By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards discussing topics such as Errol Spence vs. Kell Brook, Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs, Anthony Joshua and performance enhancing drugs, and more.

You gave Anthony Joshua a pass on the PED topic. There are some rumors surrounding his rapid development and physique. He also went after the IBF belt and stayed away from the WBC. You conveniently praised him but didn’t mention it. Shame on you sir. What makes you think Joshua is so clean?

Bread’s Response: All I can say is wow! We truly live in an era of negativity. I was never asked anything about Joshua except who would win between him and Klitschko. So how did I give him a pass, because I think highly of the young man? Our boxing culture is so negative and it gives a platform to losers who don’t have to be accountable for their disparaging words.

For the record I never say a fighter is clean just because he has not been caught yet. At the same time I would never say he is dirty either. We can have suspicions all we want but to say a fighter is dirty with no solid proof is reckless commentary.

And if a fighter is not in VADA all year around not just when a fight is announced then they have ample opportunity to cheat if they choose to do so. But that does not mean every fighter who is not in VADA is dirty. Generalizing is the number 1 way to make a fool out of your self.  Stop hating! Anthony Joshua is a fine young man and a heck of a fighter. I don’t know what personal vendetta you have against him but keep it away from me.

And since you brought up the WBC let’s give some praise to WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. He demanded Povetkin take VADA testing and they caught Povetkin taking banned substances. Wilder deserves major props for that because he jeopardized a huge payday by demanding the testing. A-side stars can do this if they choose and Wilder did. VADA has a track record of stopping events, they caught young stars in their primes which shows they don’t care about money. In my next mailbag you will probably say I’m giving Wilder a pass on his level of opponents…. You guys need to stop with negative commentary especially when it’s not even topic related.

In the last mailbag the reader forgot to ask about Kell Brook vs Errol Spence. This is a really close fight to me who are you picking?

Bread’s Response: Did this fight get made? If so I missed the announcement.

This has always been a 50/50 fight in my opinion. But I’m leaning harder on Spence now if the fight is made next. Brook is a heavily muscled guy. He looked solid at 160 and was walking around heavier than GGG. So after a tough night at the office he fights a young killer and has to shed off those 13lbs and still be strong…

Even if Brook was 100% he may not be able to beat Spence. But now I think he’s biting off a rough night. I have always thought Brook was like a 150 pounder. Unfortunately there is no such division. I noticed when he had a tough fight vs Carson Jones. He honorably rematched Jones but the rematch was at 152. Brook was the A-side. That tells me he’s always struggled to make 147 and he’s stronger at the higher weights. So his team made the fight at a catchweight.

Now Brook is a helluva fighter. He has a great jab, his right hand is accurate and he varies it. He’s also physically strong. He was able to tie Shawn Porter up and hold him off. But I just think going 12 rounds with Spence will be rough on him.

If the 175lb version of Michael Moorer and 135lb version of Shane Mosley had a baby it would be Errol Spence. Spence is what I call an athletic overwhelmer. He’s not a pressure fighter like a Jeff Fenech per say. But his pressure is serious it’s just different. He bears down on his opponents, he stays in punching position, and he keeps up a serious pace of volume power shots. He can be hit but he doesn’t seem to mind. Besides a few moments in his fight vs Emaneul Lartey no one has been able to do much with him. Spence is a serious dude to fight coming off a loss. I just don’t think Brook will be able to keep up. I say Spence by decision. And I will go on record to say I don’t think Brook will be foolish enough to fight Spence next. Something tells me he will wait a bit. His people aren’t fools they know how serious Spence is.

Why does Danny Jacobs need Virgil Hunter? I just don’t get it. Will hiring Hunter for one fight really make a difference? Hunter has only had success with one fighter. I just don’t get why all of these fighters go to him. Who are you picking and does this affect your pick?

Bread’s Response: You seem to have all of the answers so why ask..

You guys always attack resumes. Hunter has only one world champion but I think he’s an incredible coach. I wouldn’t care if he didn’t have any world champions. I know when someone is next level in their boxing IQ. He’s next level. Here is the thing. People always say how many champions a coach has had. But the real question is were you the coach on the night that the fighter won the belt. It’s easy to buff up a stat and say “I have worked with 40 world champions.” But that statistic is a little misleading if you weren’t with the fighter on the night he won the belt or with him while he had significant victories defending it. So don’t minimize Hunter’s accomplishments. The one guy that you speak of hasn’t lost in 20 years. That’s serious my friend. In this era we wont have trainers like Manny Steward who has had dozens upon dozens of champions. The infrastructure is just different. Freddie Roach will be the last coach like that.

