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The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards tackling topics such as Deontay Wilder vs. Robert Helenius, Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr., Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford, and much more.
Breadman,
How goes it? Got into a little debate about the cancelled Paul vs Rahman fight this past weekend. So I need an answer from an experienced trainer. If you’re training a fighter, and your opponent comes out a week before the fight staging that they will not be able to make weight and the closest they can come to the weight is 10lbs over. Since Rahman stated his body would not allow him to lose anymore weight, and it seems he only lost 1 pound over a 3 week span. And the opponent is still in good shape, it’s clear he is not fat overweight. Are you going to continue with that fight or find a replacement /cancel the fight?
My opinion is that Rahman came out and said he can’t lose weight. Fight was first signed at 200 then moved to 205 to accommodate Rahman. Now I know the point was still to drain Rahman and handicap him. But when Rahman said he couldn’t make weight, he was gonna be 10 pounds over, as well as them trying to move the contracted weight to 215, but Paul’s team said no. The fight was gonna get cancelled, especially since there was no back up opponent. So I just want to know if you’re going through with the fight with your fighter, if the opponent is 10lbs over weight?
Thanks.
Bread’s Response: This is a tough a question but a good question. I didn’t want to comment on the Paul vs Rahman fight because I haven’t been following it but this question is interesting. It’s not a right or wrong answer because it depends on the circumstances. Jake Paul is the A side and a huge money maker. And contracts are in place for a reason. If contracts are not honored and there are no repercussions then what’s the point of contracts?
I don’t know who’s right or wrong in this Paul vs Rahman situation by the way, I’m just answering your question how you sent it. The only thing I paid attention to was that Paul paid some of the undercard fighters half of their purses and I thought that was a nice gesture. Other than that I have no idea what happened.
So that being said it would depend on various things. If I felt the fight was a 50/50 fight I wouldn’t give up 10lbs but remember though these guys are heavyweights and 10lbs is not that much for a heavyweight to give up.. It’s not the same as a flyweight giving up 10lbs. If I felt my guy was head and shoulders better I would give up the 10lbs. But I would handicap the heavy fighter and we would have a strict rehydration penalty. You guys don’t realize something. The weigh in weight is not as important as the rehydration weight. A fighter only spends a few minutes at his weigh in weight. His rehydration weight is the weight he operates at much more. So I would not let the heavy fighter rehydrate high. Then I would instill a strict financial penalty.
When this fight was announced. If you remember I said that Paul was the favorite for a reason. Those little old men in Vegas know what they are doing. Rahman was coming off of a ko loss. And now he’s being sucked down in weight just a few months later. His punch resistance was being compromised. Rahman must have not felt right, which is understandable. He’s not a big heavyweight but he is a heavyweight. So I’m assuming he didn’t feel right cutting weight…..So my answer is it would depend on my fighter’s opponent. It would also depend on if I could afford to cancel the fight. Some fighters have more options than others. Some can’t pull out because of their financial status. Some would never get that opportunity again. In this case the A side fighter decided to pull out. I’m assuming his team doesn’t feel it’s worth risking the loss. Paul is undefeated and he seems to think he has a future as a champion. As long as he believes that and he has his perfect record, he’s not going to give up that type of disadvantage. Paul picked Rahman and made him come down in weight because he’s the A side. If Rahman doesn’t give Paul what he wants, then Paul is not the A side anymore so he loses his power. I may not know all of the inside info concerning what happened in their negotiations but I know about how fighters and their teams conduct themselves according to their status.
Hey Bread,
I’ve been seeing a lot of people calling Broner a fraud these days, but people forget he had a great run through the lower weights. He seems pretty undersized at welter and I’ll always respect him for taking on an absolute beast version of Maidana. He showed real heart in that fight. I think if he had that Hopkins style discipline he could’ve carved out a pretty amazing career at 135. But elite discipline is a talent in itself. My question is, how do you think a peak 135 Broner would do against the current crop of guys in and around the division? Garcia, Stevenson, Lopez, Haney, Kambosos.
Cheers, Acecream
Bread’s Response: Broner would be on even terms with Garcia, Stevenson, Lopez and Haney. He’s better than Kambosos. But boxing is more than just talent. I think he would’ve done well against them. I don’t think he would have ran the table. But he surely wouldn’t lose to all of them.
