The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards tackling topics such as Michel Rivera vs. Frank Martin, Devin Haney vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko, William Zepeda, Dmitry Bivol, and more.
Hi Bread,
Congrats on Plant and J-Rock making successful returns after defeats. We talk a lot about winning in boxing but not so much losing and coping with the loss and then coming back after a loss. Could you explain more about the thinking and preparation in camp for bringing fighters back after losses? How does the camp after a defeat differ from camps where you are on an unbeaten run? And are you doing anything different physically and mentally for the comeback fight? Hope all is good with you and thank you as ever.
J
Bread’s Response: It depends on the fighter. Camps on unbeaten runs are great because fighters who are unbeaten feel invincible and they don’t want to ever lose. Fighters who are coming off of a loss, are desperate because they don’t want to lose twice in a row. So both are good from my experiences.
I’ve had success bringing fighters back because I form transparent relationships with fighters and I tell them the truth while being respectful. There are two reasons why a fighter loses in simplistic form. One is mental and the other is physical. I address both. Then I simply move past it and work on the correcting it in the gym.
Each fighter I’ve had who coming off of a loss, I tried my best to make them believe that it just happened on that day. That was just a day in their life, that we are going to move past. Dealing with adversity is all about how you compartmentalize it. The fighter may not admit it but he needs that SUPPORT from the person he depends on the most during camp. I love it when the odds are stacked against me and my fighter. I can’t explain it or articulate the feeling but it’s intoxicating to me.
The most noticeable energy I’ve gotten from any fighter is not so much coming off of a win or loss. But it’s the fighter who is trying to please you and prove to you that he’s worth your time and effort. That fighter will run through a brick wall for you. That’s the fighter you want to go into battle with.
Hello Breadman ,
I get that boxing is a business . But some things do not make sense to me . It seems money is number one and legacy is number two . Making the most money and being Champion are not always one and the same . I have three questions. Number One - I agree with you that Loma has slipped . Haney is all wrong for him . Loma is ten years older than him . But all Haney , Davis and Stevenson talk about is fighting Loma . Why dont they go after Haney and all the belts . Tank and Shakur would be a great fight to see who gets to fight Haney for all the belts . Number Two – Teofimo Lopez and Ryan Garcia are both at one forty . Another great fight , same weight division . But all the talk is about Garcia and Tank fighting at catchweight . Why didnt they just fight when they were both in the same division . Number Three – Josh Taylor vacates three of the four belts he unified at one forty . Why would he do this . Lopez and Garcia dont seem to want to go after him. Other than money and posturing being more important than winning titles , I dont get it , help.
Thank You
J.B.
Bread’s Response: We are just in the era of posturing. Loma has slipped so it will be easier for him to get fights. But in Devin’s case specifically, he wanted to fight Loma. He exercised his right to face Loma. And he got a belt awarded to him and the fans and media teased him for being a real fighter and exercising his legal right. Devin Haney wants smoke.
I don’t believe Tank vs Shakur will happen anytime soon or if ever. It’s just a hard fight for either to take if they don’t have too. I just don’t see it. Risking one of your company’s best fighters vs another company’s best fighter without options on that fighter is a tough ask in this era.
I think both Tank and Shakur are both more likely to face Haney than each other because Haney is the CHAMPION. I think Shakur may have called Haney out. Both are with TR. Let’s see what happens with that one, it would be easier to make..
I don’t know why Garcia and Lopez don’t seem to be on the same radar. Maybe they’re friends. Maybe they just haven’t sparked and interest to fight one another. Who knows?
I’m a purist so I agree about Tank vs Ryan. I can’t for the life of me understand why a fight between them would be at a catchweight and a non title fight. Ryan Garcia has never fought for a world title. Out of all of the top talent from his class that turned pro, he’s the one who has NOT challenged for a title that could have. I don’t get that at all. But if they fight, I won’t complain because it’s a great fight. But to have such a big fight not be for a title is just bizarre in my opinion.
I think Teofimo Lopez is going after Josh Taylor in 2023. I can’t speak for why Taylor vacated 3 of his belts but it’s hard to keep all 4 titles. Mandatories and sanctioning fees become an issue….