There is a reason why these fighters go to Hunter. There is something about his infrastructure and his character that entices fighters to come train with him. I think he can definitely have a positive effect on Jacobs. Hunter understands how to control the climate of fights. Watch his work in Lara vs Angulo and Ward vs Kovalev. He had two contrasting styles but his fighter seemed to control the tempo regardless of who you won or who you thought won.

Another thing….There is not a coach who has ever lived that could have got Khan past Canelo or Berto past Mayweather. The horse you have in the race plays a big part in your success….

I think if Jacobs’s head trainer is on board then I believe it can work. Jacobs’s has an excellent trainer in Andre Rozier. He’s had lots of success on the New York scene, which is not easy. Sometimes a team just needs an extra set of eyes for a certain style. Why not Hunter?

I think Jacobs just increased his chance of winning by 10%.....Jacobs has not been using his “boxing” skills lately. Watch his last 3 fights. He has just been overhwleming his opponents with speed, power and physicality. He didn’t need them to win those fights. But if he doesn’t clip GGG early then he’s going to have to settle down and box. Hunter and Rozier will be vital at that moment. Let’s see how it plays out before we condemn it.

Man, you're really a student of the 'sweet science'!

Joshua is athletic in the correct way for boxing even though he's built like a defensive end, his musculature is supple for boxing. He punches with looseness rather than the tightness a lot of heavyweights have. Joshua also has strong but springy legs needed for boxing, his legs is where he has Wilder beat. Wilder's legs have no bounce he stumbles around. Klitschko has a punchers chance but Joshua uses his legs well to get out of harms way and then get back in to punch. He's way too athletic and agile for klitschko at this point in the older fighters career. This fight is a career ender for klitschko. Jonathan Banks is an up-and-coming trainer but he doesn't have enough in his trainers bag of tricks to put together a gameplan for Wladimir to win. Wladimr will be a step slow and a day late against Joshua. Klitschko will also follow Joshua around the ring rather than side step to cut the ring off. Klitschko is a 1-2 fighter and Joshua won't be there stationary long enough for for those punches to land consistently.

Floyd does maintain focus throughout a fight and in most cases as you said his focus increases as a fight goes on as his opponents focus wanes and their technique suffers.

Since you brought this up, I notice a lot of fighters get bored, lose focus and get lost in the fight.

I tell my guys to jab if they "lose their place-get lost" in a fight, this usually brings them to.

Roy Jones Jr. was always a left hooker as opposed to a 1-2 fighter, that was to his advantage against James Toney. Jones' hook was as fast as a jab and Jones used it like one, Toney had no answer for it. Jones right hand was a peripheral weapon for him, he rarely jabbed, his left hook was his money punch.

Tito Trinidad was a stalker like Chico Corrales and Floyd does very well against stalkers. Stalkers never fully commit to pressure fighting like Chino Maidana does. Trinidad also fought very straight up and stiff. Floyd may not have hurt Trinidad but he would've out pointed him, Floyd would have used the ring on him and got away from Tito's wide punches. Canelo Alvarez is a stalker too. GGG is also a stalker.

As far a Rousey is concerned she was way advanced against much of her competition, but she was being studied and the other competitors were catching up. She was dominant, but she made tactical mistakes due to inexperience, she said that boxing was a limited fighting art, so she neglected mastering her boxing, then she got into a war of words with Mayweather losing focus on her own career. It was that same limited fighting art that caused her two dramatic loses. The UFC is the big loser here. This MMA outfit is now short on star power. Here's a big opportunity for boxing to shine.

Bread’s Response: Yes Joshua has unique spring to his legs for someone his size. I bet he could play volleyball or soccer. He’s not just big and athletic but he’s nimble and coordinated. His muscles don’t slow him down. Aside from a Sunday punch clipping him, he’s going to be tough to beat. On top of his next level conditioning his demeanor is on point. He never fights in a hurry. He’s quick but he doesn’t hurry. He’s violent but he’s not mad. He’s focused but not stressed, he’s enjoying himself. He has a regal awareness about him. I’m telling you guys this kid is different.