Broner had a lot going for him. I thought he peaked out vs Antonio Demarco at 135lbs in 2012. He was only 23 years old. That Broner would be tough for Garcia, Lopez, Stevenson and Haney. Broner was a serious puncher at 135lbs, he was mean and he had an underrated chin. Adrien Broner can take a good shot. And he has elite athleticism. People called him a boxer puncher but in my opinion he was more of an athletic walkdown fighter when he was in his best form. At 135lbs Broner had not been hurt yet and his confidence was sky high. he was also an elite finisher. If you watch Broner’s fights before the Maidana fight, if he hurt you he finished you.
The best fight would be Broner vs Tank but you didn’t ask me that one. That would be a violent shootout.
Broner is the reason why I think we put too much emphasis on weight jumping. If you aren’t clearing out your division and you weight jump for the sake of weight jumping then I think it’s a better to stay at one weight for 3-4 years, unify and clear out a whole era. For example if Errol Spence beats Terence Crawford and retires without ever moving up. His career would be considered better than Adrien Broner’s and Mikey Garcia’s who both weight jumped through 4 divisions.
Nevertheless Broner was real talent and his decision to go from 135 to 147 will forever be questioned. His career trajectory changed after the Maidana fight.
Ssup Bread,
Do you think that Vergil Ortiz should also move up like Ryan Garcia? I somehow think that he is killing himself trying to make weight and he will be even better at 154. Plus, I feel that in absence of good developmental fights, he has a better chance against Charlo than Crawford or Spence. Let’s face it, unless Ugas decides to give him a chance, he will not get those developmental fights that he needs. I just feel that he is a bigger and stronger version of Castano. At 154, he will be better and I think he has good chance to beat Charlo. I do not see the same at 147. At 147, he needs those fights against Porter, Thurmans, Garcias of the world to eventually get ready for either Crawford or Spence. What do you think? Also, do you think that he should dump his father and go full time with a seasoned trainer?
Regards, Saurabh
Bread’s Response: I don’t know enough about Vergil Ortiz to say if he’s struggling to make weight or not. However, I like what I see in him. I think it would be ideal for him to get maybe 2 more developmental fights before he challenges Spence or Crawford. But do you think PBC would let Ortiz “get better” with developmental fights with their guys?
Golden Boy has to secure the right guys to develop him and that may or may not be in the PBC stable. At a certain point up and coming blue chip fighters need to fight the top level in order to get better. Boots Ennis doesn’t even have the resume Ortiz has but he’s going to step up when his number is called. Golden Boy has Blair Cobbs who is a southpaw. Ennis switches. Bud switches. And Errol is a southpaw. That would be good development. I can see that Golden Boy put Cobbs on Ortiz’s undercard. I can see them matching Ortiz with Cobbs before the year is out.
I would never say Ortiz should leave his father. I’ve never seen his father train and I don’t spend time with them in the gym. What I will say is I think whoever else they pick as a co trainer, I think they need to settle on that one person. It always makes me wonder when a young fighter keeps switching trainers. At some point the chemistry will matter and Ortiz has already switched trainers a few times and he’s still very young in his career.
I know this matters because it happened to me. I had a fighter for a very long time. The fighter left and trained with other trainers for almost 2 years, then came back to me and his application to his skillset was totally OFF. It was off to a point where I had to let him watch videos of his old self and he wanted me to create new stuff for him. Skills are built on repetition. It’s not something you want to play with because you can lose them. A fighter is better off not doing anything at all, then getting the wrong trainer that messes up his application. Because by not doing anything at all, he will pick up where he left off. He may be rusty but he won’t be confused.
Ortiz seems fine because he has his dad as a constant. But hopefully for them they stick with Manny Robles from this point on. Ortiz has been better than his opponents thus far. But one day it will come down to a game of inches and on that day the trainer will matter. Manny Robles is good. Very good. The job he did with Andy Ruiz getting that win over Anthony Joshua is one of the best training jobs of the last decade. Ruiz didn’t land a lucky punch. He was well trained. He jabbed Joshua to the chest. He didn’t over reach, he hit the closest thing to him. And he forced Joshua into exchanges with shorter more compact punches. I mind my business when it comes to other coaches but one of the biggest slights I have seen in many years towards a coach was Robles losing his job after Ruiz came in heavy and out of shape for the Joshua rematch.
