DAILY BREAD FRIDAY (WRITTEN) EDITION
By Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

I think Sergio Martinez will slaughter Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Saturday night!! Chavez Jr is saying Martinez has underestimated him I think it’s the other way around – Chavez Jr. has underestimated Martinez. He’s a big guy but doesn’t look to me to be that much bigger than Martinez and I also think that Maravilla has prepared better?? What’s your opinion?

I also think Austin Trout is a bad matchup for Miguel Cotto. Trout's stronger than he looks PLUS he fights like Chris Byrd. Cotto won’t be able to run all over Trout but Trout won’t be able to KO Cotto either. Cotto will win the fight but he won’t dominate. Trout is too slick for him.

To me Lennox Lewis was one of the WEAKER heavyweight Champions in history…but he was very good. He matured as a heavyweight much later than Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield which was to his advantage so his prime was much later than theirs cause they had already burned out, this enabled him to beat them for if he’d faced them early he wouldn’t have fared as well. He failed when his biggest challenge was before him – yeah he beat Vitaly Klitschko but he was in poor condition and so on. He should’ve got in shape, prepared correctly and faced him again, beating him cleanly…but he didn’t.

Bread you still preaching?? The weight drop did affect Chad Dawson…when a fighter says “I just couldn’t get off tonight” you can attribute it to 3 things: 1) overtraining, 2) weight loss to make weight, 3) too much sparring – left his fight in the gym. The proof of the pudding to my statement will be that Dawson will NEVER again drop down to 168lbs! Andre Ward was too strong mentally for Dawson who dismissed him as coddled and underestimated his ability and like Carl Froch Dawson said at the end “I didn’t think he was that fast or that strong”. Dawson will have problems when he returns to 175lb division because now he’s an open book and the gameplan to beat him would be to box with good defense, counterpunching and energy and he’ll get frustrated. I could see Jean Pascal beating him again.

Put Larry Holmes in the heavyweight argument also. Holmes DID NOT lose to Michael Spinks in either fight, those fights were taken away from Holmes cause he impuned Rocky Marciano’s name saying “Rocky Marciano couldn’t carry my jock strap”. If you’ll notice NEVER have either one of those fights been shown on ESPN classic and you can only finds parts of the 2nd fight on youtube, but none of the 1stfight. Larry reigned for 7 years 2nd only to the Brown Bomber and fought killers of the heavyweight division the Klitschko’s would’ve run from if that was their era.

Bread’s Response: The Lennox Lewis comment really seemed to have sparked some interesting rhetoric. I won’t say Lewis was weak, but he wasn’t always the most satisfying fighter. I remember when he beat an emotionally distraught Oliver McCall in their rematch I was urging him to knock his head off but he was tepid in his approach. These comments really bring me back to Lennox’s day. I almost forgot how undervalued people looked at him.

You could be right Rob. It could be the weight, overtraining or too much sparring. Or it could be a combination of things that led to Dawson’s demise. Now that it’s public that Chad was kod in sparring by Edison Miranda, who knows how the camp went. I suspect that Dawson doesn’t run a strong camp. Not because of anything that I heard, but because of Chad’s demeanor. He just doesn’t seem like a leader as far as delegating duties.


I also think Chad Dawson will be up against it when he returns to 175. He was semi confident before because he had nothing but success. Now that he was dominated ,winning fights will be that much harder. I could also see Pascal beating him and I would pick Gabriel Campillo to beat him. Dawson is not mentally quick enough to handle movement. And if he gets down on points in a fight he’s in trouble. If Ishmayl Syllahk gets himself together then I think he would beat Dawson also. That Pascal fight was no fluke.


I think Larry Holmes was a great great fighter. He is definitely a top heavyweight on Mt. Rushmore. I do think he lost the first Spinks fight but I get your point about Holmes’s comments. Holmes’s attitude and demeanor still cost him until this day as far as his IN RING recognition. Think about this for a second people. Holmes beat a prime Ray Mercer when he was over 40, easier than a prime Lennox Lewis did.

My Martinez/Chavez pick will be in my video mailbag (already posted). Cotto has to fight quality fighters. So at this point I respect the pick. I hear what you’re saying but I think Cotto beats him. I will explain the concept of Cotto’s jab and why I think he will win the fight once it gets closer.


What a performance by Andre Ward first of all. I thought Dawson had a good shot and it wasn't even a contest. So tell me Roy Jones Jr ( 1997 ) vs Andre Ward now. Who wins? Why. IMO Roy would have handled him fairly easily but just curious to see what you would think.

Secondly, your bias and favriotism of James Kirkland is getting on my last nerve. You talk about how a class act like guerrero has been given special treatment by HBO but you use JAMES KIRKLAND? As a guy who is left behind? Lol Wtf are you talking about. This bum has been given chance after chance

Anyway Kirkland has had his chances and failed. After beating Julio he would of gotten a title shot but he went to prison for dumb shit. He gets out and gets HUMILIATED and DESTROYED by Nobu Ishida. Before the ref even stoped the fight you were making excuses for him. Saying how not being with Ann Wolff made some huge difference because she trained him like a dog and made him a animal and a monster.