Hi Bread,
Thanks for your time answering these questions.In the last Canelo GGG fight, it almost seemed Canelo had G figured out from the first bell. I know they had two previous fights but can you tell me why G didn’t try something different earlier in the fight?Do correct me if I’m wrong, I thought Canelo was maneuvering G into his right hooks at will. I can now see why you thought Plant was live v Canelo, Plants jab is so sharp to the head and body, especially to the body. That finish v Dirrell was super composed, the slight pause in between the hook to the body and hook to the head where he just stayed in the pocket was ice cold.Was that something you worked on with him, staying in the pocket like that? No worries if you don’t answer the last question.
Sean in Ireland
Bread’s Response: GGG is 40 and Canelo processes faster. I think he did try something new. He tried to box more but it didn’t work.
We didn’t work on that specific combination in camp with Caleb. But we worked on that concept. We worked on not trying to be fast. But being fast ENOUGH. We worked on slowing things down but processing fast. We worked on changing the cadence of combinations. Boom, boom, boom. Then Boom-Pause-Boom. Caleb is such a good student he got it down in one camp. Very impressive IQ he has.
Greetings Mr Edwards,
I hope you’re in good health. Huge respect to Caleb Plant and you for taking on David Benavidez. Although it’s the fighters and managers who take decisions regarding opponents. I think the coaches also try to mislead fighters or do not encourage them to take hard fights like Reynoso, Teofimo’s dad. So huge respect to you. It’s an awesome and at the same time a dangerous fight. Although the fight was just announced, what’s your initial reaction and thought process on how to approach the preparations for this fight as a coach?Bivol blew me away again. I hope it did most people. I was expecting a close fought UD for bivol, but a schooling of arguably the biggest light heavyweight currently. Damn! Do you think we all are under appreciating his genius, maybe due to his basic and less flashy boxing style or due to the lack of names he fought before canelo?I personally see him being as disciplined a fighter as Usyk and maybe Floyd too. He shows military level composure and never abandons the plan. You have used the term ‘money fighter’ for Usyk- “doesn’t always look GREAT, but he’s always GREAT when he has to be.” perhaps Bivol is one too. I personally think he can beat Beterbiev right now. How do you see the fight and what difference do you see between Gvozdyk and Bivol?
Thanks for answering our questions.
Bread’s Response: I’ve never had an issue OKAYING a tough fight as a head trainer. Some say it’s about money. Some say it’s about legacy. For me it’s about both. If the reward matches the risk, I’m all in. I believe Caleb and he believes in himself. So the fight got made. But give Caleb the credit, not me. He took the fight. He wanted to make it. So he made it.
I underrated Bivol. I’m sorry. He’s better than I gave him credit for. When something keeps happening then it’s no coincidence. Bivol is making fighters like Canelo and Zurdo look lackluster. Zurdo couldn’t get off. That wasn’t just a bad night. That was Bivol! I wouldn’t pick Bivol over Beterbiev but I must admit, the fight got closer. Right now it’s about 50/50 but it’s hard for me to go against Beterbiev. I love the match up. Stylistically it actually favors Bivol but taking Beterbiev’s punches is an issue.….
Hello breadman! Big fam, never miss a mailbag! I just wanted your opinion on who the top 10 middleweights of all time are. Also who do you think wins a fight Monzon vs Hagler
Bread’s Response: I once did the research and came up with a comprehensive list. I don’t have time this week but I will try to remember my order. I can remember I was shocked that Hagler rated over Monzon on my list because of his pre title run. Where as if I went by a quick assessment Monzon is usually over Hagler. So here it is from what I remember…
1. Sugar Ray Robinson
2. Harry Greb
3. Marvin Hagler
4. Carlos Monzon
5. Bernard Hopkins
6. Dick Tiger
7. Jake Lamotta
8. Tiger Flowers
9. Charley Burley
10. Roy Jones Jr.
Honorable Mention: Bob Fitzsimmons, Mickey Walker, GGG, Sam Langford, Gene Fulmer and Stanley Ketchel
Breadman, Congrats on your recent win with Caleb Plant, I can’t wait to see you two up against Benavidez. Good luck with Julian Williams in Minneapolis this weekend. Thanks for your reliable weekly wisdom on the sweet science. Here are a few mythical matchups I wonder if you would consider: Jamaine Ortiz – Masayoshi Nakatani, Jamaine Ortiz – George Kambosos, Jamaine Ortiz – Richard Commey. I’ve got Ortiz winning all three. Perhaps you see my point – I think Loma looked vulnerable against Ortiz, but Ortiz is bigger, faster, younger and I think the best fighter on this list outside of Loma. Credit to both men for an excellent fight, Ortiz’s stock rose with this performance. How did you see it?