Hey Bread, thanks for the response about Lara and Rigo. Always appreciate your insight and knowledge. If you get a chance, watch the main event from the matchroom card on DAZN in the UK from last night. The kid in the main event Dalton Smith 140 pounder has the potential to be the next one up from the UK, boxer/puncher – hits like a mule. Great shot selection, doesn’t waste nothing, reminds me of Mikey Garcia. I’ve followed him right through the amateur system, he was on the great Britain squad for years prior to turning pro. Only thing that could hold him back is his hand trouble, like so many big punchers generally suffer from. But he’s in good hands, his father is one of the best trainers in the UK Grant Smith, trains Sunny Edwards also, who in my opinion is the best current fighter in the UK and is about to unify and clear out the Flyweight and super Flyweight division. I know you guys over there in the states are hot on Bam right now, but Sunny boxes circles around him, you heard it here first Bread. This kid has potential to be on the p4p list, 100% pure boxer. All the best brother.
Joe, UK
Bread’s Response: You guys love your fighters in the UK. So you want me to watch out for Dalton Smith. And you think Sunny Edwards outboxes Bam Rodriguez. I’m going to write this stuff down. I love the UK boxing scene. You guys do your thing. But besides heavyweight and Super Middleweight, for some reason your top fighters are top in the UK but not the top overall. I think you have great resources and knowledge and I can’t quite understand why but it seems that way to me. Tyson Fury and Lennox Lewis were the guys. No debate. As was Joe Calzaghe. And with Carl Froch, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Steve Collins the UK has established their hold on 168lbs. But often times I have seen American fighters take on big UK names and sort of treat it like a showcase fight because of the big crowds that you guys draw. For example when Gervonta Davis defended in the UK in one of his early title defenses vs Gavin Rees. I hope Edwards and Smith are as good as you say they are. It would really shake up the landscape of boxing.
You’re from Philly so you may be biased but can you tell me what city produces the best fighters in the world fighter for fighter. Some say Ohio, some say the Midwest. Some say Detroit. What do you say Bread?
Bread’s Response: It’s not really close when you think about it. The problem is other places are sometimes states and not cities. Ohio is a state for example. Ohio has produced some great fighters. Cincinatti and Cleveland for example produce excellent amateurs and Olympians who have went on to be solid and even great pros. But again that’s two cities in a state.
The Midwest is an entire region. Made up of over 6 or 7 states.
Detroit is a city where some excellent fighters have came from. But Tony Harrison and K9 Bundrage are the only champions of note that Detroit has produced in the last 2 decades. I can’t think of another. Detroit was rocking in the early 80s up into the 90s. But lately they haven’t produced many champions.
Philadelphia easily produces more champions, contenders and outstanding prospects than any other city in the world I assume but certainly for a fact in America. In the last 5 years Danny Garcia, Tevin Farmer, Stephen Fulton and Julian Williams have all been real world champions, some were unified.
Before them Steve Cunningham and Bernard Hopkins. There was a slight gap between Hopkins and Garcia with only David Reid being a world champion. But I don’t think the city goes more than 2 or 3 years without a world champion.
In our home gym Buster Drayton and Robert Hines both train fighters and both were world champions. Meldrick Taylor was an Olympian and 2 division champion. Jeff Chandler a HOF. Saad Muhammad a HOF. Both started the 80s out as champions and the city kept it going consistently. Then we had Tim Witherspoon who preceded Taylor, who preceded Hopkins, who preceded Reid, who preceded Cunningham, who preceded Garcia, who preceded Farmer, who preceded Williams, who preceded Fulton,
I don’t even have to get into who was before them because the city was littered with contenders in just about every division. I don’t want to sound boastful but Philly fighters themselves don’t appreciate what they have in Philly in terms of world class fighters. They take it for granted because they live here. But you can do a whole championship camp in the city and get adequate sparring from the city without having to fly sparring partners in, if you look hard enough and pay well.
How’s it going breadman? To piggyback off one of last weeks question and your response about observing talent how can you develop those skills? I noticed a lot of people who have watching boxing for decades still dont have good eyes when it comes to scouting talent and analyzing fights. You also mentioned before how a lot of boxing video analysts over scrutinize unnecessary minute details or think every single thing move done in the ring was some well thought out pre planned maneuver. So my question is how do you learn to observe and analyze fighters in training and in the ring and figure out there strengths/weakness, habits, thinking patterns/why they react a certain way in the ring, as well as figuring out their potential?
Bread’s Response: The reason I think I’m good at analyzing fighters is because of my memory. I rarely forget boxing related details. So when these things arise again I can remember where and why I saw them. I also know human emotion and I can understand language that is non transparent. Everyone has patterns. Some fighters say and do certain things to let you know where they are good and bad. And as a trainer sometimes you make them go through with it for their own good. Sometimes you don’t.
