquez and Mosley. All of them are easily in the HOF. Corrales, Castillo, Judah and Hernandez all have chances to go.

Ward has Carl Froch who is a lock for the HOF. Sergey Kovalev I think he gets in but he can’t fall off too much from here on out. Mikkel Kessler is also HOF worthy.

If I’m not mistaken Floyd won fighter of the Year 3 times. Ward won it once. This is huge for me. Another area is lineal championships. I have to research but I think Wad has one lineal championship and Floyd has two.

Mayweather has almost 30 championship fights. Ward has about 10. When you don’t have the volume numbers you have to make up for it with apex quality. Like Sugar Ray Leonard’s 4 scalps of Duran, Benitez, Hearns and Hagler. At this point Mayweather has a clear edge in career achievements over Ward.

Hey Bread,

Like you, i am a huge G-Man fan and I to share your sadness in watching the last few rounds of the Benn fight.  I watch that fight over and over again and I always feel like the ref gave Benn too much time to recoup himself in the early rounds.  Taking nothing away from Benn, because I feel like that was one of the bravest comebacks EVER by a fighter.  But that ref gave him more time then normal to recover from the onslaught that McClellan layed on him in the first two rounds.  With that being said, how do you see a prime G-Man faring against a prime Hopkins, Jones, Calzaghe, and Ward?  I think he clips Calzaghe, decisions Ward (I am back and forth on this one), loses to Jones, and maybe has to trilogy Hopkins to decide the better fighter.  Your thoughts? 

I, like you, rate Robinson the best ever.  For me its not close.  I also, get aggravated when all of these so-called boxing experts come out of the woodwork and try to start preaching their opinion as gospel, when boxing gets in the mainstream.  Were I think we disagree, is on this quote from your previous mailbag, "I think Floyd and his dad think he’s the TBE. I think they really believe that and so does some experts.  I don’t have a problem with it because I think he’s a great enough fighter to be in the argument.  The reasons why I have an issue with them believing this and saying it non-stop, is that the so-called experts and casuals actually start to believe it and they begin to preach it as fact instead of myth.  Unfortunately, that is how history gets it wrong and myth starts to become fact in the eyes of many(ex. Leonard supposedly dodging Pryor and getting a gift decision against Hagler.  Both did not happen).  At least, Ali admitted that he strived to be as great as Robinson was.  Another reason is that if he is going to be mentioned with the GOATs, I at least have to have him beating some of the best of all time from his weight class and I just cannot see that happening.  I would not pick Floyd over Armstrong, Sugar Ray Leonard, Duran (lightweight or welter), Langford, Pep, Benny Leonard, or Hearns.  I even have a hard time picking him against fighters that he supposedly is greater then (Chavez Sr., Whitaker, De La Hoya, Trinidad, Tszyu).  Out of who I just mentioned, I would pick him in maybe two of those fights.  You said he pretty much did it all and he outsmarted the process that ate up many great fighters.  Very true, and he should be commended for that, but that does not make him greater then the fighters that came before him.  Smarter, yes, better, no.  I cannot remember the last time Floyd was considered an underdog in any fight.  He has never had the deck overwhelmingly stacked against him.  All the greats have, and found ways to beat those odds.  That is what puts them on that high of a mantle.  Also, the greats did not have as many misses as Floyd does.  When you have that many, I believe that deteriorates your legacy.  Let me know your thoughts? 

Keep doing what your doing.  Still the best mailbag in the industry.

Adrian, Tampa, FL.

Bread’s Response: In my lifetime I have watched a few fights where I could feel a cloud over them despite a good start from the fighter I was rooting for. I felt it with Jermaine Taylor vs Carl Froch. I felt it with Meldrick Taylor vs Julio Cesar Chavez. And I felt it with Gerald McClellan vs Nigel Benn. I just didn’t feel comfortable even though Gerald started out great.