Thanks for your time,
Phil
Bread’s Response: You’re correct Jamaine Ortiz is underrated for sure. I would also favor him over all 3…But Loma has still slipped. Loma takes an extra 2 rounds to start these days. He takes an extra 2 rounds to start having an effect on his opponents. He’s not doing that on purpose. It just takes him longer to have an effect at this stage of his career. On top of him being 34, the video is out. Coaches and opponents are not letting him get the angle behind the lead shoulder. It’s simple. So he can still get it but it’s just harder because of preparation for him. So he’s having to adjust more and with him having less physicality at 135lbs, all of his fights have been harder and he’s going the distance more.
Hi Mr Edwards! Which fights would you wish they can be made in boxing right now?? And I have been reading lately that my thoughts maybe true the winner of Lomachenko vs Haney will face Shakur, How would a fight between Haney and Shakur be, I feel like it would be more of a tactical chess match. I had read a Spence comment saying that their upcoming fights with Crawford are tune ups, so like you had said Spence vs Crawford isn’t dead? How do you see Shields vs Jonas being like? And can I have your view on Gervonta Davis do you think he can be the greatest of all time if he can fight Garcia, Shakur, Haney and Loma
Bread’s Response: Haney vs Shakur is a fight I like. I don’t care if they’re both boxers. I can appreciate that. I think Shakur would be forced to press the fight and come forward. I don’t know who wins. It’s a hard fight for both.
Spence vs Crawford is NOT dead. I still think it’s possible. The promotion will be awesome because BOTH will blame each other for why the first negotiations broke down.
I have no idea how Shields vs Jonas would look because I have never seen Jonas fight.
Gervonta Davis is a tremendous fighter but no not in the conversation for the Greatest of All Time after a few more wins. That’s a stretch. If he can beat Garcia, Shakur, Haney and Loma he would be one of the better lightweights of the last decade or so. But he hasn’t fought any of them yet. Let’s just see some of the fights get made first before we get into that type of stuff. Davis is 28, so now is the best time to start making those type of legacy fights.
Breadman,
Thank you for the genius insight that has kept me captivated weekly for 12+ year, since you were writing into the Mailbag on BT and G Leon was like yeah, what he said! a few things, congrats on the Caleb Plant win, your character shows through–when cats were talking stuff at the pre fight press conference once you spoke all that stopped. likewise afterwards when you talked about Caleb’s punching power it showed you don’t train boxers, you lead men and build warriors. So, a few weeks ago you said, champions need Elite sparring. The comment made me wonder did you bring Kyrone Davis out or J-Rock out to give Caleb super elite sparring? i was like if he can beat the cats in breadman’s gym and take some of that Philly grit and savvy with him he will raise his level and that he did but i wanted to wait until after the fight to ask.
WIlliam Zepeda looked great. It reminded me of a young Errol spence when he started rolling. it also made me recall what you said it would take to beat Spence, you have to find a way to break that rhythm. Shakur’s eyes and reflexes could break it, Tanks power could break it, Devin’s length and jab and footwork might be able to break it and Loma’s footwork might be able to break it….however, he looks like a tough life and death for all of them,especially Loma, how would you pick Zepeda against these four fighters.in the last 6 months, you’ve been using the expression fight to the burger, i felt like that is what JoJo Diaz was doing–he wasnt burger bloody but man he was taking some shots–was that an example of fight to the burger? Best wishes in MPLS, looking forward to J-Rock making one more run in 2023!
Billy Bomaye
Bread’s Response: Training a fighter is so much more than training a fighter. I wish I had enough space to write it all. When Caleb got to Philly I wanted him to spar. He had some jet lag and he wasn’t feeling his best. So he came back 2 weeks later and he sparred. I let him spar my junior featherweight Cuco Cruz to get his eyes together. I told him not to punch at more than 60%. Two days later I let him spar Julian Williams. The whole gym stopped what they were doing to watch the smoke.