So despite being KO'd in 1 round by a japanese fighter with 6 losses HBO puts him back on vs a overrated limited Angulo. Kermit Cintron beat Angulo, you can't defend him as being quality. I loved the fight don't get me wrong. Two limited come forward brawlers. One chinny( kirkland) one a bleeder( angulo) a great action fight and Kirkland got a nice win. So after that he was offered a fight with Canelo for 1you million and he TURNED IT DOWN. Wanting 2.5 mill, yea right lol . ( Canelo would KO him inside 3 rounds by the way) . So Hbo gives him Carlos Molina. A worker bee with no power to protect his WEAK chin. He gets exposed yet again, gets lucky to win. He then dumps wolff and his team and you defend him yet again. The guy is a wirthless piece of trash inside and outside the ring. U hope he gets his shot so he can get embarrassed. You better pick him over canelo, sergio or jcc jr. Don't chicken out. Stand by your man lol.

I wish this guys can career would be over so he can go spend his life in prison like we all know he will. The guy is a thug and a loser.it's not a bad thing Hbo gives a guy like robert guerrero a little love over someone like that.

Bread’s Response: I never said James Kirkland was a Saint. I said he deserved a title shot. Fighting guys like Ossie Duran, Brian Vera, Joel Julio, Alfredo Angulo and Carlos Molina in non title fights at the time he fought them is unheard of in this day and age.

I didn’t say HBO showed Robert Guerrero favoritism, Guerrero last fight was on Showtime. I just said he was shown favoritism in general. I know Kirkland screwed up BIG time, but his resume is still better than Guerrero’s, they have about the same number of fights and Guerrero has had 4 more shots at a title. You can’t argue with MATH. It doesn’t add up.

Guerrero is not just getting these shots because he’s a nice guy and Kirkland is a felon. You can ball that theory up and throw it in the trash.

Kirkland did price himself out of the Canelo fight. But he was injured and he was being asked to speed up his rehab just to fight. I’m not saying he was right or wrong, but that’s a tough spot to be in. And since you bring up Kirkland’s layoff (jail stint)….

Guerrero took off for an injury over a year. He left as a lightweight and came back to a welterweight title shot. How come when Kirkland went to Mexico and beat Angulo in an eliminator he didn’t get his title shot? You can minimize Angulo all you want, but he’s better than Michael Katsiditis. That’s who Guerrero fought for two titles at one time, while Katsiditis was coming off of a loss. Let me ask you something else about the Kirkland/Angulo scenario. How many times have you seen an American fighter with an American Promoter, be forced to go to his opponent’s country for an eliminator?


You can also try to minimize Carlos Molina but Molina is the real boogeyman and he could be the best super welterweight in the world. Molina is not very cut and I suspect he could make 147 if he tried. Since you think he’s such a turkey, let me ask who would you bet on to win between Molina and Guerrero, they are only one division apart…..


When you reply, do so with facts, not your opinion. We know you think Kirkland is a worthless human being. But tell us what Guerrero has done to deserve 4 title shots, while Kirkland has not received one yet. 

 

It's been a minute since I've rapped a taste with my boy because frankly, boxing had sadly become back paged news in my mind. UNTIL SATURDAY! My home girl & fan of yours Katrina texted me after the fight saying that Andre Ward was now #2 P4P. We often disagree and this was no different. Andre Ward is THE best fighter in the world! Many times, great fighters of the past, who are really in the twilight of their careers, have held on to mythical P4P titles until some young STUD comes along and wrecks havoc (ala Whitaker/Jones 1994). Both Floyd and Manny are all-time greats but TODAY? Neither are sharper or more well rounded than Andre Ward and I think he's only scratched the surface on how great he will be!
As for the fight, the first "seed" Andre planted was the right to the body. Although they weren't crushing shots, they were strategic shots that opened up the gates. Upper cuts on the inside? OMG. He looked like Jack Johnson with those shots. I also liked his patience. He was cool when Dawson landed shots/did well & didn't get crazy when he eventually hurt Chad. Coming into the ring, he had that look that said, "There's no way in hell I'm losing this fight". I can't explain the look but I know it when I see it. Ultimately, he made a world class, top 12 P4P fighter say, "I've had enough." This was an epic performance by a true gifted young fighter.
And ironically, the most important fight as far as Ward's immediate future is concerned happens this weekend. Truth be told, the Ward camp has to be rooting for CHAVEZ. Not only because Chavez can moving up in weight easier than Martinez can, but his name ALONE will bring in the dollars especially if he's spectacular in winning this weekend.
Andre Ward is the TRUTH.
Bread’s Response: Yes he is. You won’t get an argument from me if you put Ward at #1 p4p. I’m just appreciating the guy. I’m also laughing at all of these promoter’s who only want guys who are supposedly knockout punchers. They just don’t know boxing.

The one guy who has the world craving for more, ascended to the top of throne with 5 decisions in a row. I’m not saying I don’t like knockouts because I love knockouts. But there is a science to this game that gets undervalued if it doesn’t always produce kos.

I don’t think Ward will fight Chavez anytime soon, win , lose or draw. Ward’s promoters and HBO will have to create worthy opponents.


With word coming that Manny Pacquiao is going to fight Juan Manuel Marquez for the 4th time, I think it is time we declare Pacquiao dead. I mean there are at least 5 other fights that I would rather watch than to see these guys fight for the 4th time. Berto, Bradley, Maidana, Peterson, Garcia, Matthysse, Bailey would be more interesting than seeing this fight. It may be a close fight but what if Pacquiao loses? Then he is done. Or are they going to fight a 5th time to 'settle' it?

--
Marlon
Bread’s Response: I respect Pacquiao for fighting such a troublesome style for him but I do think he’s making a mistake. I really don’t have anything else to say except I think the pressure is on both fighters to win impressively. Manny is going to have to knock Marquez out this time in order to satisfy people and Marquez can’t keep laying back waiting on Manny, then complaining after the judges give Manny a close fight…..

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