Joshua is going to KO Klitschko in 3 rounds. Mark it down.

Yup. Floyd is one of the most unique fighters I have ever seen. His ability to concentrate could be the best in the history of the sport.

Yes Roy Jones used a hook to control everyone. A lead hook for the boxers and a check hook for the aggressive fighters. I think one of the reasons why Tarver gave him fits was because of his patience and southpaw stance. Roy didn’t like leading against such a big puncher…But yes against Toney the hook comes towards the flat side of the shoulder roll. Roy hooked and turned all night on Toney. It was one of the few perfect fights in the history of boxing.

We will disagree on the stalker comment. GGG is a 100% pressure fighter. The difference between stalking and pressure is stalkers don’t aim to cut the ring down because they are trying to score and be aggressive with a jab from a distance. They aren’t trying to get too close. They’re beating you up from a distance. See Bob Foster, Sergey Kovalev, Tommy Hearns. People criticize Kovalev for not cutting the ring down but he’s not always trying to. If you point your left shoulder to land a jab you give the opponent and out to either side.

Now GGG has a great jab but he’s a pressure fighter. All you have to do is look how often his opponents are on the ropes and in corners. No one can keep him in the center of the ring.

I feel where you are coming from with Corrales and Tito but I think you are miswording it. There intent is pressure. They’re trying to get up on you. And bang you out with hooks unlike a Kovalev who is trying to beat you up but not get too close. Corrales and Tito are pressure fighters they just don’t put you on the ropes as much as GGG. I call aggressive pressure fighters like them “walk down” guys. Marvin Hagler was like that. For as great as he was he wasn’t really cutting the ring off. But he was walking you down consistently and it usually broke his opponent’s will.

Tito vs Floyd seems to be getting a lot feedback. This is a real tough fight for me to call. I’ve watched them both their entire careers and it’s tough. They both have distinct advantages. Floyd has lit guys who are like Tito. But Tito has never lost to a man smaller than him. Winky Wright, Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins are all bigger naturally than Tito who relied on his physicality. It’s extremely difficult to keep Tito off of you if you aren’t strong enough to hold your ground. I still say it’s 50/50.

Breadman,

If you were my boxing professor, how would you grade my assessment for DJaocbs vs GGG coming in March?

Hand speed- DJ

Foot speed- DJ

Power- equal

Chin- GGG

Athlectism- DJ

Ring IQ- DJ

Conditioning- DJ

Scenerio:

If DJ can keep from getting caught early, I see DJ winning similar to how BHOP beat Trinadad.  I'm looking forward to your grade results for me.

Thank you,

Curtis/Cincy

Bread’s Response: Hand Speed- DJ we agree.

Foot Speed- Here is the thing. Jacobs is athletic but I don’t view his feet as fast. Just watch him. GGG cuts serious distance with his feet and he angles you. Watch Jacobs vs Ishe Smith. I really don’t know if Jacobs has a footspeed advantage. Remember it’s not a race, it’s a boxing match.

Power-GGG. He has the heaviest hands in the game under 175. Jacobs can punch also but GGG’s punches seems slightly different to the naked eye.

Chin-GGG we agree. But let’s take something into consideration. Chin is more important than power. The fighter who takes the other ones punches the best is the more powerful puncher.

Athleticism-DJ we agree

Ring IQ- GGG we disagree. GGG is very cerebral in my opinion. I’ve seen Jacobs make more mistakes than GGG.

Conditioning-I would say this is a push. They both seem supremely conditioned. I do notice that GGG huffs and puffs at times. I think it’s because he throws almost 70 punches per round. That’s insane for a middleweight.

Jacobs has a legitimate shot to win this fight. But I don’t view a Bhop vs Tito scenario. The participants are just different. Jacobs is more high strung and more of a gunslinger than Bhop. Bhop was super patient vs Tito. He was also larger and was able to push him back when he needed to. I think Jacobs best chance is to come out guns blazing but go to GGG’s body. No one can get to the man’s body. If Jacobs does not get him early at least the body work gives him a chance to get his 2nd wind because GGG is depleted. I expect a shootout like Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan had many years ago.

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