Not often do you have 2 ex world champions spar on a random day. It was sharp, high class technical work. Everyone loved it.
I hired Kyrone for his actual camp a few months later. It was rough work. Kyrone was even respectfully boxing dirty. But that’s what Caleb needed to prepare him for the fight. All love and respect afterwards.
Someone is going to have to deal with William Zepeda. Pressure fighters with high volume, have high peaks. Let’s see someone deal with Zepeda in his current form before he starts to slip.
Jo Jo Diaz fights to the burger! He doesn’t lack an ounce of heart. However I think he’s overmatched above 130lbs. He just seems too small. Not just height but his bone density. His physicality is just not the same at 135 and above but no one just abuses him. He’s a modern day dog. Heart Fighter. I respect Diaz a great deal.
In case you haven’t heard, the WBC decided that Jeff Fenech’s draw against Azumah Nelson in 1991 is actually a win for Fenech. The WBC now retroactively considers Fenech the WBC super featherweight champion from June 1991 until March of 1992.Fenech’s record on his Wikipedia page has already been updated to reflect his new win. Luckily BoxRec doesn’t seem to be following that same path. I think this is an incredibly dangerous precedent. I’m shocked the WBC opened this can of worms. I think this opens up all decision wins involving WBC championships for interpretation. I think it blurs the line between opinion and fact… because it’s a fact that the Fenech-Nelson fight in 1991 ended in a draw, despite what the WBC is doing. I would love to hear your take.
Bread’s Response: It’s think it’s a slippery slope. I’m all for correcting bad decisions but the thing about the Fenech vs Nelson fight is the decision was bad in 1991. Nothing changed as far as what happened in their first fight. So go overturn the decision WHEN it happened. Don’t wait 30 years to rewrite history. You have to ask WHY now?Once you do something like this. You create a precedence. Now every fighter who has been robbed or caught a bad break in a WBC title fight, will look towards the WBC and ask why did you do that for Jeff Fenech and not for me.
The first Barrera vs Morales fight, was a bad decision. Barrera won that fight, I don’t care what anyone says. Barrera vs Marquez was also a bad decision in my opinion especially with the awful call by the referee missing the clean and clear knockdown by Barrera, that cost him the fight. Are they going to change that one too? It just opens up the flood lanes. And for the record I think Fenech won his first fight vs Nelson. But it wasn’t the worst decision I’ve ever seen in a WBC fight. It was no worse than GGG vs Canelo 1……which was coincidentally scored a draw just like Fenech vs Nelson 1 was…
When you change the outcome of title fights, you alter the lineage of the champions. Because what if the fighter who received the gift, loses to someone else and not the original opponent. For example what if Nelson would’ve lost to someone else after the draw vs Fenech? Then are you telling me that, that fighter is the not the real champion 30 years later. In Nelson’s case he stopped Fenech in the rematch so the lineage remained in order but there are other cases where it didn’t.
Again that’s a slippery slope.
Bread, Forget the fights that aren’t happening, this fight between Rivera and Martin needs some attention, it needs some promotion behind it. A battle of young undefeated contenders in one of the most talented divisions. My question, not that I’m complaining but why is this fight happening? What is your early breakdown and predictions on how this fight will go.
Bread’s Response: All I can say is WOW!! PBC does not have a history of making this type of fight, this early. This may be the biggest and best non title fight I’ve ever seen the PBC make. I can’t think of a better one off the top of my head. Major props to Team Martin and Team Rivera. I don’t know why the fight is happening. I honestly don’t. I’m not sure if it’s to create an opponent for Tank Davis. Or create another fighter at 135lbs to go after some of the belts to get some control over the division. Whatever the reason is, it’s a power move! I have no idea who will win.
I’ve seen Rivera fight a few times. But I’ve only seen Martin fight once. So I would have to study him to compose a good breakdown. I don’t want to judge him on one fight. What I can say is both of these guys have everything they need. Tremendous trainers in Herman Caicedo and Derrick James. Both have real conditioning. Both are strong and have multi layers to their games from what I have seen. Both must be very confident in order to take this fight before they get a title shot. I don’t even know who would be the favorite but my guess is Martin because he has seems to be a bigger puncher. But that’s just a guess. I can’t wait. Love this fight and match up.
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