I’ve had fighters tell me opponents would be tough styles for them. I told them they would be fine and they were. I’ve seen guys get buzzed in sparring and I discreetly stopped the sparring. Other times I made them go through with it. I will protect a fighter as long as he’s not arrogant. But I won’t baby one because this is an unforgiving sport.
How do I figure out potential…..The truth is trial and error and instincts. You observe and you memorize what happens. It takes a body of study. It takes observing for a long period because if you observe in small microcosms you will get a false study. You need to see a fighter under all circumstances. Good and bad. It’s really too much to type but I will give you one tip. Consistency. You look for consistence in a good and bad days. If something keeps happening over and over good or bad, you find out why. What made this happen? What common circumstances happened to make this happen?
I will give a hypothetical scenario. If your fighter is sparring and when you bring in the 2nd sparring partner, he starts to struggle. Even if the 2nd sparring partner is not as good as the 1st sparring partner. It’s because your fighter is accepting in his mind that the 2nd guy is fresher. So mentally he’s accepting less from himself. By the way this happens often from world class fighters. They don’t do as well with the 2nd guy than they did with the 1st. You have to overcome it. You have to compartmentalize it. You have to get your fighter to look at it differently. He has to view it as if he’s already warmed up. And the 2nd fighter is not.
He can’t view it in a way where he’s fatigued and the 2nd fighter is fresh. That’s the wrong way to look at it. That’s just one example of many. But to add on….Your memory is your best friend. So is your objectivity. When you see something that keeps happening over and over. It’s not a coincidence. Fix it. Don’t overlook it and just think the fighter will get past it. Address it respectfully. In terms of talent. Even if a fighter can’t explain why he’s doing certain things. He will consistently do them if he’s on the LEVEL. A hot day here and there is luck. And a bad day here and there is just a bad day.
Breadman, Props and praise on producing such rich content week in and week out. 2 weeks ago you said Danny Garcia would be quick at 154. he boxed beautifully and his combinations flowed better than I’ve ever seen. That performance like the Mattysse win showed that Danny has an educated right hand too. Benavidez was stalking like a boogeyman so his attacks were telegraphed. So I can’t tell if this speed advantage will hold up against the best in the division. How do you see Danny’s hand speed relative to a Tony Harrison, an Erickson Lubin a Tim Tszyu or the J rock that beat Jarrett Hurd. I can’t imagine him being faster than j rock that night but I think j rock vs Hurd and actually Charlo showed master level sharpness and speed. Speaking of j Rock did he and Atif Oberon both end up competing on the undercard. I didn’t see it on the YouTube before or find the results after. If so how did J rock look at 160 and with so much insight as a commentator do you see him fighting on or focusing on the many other capabilities and opportunities he could pursue.
With Stephen Fulton, Danny Garcia, Jaron Ennis, Julian Williams and Kyrone Davis has the greater Philly area ever had such a talented top 5 competing at such a high level at once. I’m sure in joe Frazier heyday and Meldrick Taylor’s they had to have a roster but this squad is deep and talented with heart and pride.
Billy Bomaye
Bread’s Response: Danny is a not a fast 140lber. But he is fast for a 154lber if that makes sense. Quickness is in the mind and Danny has a quick mind with his counters. The bigger guys will have to be careful of Danny because he can hit them. All punches hurt and if he hits them right it can do damage.
I think Harrison, Lubin and Jrock all have advantages over Danny. It’s not just the speed, it’s the length and educated jabs they all have. Danny would either have to press the action, something he doesn’t like to do. Or run them into something. All 3 would be tough stylistic match ups for him. Physicality, length and natural talent would all play a big part in those fights.
Jrock or Atif Olberton didn’t get opponents for July 30th. I can’t speak on Oberlton but Jrock is looking for a new date. Boxing is a tough sport and you have to be mentally strong to keep pushing. This isn’t football where you know you will play on Sunday.
Philadelphia is in a Golden Era and no one notices it. You’re right. But the press hasn’t caught on. I don’t even think the fighters or the promoters realize how much talent is in the city currently. And Oberlton is ascending, he should be a contender in 3 years. I wish there were more big shows in Philly to showcase the elite level talent.
