Daily Bread Mailbag: Crawford-Madrimov, what now for Canelo-Crawford, Riyadh Season reflections and the greatness of Bernard Hopkins

In this week’s unmissable mailbag, Stephen “Breadman” Edwards discusses the landscape after Israil Madrimov was competitive against Terence Crawford, he looks at Crawford’s next steps and future fights, talks about the brilliance of Bernard Hopkins and Breadman gets plenty of credit for predicting Jose Valenzuela to topple Isaac Cruz.

What’s up Bread,  

Congrats on your daughter winning nationals! 

How do you keep her motivated and not burnout by the time she is in her teens? Honest answer, would you be disappointed if she lost interest in her later teens? 

I apologize if this comes off negative or too personal. 

Anyways I love watching Crawford fight, dude is a savant. I have a custom made funko pop of him that I’m really proud of.  

I thought that match was exciting, two brilliant technicians going at. Crawford was super smart to jab this guy and attack in spurts. That eastern European style is tricky. I wonder if he could’ve done more damage if he crouched his way in behind the high guard like Tank does and threw some hooks and jabs to the body. I’m glad Canelo talks have lost a little steam. I prefer Crawford vs the top 154 guys legacy-wise/stylistically and for undisputed in three weight classes. I believe they’re better fights. His toughest out to me is Ortiz and Fundora is a sneaky hard fight too, but I favor him. How do you think Jaron Ennis would’ve done vs Madrimov? I remember you saying Boots can clean up 154, but man it’s a gauntlet. Lastly, I’m super excited for the Ortiz fight this weekend, I feel like this Sergii cat is coming to win. Thanks as always. 

Bread’s Response: Thank you. She turned 13 this year. So puberty is a REAL thing, along with the distractions. I take them day by day. We do fun stuff. I give her days off. I give her incentives for doing well. I invest in her recovery so she doesn’t feel depleted. And most of all she doesn’t run all year around. She only runs from March-to the first weekend of August which is the Junior Olympics. During her off season, she plays basketball and volleyball. And she does kid stuff. So we find a cool balance. 

Yes, I would be disappointed if she lost interest. Because she has a god given talent. But as you get older, you learn acceptance. Believe it or not she’s a fantastic singer. Her voice is GOLDEN and her voice in singing is equal to her ability in track. But she’s sort of lost interest in singing and although it disappoints me, I accept it. I learned long ago to not be an idealist when it comes to LIFE. 

Bud Crawford is a 100% a savant. You could see he was processing in that ring. He came up with a solution. His solution was to beat Madrimov with his JAB. Bud’s IQ is so high, it’s hard to question his decision to use his jab to win the fight. I would favor Crawford over the current crop of top guys at 154. 

I also agree that Vergil Ortiz is a tough fight. But let me tell you something. If Crawford fights Fundora, Ortiz and Tim Tszyu. Do not be surprised if he loses. Sometimes the totality of taking on prime elite opponents can take its toll. That’s a tough line up to get through without a loss.

Why are you glad the Canelo talks have died down? It’s a BIG fight. Isn’t that what boxing is about? Madrimov and Canelo fight differently. Just because Madrimov gave Crawford a tough fight, it doesn’t mean Crawford can’t beat Canelo. It’s like a Crawford fan saying Austin Trout and Erislandy Lara gave Canelo tough fights, so therefore Crawford can beat Canelo. They have to beat each other in the ring, not on paper. 

Mardimov is sneaky good. He does some things that Boots would have to adjust to. But I think Boots would win a hard-nosed fight. I think Boots would get hit more than Bud did. But I also think Boots would inflict more punishment than Bud did. The performances would show the difference in the way Bud and Boots go about things. It’s not so much who’s better. It’s just a difference in approach because of their ages.