Nigel Benn deserves credit for his comeback. It may be the greatest in history considering the shot he took while he was hung up in the ropes. It looked like McClellan snapped his neck. I still don’t know how Benn recovered. There are so many nasty rumors about that fight. It all sickens me.

The referee was absolutely terrible. The way he kept grabbing McClellan there is a possibility he was corrupt…

But McClellan had a weakness. He fought in a panicked state. He had two losses as a prospect and both were distance fights. It always made me feel hesitant about picking him vs steady technicians like James Toney and Mike McCallum because of how frantic he fought. That mind state usually doesn’t translate to being a great late round fighter.

McClellan had the best left hook to the body I have ever seen. It was absolutely brutal and if he found the sweet spot you were going down. His right hand was just as good. He had a decent jab and good hand speed. He was also tall and rangy. His weakness was his inability to relax, poor defense and bully mentality. 90% of bully fighters don’t respond well to adversity. We didn’t see him under much because his career was over after the Benn fight and I don’t hold that loss as a lack of character because he was injured. Nevertheless that mentality scares me.

GMan vs Calzaghe is a tough one. McClellan’s left hook to the liver is easier to land on a southpaw. But prime Calzaghe may have too much mind quickness. I say Calzaghe wins a decision that he has to get up from a knockdown or two to do..

Gman vs Bhop is a great fight. There were from the same era. Gman was the WBO and WBC champion from 91-94. Hopkins became the IBF champion in 95. They just missed each other. Hopkins was a bad dude especially the Bhop version but Gerald was a MFer. I think his range and threat of power may have got him out to big lead on the cerebral Hopkins. Hopkins had his share of troubles with big athletic middleweights like Mercado, Taylor, Jones and Echols. I say McClellan earns a tough decision with Hopkins coming on down the stretch.

Gman vs Ward. Ward would smother a lot of Gman’s power. He would take his lumps but I think at some point the grappling and twisting and turning would wear McClellan down. I say Ward by the skin of his teeth. Again coming on late.

Gman vs Roy Jones is a fight we almost got. McClellan’s plan was to fight Jones after he defeated Benn in a unification. He had already defeated him in the amateurs. You know how highly I think of Jones historically. But pulling straight back and laying on the ropes covered up on a frenetic guy like McClellan would have been beneficial to GMAN. I don’t think McClellan was better than RJ but I do think he could’ve clipped once. I think Jones would have won the rematch. They would have had to fight 3x to settle it but McClellan would have been a stylistic nightmare early for Jones just because of Jones’s defensive tendencies.

The one thing Floyd knows how to do is keep everyone talking about him. We are about 10 days from GGG vs Canelo and 90% of the emails I get are about Floyd’s legacy.

I have no problem with Floyd believing he is the TBE. I think he really believes that and I think it motivates him. How else does a man with so much money train so hard? Self Belief is important.  Floyd has earned the right to believe that without anyone laughing at him. He does have a case.

I have already touched on why Sugar Ray Robinson is the best fighter ever in my opinion so it’s no need to reiterate it…..It’s all opinion at the end of the day.

ODDS. I see you brought up. People don’t understand how important odds are on a fight. Not just for the gamblers like myself. But in terms of % chances an athlete or team has. When a fighter puts himself up against certain odds time and time again and they overcome them or fight valiantly it elevates them to certain heights.

Ali was not “supposed” to beat Liston or Foreman. Leonard was not “supposed” to beat Hagler. Pacquiao was not supposed to win none of his 1st three titles at 112, 122 and 126. Danny Garcia was not “supposed” to beat Amir Khan or Lucas Matthysse. Evander Holyfield was not “supposed” to beat Mike Tyson. Bernard Hopkins was not “supposed” to beat Antonio Tarver.

There is something about a fighter taking on the odds in even money fights or as an underdog. In Floyd’s defense he doesn’t make the odds and it’s not his fault he was always the favorite. But “history” has a way of holding it against a fighter who was never “supposed” to lose and never was up against the odds.

Send Questions to dabreadman25@hotmail.com