Bread,
Dan Rafael just reported that Spence vs Crawford is close to being finalized! Great news obviously but there are a few narratives that I want to address on the fight.The first is that Crawford is the far superior boxer and he can just turn Spence all fight and keep him at bay. First off, while Crawford is extremely talented, I wouldn’t say he is a great pure boxer. He is a master adjuster and is able to figure his opponents out but he has lost rounds to plenty of fighters. In fact, you can argue that Dulorme out boxed Bud in the first five rounds, Porter was winning some battles from the outside, Benavidez won some rounds with his jab and countering him and same with Mean Machine. Of course, all four of those fighters ended up getting stopped. But I don’t think it is in Bud’s DNA to just use his legs and move around.
While it may not look like Spence is a boxer with his style, he has very good fundamentals and is always in position to strike. I don’t think he’s going to be outboxed from the outside for 12 rounds. You are going to have to go at him and push him back and keep him on the back foot. Brook had some success doing that and Porter was able to push him back in spots. Otherwise, he’s just going to continue working off his jab and will pound the body and break you down. I remember when Ward vs Kovalev was made and people thought the only way Kovalev can win is by stoppage and the only way Ward can win was by out boxing Kovalev. That proved to be wrong as Kovalev had most of his success on the outside with his jab and the most success Ward had was on the inside and by hurting Kovalev.
The second narrative is that Spence is too big and too strong for Crawford. I’m sorry, but even though Spence made weight easier last time out, he is draining himself a bit to make weight and Crawford has fully filled out as a WW. And Crawford has a wrestling background which he used effectively against Porter as he was able to push him off every time they tied up. Crawford does not really attempt to work on the inside, but rather he just likes to grapple and out physical his opponents in the clinches. Porter won a few rounds off of his inside work where he didn’t land many clean shots but landed enough as Crawford was not returning fire and was just holding Porter’s arm. Not sure if you agree with these two points I made, but I just think people are off with these narratives in particular.
Mythical match ups: Terence Crawford vs Shane Mosley at 135Stephen Fulton vs MAB at 122Mike McCallum vs GGG at 160
Take care
Bread’s Response: You know you’re talking about. Great comment. Often times in boxing, labels on fighters are too generic. Terence Crawford can box his butt off. He’s elite in terms of boxing. But I don’t think he’s on the level of Floyd Mayweather and Pernell Whitaker in terms of PURE boxing. What advantage Crawford has over them is after he adjust, he’s a ko machine. Crawford is in fact a master adjuster. Master!
It’s not that his boxing isn’t elite. It is. But I have also noticed he gets outboxed in spots. It happens enough to let me know it’s not a coincidence. So you’re correct it’s not a foregone conclusion he can outbox Spence at will. Spence can box. But because he’s isn’t flashy and he comes forward people don’t respect his boxing ability as much. I think Spence is even in terms of boxing ability with Crawford. Crawford is just faster and he moves in different directions more so it appears he’s light years ahead of Spence in terms of boxing ability.
Spence boxes like a 1970’s version of Marving Hagler. Hagler had elite boxing skills and an all time great jab but he’s more known for his punching power and chin. In fact it was Hagler’s boxing ability that separated him from Roberto Duran in their 15 round classic. Watch that fight close. Hagler outboxed Duran down the stretch.
I also agree that it’s not a foregone conclusion that Spence is stronger than Crawford. I believe their strength is also about even. I know several fighters who have been in the ring with Crawford. Each one to a man has told me he’s freakishly strong for his size. If you watch Crawford closely, he knows it. Where as Spence is more laid back but he knows it too. Strength in a boxing match applies differently. How you distribute your strength and when you apply it matters more….I agree with you on both counts. I think both of these guys will raise their games. I think both will bring out the best in each other. And the perceived advantages may not be true. It may come down to the simplest concept. Who’s having the best night, on THAT night.
Flip a coin on Crawford vs Mosely at 135 and GGG vs McCallum at 160. Right now I can’t answer MAB vs Fulton because we know more about Barrera at 122. Barrera had double digit title defenses at 122 and had over 50 fights. Although Fulton is a unified champion he has only 3 title fights, so we are still learning about him at the top level. Ask me that in a couple of years and I can answer it better.
I don’t think Deontay Wilder should be fighting Robert Helenius in his first comeback fight. I think this is a mistake by the matchmakers and I want your take. I can envision a disaster in this fight. I think there are people Wilder could fight that are essentially disaster proof. If the goal is to fight for a title again, I think he needs that smaller step first.
Wilder is 36 now and coming off two consecutive brutal fights. He’s not going to be the same early. He’s probably going to be a bit rusty and a bit unsure of himself. Helenius, while 38, is streaking and has never been more confident. He’s a giant heavyweight and has a big punch. He’s also a classically trained boxer with an amateur pedigree. He’s probably more technically sound than Wilder.