A lot of people think Crawford has no shot at Canelo because he didn’t get a KO but I think this fight may have made me more interested. Moving up to 154 and fighting the champion is no small feat. Also, Madrimov is very skilled and I think it is a win that will grow in value over time. Crawford still had to cut weight to make 154, so I think he still has good room to grow enough. He may be even more durable not cutting weight than he already has been. Also Madrimov is listed at two inches taller than Canelo. (Crawford listed an inch taller than Canelo) And as you’ve mentioned Crawford’s reach is listed around 4 inches longer than Canelo. Canelo has had trouble with boxers, not killer punchers (minus his should be loss to GGG). I think Crawford showed ability to stay focused for 12 rounds. Canelo fights in spurts and a focused Crawford might be able to engage when he needs to. I think Crawford counters to the body could also be consequential if they were to fight. He was doing damage vs Madrimov to the body. I don’t think anyone was really expecting Crawford to move up to 168 and knock out Canelo, at least they shouldn’t. But I was impressed with this win and unlike the media I am probably more interested in Canelo-Crawford. Has this fight changed your opinion on the Canelo fight? Thanks for doing the mailbag!

Bread’s Response: I’m not going to act like Madrimov didn’t give Crawford some trouble. Because he did. But he didn’t win. He fought a fight that neutralized Crawford’s counter punching. But Madrimov couldn’t get enough of his own offense going. Canelo may be a better fighter than Madrimov, but they present a different set of problems.

I still like Crawford’s chances to beat Canelo. But Madrimov landing that LEAD RIGHT HAND is a concern if I’m on Team Crawford. Canelo knows how to fight southpaws. He’s a big puncher. And he has a great right hand. But it’s boxing. Crawford wants the fight. And all Canelo has to do to prove he can do better than Madrimov is take the challenge. It’s the Fight of the Century level fight if it happens.

Hey Bread, I saw a post you made on twitter about the attention you give to ring walks, music and gloves. I want to focus for a moment on gloves. You said that depending on the hand type and punch delivery, gloves matter BIG time. I was hoping you could venture down a brief rabbit hole about that. Many of us have not had a chance to wear or punch with professional fight gloves. I think the mailbag fans would enjoy a breakdown that is deeper then “Reyes are punchers gloves”. Thanks, Brent from Canada

Bread’s Response: The major glove brands are Everlast, Rivals, Reyes, Winning and Grants. Canelo also has some approved gloves that are very good. Everlast makes several types of gloves. Their MX Gloves are very similar to Reyes. With these particular gloves you have to have either hard hands or a very good wrap. These gloves have the softest leather and softest cushion inside which allows for a more closed and open hand. The notable fighters of this era who wear Everlast MX are Deontay Wilder, Terence Crawford, Marcos Maidana, Mikey Garcia and Bam Rodriguez.

Reyes are very similar to Everlast MX but they are slightly more filled out with the inside stuffing. The notable fighters of this era who have worn Reyes are Adonis Stevenson, Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Rivals are actually good gloves. They have harder leather than Reyes and Everlast Mx. But they carry density on contact. The notable fighters of this era who have worn Rivals are David Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Usyk.

Grants are usually smaller and tighter than the other gloves unless you get the therapeutic Grants. The Grants are unique because the wrist area carries most of the weight, while the fist area is smaller and tighter than most other gloves. Grants have a very tight FIT. The notable fighters of this era who have worn Grants are Floyd Mayweather, Jaron Ennis and the Charlo Brothers.

Breadman, how’d you enjoy the Riyadh event? I predicted Bakole to get the KO but was getting nervous when he started to look gassed but thankfully finished the job before he did. Anderson got drawn into trading punches, but also showed a lot more heart and grit than people gave him.