Before the Fury fight, I would have expected Helenius to go off the back foot and try to pile up points. I would expect him to outbox Wilder a bit, get a slight lead, then get caught and lose by knockout. Helenius’ questionable gas tank and chin would eventually cost him and Wilder would likely get his standard brutal, highlight win. But Fury laid out a blueprint to beat Wilder. It’s all about power boxing early and often to get that game changing punch before Wilder gets his. Given that blueprint, I think Helenius jumps on Wilder. I think Helenius abandons the idea of outboxing Wilder and tries to end Wilder before he runs out of gas or gets caught.
If Helenius is more technically sound than Wilder, those early exchanges could be very dangerous for the former WBC champion. That’s why I think this is a dangerous fight and a stupid one to make it. This doesn’t mean I think Helenius will beat Wilder. I think the likely outcome of a “jump on Wilder” strategy is getting knocked out. The obvious bet for any serious betting man here is Wilder by knockout. I’m sure Wilder will be a 20-1 favorite and rightfully so. But with so many heavyweights out there that are smaller than Helenius, don’t hit as hard as him and don’t have his amateur background, shouldn’t Wilder be fighting someone else? I definitely think so but would love your take. I appreciate everything you do.
Thank you! – Chris
Bread’s Response: There are several layers to matchmaking. The biggest is if the fighter succeeds then it was good matchmaking. If he doesn’t succeed then it was bad matchmaking. But I give you credit for saying your thoughts before the fight instead of afterwards. Often times the public who are the biggest critics don’t understand the whole scenario.
Wilder is now a PPV fighter. He commands a certain amount of money. He has to fight someone credible. Helenius is on his career best run with his wins over Adam Kowanacki and he looks the part. Maybe those that made this match are saying to themselves, if Wilder can’t beat Helenius at this point, commanding the kind of money he commands, then what are we doing. I don’t know what they’re saying. But I know how boxing works.
Helenius has been kod by Washington and Duhaupas and he lost to Whyte. Wilder has already kod Washington and Duhaupas and he would be a huge favorite to do the same thing to Whyte. All heavyweight fights are dangerous. They all can hurt each other. But Wilder has to be able to win this type of fight at this point. If he can’t, he can’t make the type of money he makes. You also have to look at the PBC landscape. Wilder has already beat Ortiz 2x. Ruiz is fighting Ortiz.
Frank Sanchez is the only other PBC heavyweight of note and that would be bad matchmaking. Sanchez is a tough fight for Wilder coming off of 2 ko losses in a row. The last thing you have to realize that while Tyson Fury may have laid out a blue print, Tyson Fury is also a special fighter. He has defensive instincts that don’t allow him to be hit with Wilder’s gun shot super clean and when they do land, he has the composure to overcome them. Anyone just won’t be able to do what Fury did. You can hear it in Fury’s comments how dangerous Deontay is. He knows his life was on the line literally against him.
Why do you rate Wilder over Joshua? Joshua’s resume is light years better. It seems you have an American bias. Wilder is not even top five if you go by resume. You should be ashamed of yourself!
Bread’s Response: I was never asked who had the best resume. If I was I would have said that Anthony Joshua has the best resume in the heavyweight division. He’s beaten and fought more undefeated top rated fighters than all of the others. Parker, Whyte, Usyk, Martin and Breazeale were all undefeated. Klitschko and Ruiz are real fights. I have no issue saying that. I’m a big Anthony Joshua fan.
But in my opinion the best 3 heavyweights are 1. Fury 2. Usyk. 3. Wilder. At this current moment I would rate Joshua 4th but Joe Joyce may have an issue with that. If you want to flip flop Joshua and Wilder go ahead. It’s close. But from what I can see, Wilder is just harder to beat. Joshua may be more skilled but applying the skill is different and there is more to boxing than just who is more skilled. Wilder is a killer! He’s vicious. On his bad nights when he’s up against it in terms of momentum, he does not accept it. He fights to the BURGER as they say in Fight Club! What’s on the inside of Wilder makes him the 3rd best heavyweight to me. Obviously this can change. Obviously ratings are fluid. But if I’m a heavyweight, I would rather fight Joshua than Wilder. Joshua is a pugilist. Wilder is an animal who happens to be a pugilist. Those who understand what I’m saying won’t argue. Thanks for the comment by the way.
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