Unfortunately lost money on Isaac Cruz. Nice prediction there with Valenzuela! He looked very solid and Cruz looked like he didn’t have much composure and was swinging for the fences while Valenzuela kept stepping out of range and boxing nicely. Would have really liked to see Pitbull utilize the jab more but he’s got his own style. Madrimov was no slouch. Thought he had excellent footwork, movement, feints and it really looks like he was causing Crawford to have to use his ring IQ to the max. Round 11 looked really good for Crawford and if it had gone another minute, felt like Crawford might have even been able to end it there. I did feel like during the fight that 154 looks like it might be towards the top limit of Crawford being able to maintain his dominance in the ring and any higher begins to look like a real risk depending on the level of the opponent. But it was great to see his power still carry through the 11th round when it felt like he was damaging Madrimov. First, let me say I have a ton of respect for Crawford and Canelo. They are both phenomenal and special fighters. Anything else besides that is just ridiculous bias. I have no problem with Canelo not taking the Benavidez or Morrell fight – they are hard fights and he’s had a career full of them, but it does feel like he needs to vacate the belts or take on these more serious contenders. The sweet middle feels like a mega fight at middleweight (160) for Canelo & Crawford but unfortunately, there wouldn’t be much to gain from that other than their names on the record books.Any thoughts on where Crawford and Canelo might each go from here to cement their legacy without the extremes of fighting no names or jumping up too many weight classes? You the man – thanks for the time! Alex

Bread’s Response: I liked the Riyadh card. But I didn’t like the main event coming on so late. The biggest media market in the world is on the East Coast. The stock market starts on East Coast time. Yet boxing events start at 1230am or later East Coast Time. That’s unfair to the audience. 10pm-11pm is more than reasonable. Other than that it was a well matched card. 

I didn’t know enough about Bakole so I picked Anderson. Boy was I wrong. But I was very impressed. Bakole looked like George Foreman. That was a brutal and destructive performance. Bakole does get tired judging by his Michael Hunter fight but Anderson couldn’t get him to the point of exhaustion.

Yes I liked El Rayo in his fight vs Cruz. Cruz fought like he normally does. He’s a good fighter and a dog. But he’s very predictable. It’s not just his one dimensional style, it’s how he attacks. It’s the same thing over and over. I felt El Rayo and Robert Garcia would come up with something to offset Cruz’s attack. That was a BIG win for them.

Crawford vs Madrimov was a chess match. A very good chess match. Both guys fought well. Crawford fought better. I don’t know if 154 is Crawford’s limit because we don’t know how good Madrimov is yet. Madrimov may be THAT good. If he is THAT good, then Crawford is just fine.

Canelo has a fight on September 14th. Let’s see how it goes before we say where they go from here. 

Hello Breadman! So now social media and a lot of people are saying Crawford has no chance against Canelo. Here is why I still disagree: 1) Crawford was coming off a perfect fight against Spence. I can’t recall anytime in history someone fighting two perfect fights in a row. But correct me if you know an example of it happening because I’m sure it’s been done. Manny Pac possibly during his run. 2) Crawford being off 13 months is detrimental to his style since he relies a lot on counter-punching and rhythm. His ring IQ is so high he’s able to still perform well, don’t get me wrong, but he would benefit more from fighting twice a year. I don’t like that much inactivity between fights and especially not for a guy like Crawford. 3) Madrimov is a tough customer. That twitchy style with a lot of hand movement is hard to look good against. He also put everything into his camp and preparation and really gave it his all. That showed. So hats off to him because he performed very well! 4) Crawford moved up in weight and even being the all-time great fighter that he is, it wouldn’t be wise to just expect him to run through Madrimov with no resistance. Crawford still did well, although it was a closer fight than many anticipated. I believe Crawford by a couple rounds seemed fair although I wasn’t scoring the fight with a pen and pad. Just enjoying it. In conclusion, I really don’t put a lot of stock into this last fight nor do I think it “proves” that Crawford should stay away from Canelo. Crawford has the style to trouble Canelo, although Canelo would open as a betting favorite. Which he should be. A lot of guys that have given Canelo trouble in the past are fast twitch movers who can counterpunch. Trout, Lara, Floyd etc. People seem to forget that Canelo is not that much bigger naturally than Crawford, and he’s shorter with less reach. What are your thoughts, Bread? I believe Crawford would have a better shot to defeat Canelo than Berlanga does actually. It’s also my opinion that if Crawford fought a tune up at 168, and then were to defeat Canelo and retire undefeated, he would have a case for a top 5 fighter ever. Btw, I find it doubtful the Crawford/Canelo fight ever gets made. Just being hypothetical here. Thoughts? Travis Kennedy Springfield, Illinois 

Bread’s Response: 1) Fighters have fought more than one perfect fight in a row. Manny Pacquiao definitely did vs David Diaz, then Oscar De La Hoya, then Ricky Hatton, then Miguel Cotto. But that’s why he’s Manny Pacquiao. I haven’t seen it since. 

Pernell Whitaker had a few when he fought Greg Haugen, Louie Lomelli and Jose Luis Ramirez. But it doesn’t happen often. It’s hard to be in a flow state fight after fight. Your baseline performance is NOT the same as that PEAK day. It’s why I thought Spence could do better in a rematch. Simply because of the laws of averages. If Spence improves 10% and Crawford comes down 10% we have a better fight. But I expected Crawford to win a competitive fight. And that’s what happened.

2) I don’t think Crawford looked rusty. I think Madrimov was patient and didn’t give Crawford many counter punching opportunities.

3) Exactly. You don’t have to be a GREAT fighter, to give a great fighter trouble. If you’re in your prime, with ability, and you have a solid corner and game plan, you can either win or give the great fighter trouble. This is a game of inches and inches separate great from very good, not feet.

4) Crawford vs Canelo is a very competitive match up. I don’t care what anyone says. I definitely feel as though Crawford would be a tougher challenge to Canelo than Berlanga. Crawford’s skills and ability are superior to Berlanga’s size in my opinion. But let’s see what Berlanga has. He may improve with a good camp.

Hey Mr. Edwards. After seeing how Terence Crawford performed against a junior-middleweight, do you still think he can beat Canelo? I don’t know what to think, because Canelo probably has the best chin in boxing (now that Triple-G retired), and if Crawford couldn’t hurt Israil Madrimov, I don’t see him hurting Canelo, even though I think Crawford is #1 pound-for-pound, and Canelo is maybe #5 or lower, pound-for-pound. I also want your opinion about Manny Pacquiao fighting Mario Barrios. I don’t know what to think about that match-up either, because Pacquiao just had an exhibition fight where he looked terrible and was dominated, but he had another exhibition fight not that long ago where he totally dominated a middleweight, and it reminded me of when you said old fighters can still turn back the clock sometimes, even though they looked old in their previous fight, or look old in their next fight…John, Sacramento, California

Bread’s Response: Canelo does have a great chin. One of the best I’ve seen. But Crawford doesn’t have to stop him to beat him. Mayweather didn’t stop him. But he hit him hard ENOUGH. All punches hurt. Never forget that. Crawford hits hard enough to stop Canelo’s progress and that’s enough power. 

Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest fighters I have ever seen. But I feel bad for him if he fights at 45 years old. Not only did he look bad vs Ugas. But he looked bad in that exhibition. This is a dangerous fight for Manny in terms of his health. Hopefully if he goes through with it, he doesn’t get seriously hurt or have residual damage afterwards. 

The match up favors Manny if he were close to his prime. I would pick him to dominate. But I have no idea what to expect from a 45 yr old fighter, who was beat up in his last fight and he’s a few years removed from that loss. Fighters don’t get better in their mid 40s after they slipped in their early 40s.

Hi Bread, Great tip on the Valenzuela-Cruz fight again. But it’s the Crawford-Madrimov fight I’m interested in. Before the fight, I backed Madrimov at 6-1 and again at 8-1 as I thought he had a big big chance. I only mention this to show I wasn’t bias towards Crawford. The fight I saw had Crawford in control and I never thought I was going to collect at any stage and after the fight I was shocked that so many people thought it controversial. I agreed with Shawn Porter and had it wide for Crawford in a competitive fight against a very very good fighter. I’m interested in how you scored it. Is it just that people want to do Crawford down. I think this win will age well. Cheers for the great weekly mailbag. Alun, UK

Bread’s Response: I didn’t think the outcome was in doubt at any point. I didn’t score it with a pen and pad but I was comfortable with Crawford winning either 117-11 or 116-112. I think 115-113 is overcompensation in Madrimov’s favor and a Madrimov win is blasphemy. Madrimov fought well but he didn’t win.

I think humans subconsciously suffer from Fault Seeking. Humans don’t like perfection in anyone except themselves. So when they see a perfect record in boxing. Or someone like Michael Jordan in basketball or Tom Brady in football, they tend to root against the grain. It’s just what it is.

Crawford was in control in a tough competitive fight. At no point did I get the impression he was in danger of losing. And I didn’t think he needed to win the last round in order to not get a draw. It was a good win vs a very good opponent in his prime. It’s the example of a kind of win that’s not against a HOF or popular fighter. But it’s real and it’s a harder fight than some of the BIGGER names. Pernell Whitaker had a win like this vs Julio Cesar Vasquez. No one remembers Vasquez but he was a very, very good fighter. He actually dropped Whitaker and he has a win over HOF Winky Wright.

Hi Bread, Madrimov is the goods. And probably the most complex and original style to adapt to. I still think he could outpoint Canelo who doesn’t move like Madrimov but no other 168. We didn’t mention 160 but don’t you think Crawford could get a belt à 160? 168 would be insane. But 160 is relatively ‘weak’ and more doable. Adames, Lara, Janibek… I think Crawford has it. How do you like Crawford vs Boots at this stage? Crawford vs Ortiz? Did you see any slippage? Or was it more Madrimov’s style, the inactivity, adapting to the weight? Madrimov-Boots would be a very good fight. Think Boots could stop him. 147/168 is interesting. Ortiz, Madrimov, Boots, Crawford, Spence, Tszyu, Sheeraz, Adames, Janibek…Benavidez and Morrell… Different fights and opponents but do you think they ‘struggled’ because of the new weight class or the opponents? The Nail [Gvozdyk] was excellent and high caliber with some pop. For Morrell, it looked like he wanted the easy KO but Hot Rod was fighting very good. When he didn’t get it he didn’t adjust. Still won easy but in this particular fight he didn’t look as indestructible as before. Style or weight? 

Cheers and congrats for the Pitbull Cruz call

Diego

Bread’s Response: Madrimov’s style is certainly a tough one to adapt to. Especially when he’s showing patience. But I think Crawford adapted well. I think Crawford could get a belt at 160. But he has to be careful fighting these hungry young, bigger fighters. I would favor him to beat Adames but Janibek would be a hard fight for him because Janibek has elite boxing skills and he would also be patient with Crawford. 

I think Crawford vs Boots is an instant classic. I believe the skill sets that would be displayed would be on the level of Leonard vs Hearns 1, Toney vs  McCallum and Whitaker vs McGirt. I don’t go to fights that I’m not working but I would go to that. I don’t know who would win right now. I can see scenarios where Boots would win. I can see openings that Crawford can take advantage of. Boots is a gunslinger and that can help him but also hurt him with a master counter puncher like Crawford. Great fight. 

I believe Vergil Ortiz is the real deal. I would slightly favor Crawford. But he would have to bring his A game. Ortiz is NO JOKE.

I didn’t see slippage. I saw a fighter moving up vs a difficult and explosive style. Madrimov is very explosive. I think what we saw was Crawford’s IQ on display.

I think Boots could stop Madrimov. I believe Boots would take more punishment than Crawford did. Because of his youth, he wouldn’t be as patient. But I also believe he would DISH out more punishment than Crawford did for the same reasons. 

David Benavidez usually closes very strong. I don’t know what happened. Maybe the CONTACT shots wore him out late. I thought Benavidez looked good but down the stretch something was off. I’m going to guess that maybe his injury didn’t allow him to get in great shape. I also believe the Nail was in incredible shape. So that combination of circumstances didn’t allow Benavidez to be his usual self down the stretch.

And the jump from 168 to 175 is a very difficult one. Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Steve Collins never moved up to 175 and all were great SMWs. Andre Ward only did it in his last 2 fights. It’s one of the more difficult jumps in boxing. Benavidez fought a good fight  but he may have to box more at 175, just like Chavez boxed more at 140 than he did at 135. Benavidez has boxing skills that aren’t appreciated enough. He’s clever with his aggressive attacks.

As for Morrell, I’m not sure what happened but you could be right. It wasn’t his best night but he still won going away. So I will try not to judge him on one off night.

Brother Bread, It’s been a while since i’ve hit you up on email. Hope all is well with you and your family. I just wanted to thank you for being a gifted boxing genius. Your prediction on the Pit Bull Cruz-Rayo fight was spot on. I mean, I can literally take what you say to the bank. I made my bet based on your predictions just as I have in the past, and you just keep lining a brother’s pockets with that paper. I appreciate you not only because of your detailed analysis, but for being a great boxing mind. I appreciate you man. DFreeRaleigh NC 

Bread’s Response: You’re welcome. Lots of people hit that Rayo bet because of my pick. Glad to have helped. If you see me at a fight, come up and say hello.

Terence Crawford is clearly one of the most accomplished active boxers around. But after his performance against Israil Madrimov, isn’t it unfair to say he’s one of the very best boxers around? He looked his age and fought a dead even fight with a guy who is clearly not among the best of the best. I would love to hear your thoughts. I’m just not sure how Crawford can be ranked at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings after that fight. Thank you for the input!

Bread’s Response: I think you’re being overly critical. I think you’re going overboard. Crawford did a solid job. No it wasn’t Crawford’s performance he had vs Spence but it was solid nonetheless. Terence Crawford is definitely one of the best. I have him #1. If he’s anywhere lower than 3 then the list isn’t credible. Only Usyk and The Monster have cases for being over Bud P4P.

Hey Breadman, thanks for the great read every Saturday morning. I was talking to a friend about Bernard Hopkins and he didn’t realize all the great fighters he beat and also lost to. He was a diehard ODLH fan back in our day and never followed boxing like me. Please educate your readers on how great Hopkins was. From the legit 20 MW title defenses to his run at LH so late. Thanks again for your time and best wishes to you and yours.

Vince from British Columbia 

Bread’s Response: Bernard Hopkins has a case for being the greatest fighter ever from Philadelphia and Philadelphia is the greatest boxing city ever in terms of talents born there and Hopkins may be the best. He has 20 title defenses. Which is the MW record. His biggest wins at 160 were against Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. People complained that they were small despite Hopkins being the underdog vs Tito. But all he did after that was fight Antonio Tarver in his first fight at 175. 

Hopkins’ run at 175 is actually more impressive than his run at 160. He was a better fighter at 160 but 175 was more impressive. Because at 175, the fighters were bigger and he was over 40. He didn’t have the title defense numbers but he won the 175lb title 3x. I don’t have room to name all of the names but again Hopkins’s run at 175 was extremely impressive. 

His run at 160 makes him no worse than a top 6 to 7 fighter in one of the best divisions ever. His resiliency is astonishing. If a fighter had his stylistic number, he would just go and beat a fighter that beat the fighter that had his stylistic number. 

For example, Roy Jones beat him in 1993. Hopkins beat Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson who beat Jones. 

Jermain Taylor beat Hopkins 2x. So Hopkins went and beat Kelly Pavlik who beat Taylor and Winky Wright who had a draw with Taylor.

Chad Dawson beat Hopkins. So Hopkins went onto to beat Jean Pascal who beat Dawson. Hopkins may be the most stubborn fighter ever in that way, he always found ways to get the guy back who beat him.

Hopkins also has a case for being the best fighter of the 21st century. Most will pick Mayweather or Pacquiao. But fight for fight, Hopkins has a reasonable case. Bernard is a top 75 fighter EVER. GREAT, great fighter.

One more thing. I’m thinking as a type. Bernard wasn’t known as a speedster. But he had unbelievable quickness. He landed the hardest punch in boxing to land and that’s a lead right hand from an orthodox fighter. He landed that punch maybe better than anyone in history. Again. Great fighter. If you want to watch someone fight a perfect fight, watch his fights vs Glen Johnson and Felix Trinidad.

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