Daily Bread Mailbag: Canelo-Berlanga, the role of a trainer, and Australia’s finest

Can you please share your prediction for Canelo Alvarez’s fight against Edgar Berlanga? I’m excited for the fight and think it will be more competitive than people expect. Thank you!

Bread’s Response: I expect Berlanga to come out and try to be the alpha male in this fight. Berlanga believes he’s too big for Canelo. He also believes that Canelo can be controlled with a jab. So I expect him to try to box aggressively and establish his jab. This is Berlanga’s first Super Bowl. So I expect a well prepared and motivated fighter. 

 

The issue for him is he’s dealing with a fighter who is an ATG and has been on this stage for longer than Berlanga has been a pro. Canelo handles big moments as well as anyone. He’s calm and calculated and he executes under the duress. Canelo looks small at 168 but for some reason all of those guys over 6ft tall and that walk around over 190lbs feel something when they get in the ring with him. It’s something they feel that makes them act like that. 

 

The question in this fight is, how will Berlanga handle Canelo’s presence? Will he panic? Or will he continue to try to execute the game plan? In my opinion, Berlanga will have to decide, does he want to survive or does he want to win? If he sells out and tries to win, through and through, I expect Canelo to score a KO between the 6th and 9th rounds. If Berlanga scales it back and is okay with going the distance and losing, I can see the fight going the distance because I believe this is a slightly lesser version of Canelo than we saw unify at 168lbs a few years back. 

 

We must remember that although he looked excellent versus Munguia and Charlo, both went the distance after being badly hurt. I think Canelo has lost his closing gear. So there is a space in this fight if Berlanga is skilled enough; he can peck and poke and go the distance. Everyone has a chance to win. Especially an undefeated, motivated fighter. 

 

But I don’t think Berlanga’s opportunity lies in his power. I believe it lies in Canelo’s stamina. Canelo has gotten to the point where he doesn’t feel like chasing a guy all night. It takes energy. So after he puts fighters in their place and lets them know they can’t win, he’s okay with cruising to a win. Canelo has 64 fights. And he’s a violent fighter. We are witnessing him on the other side of his peak. And on this side, power punchers start letting fighters that they would normally stop go the distance. So while I don’t believe that Berlanga will win, I do think he can go the distance if he fights a specific fight. 

 

I don’t give Berlanga much of  a puncher’s chance, although technically everybody has one. I think Canelo is the puncher in this fight. I think his chin and defense are superior to Berlanga’s power. And the fighter who takes the best shot in a fight is the puncher. Canelo has great defense and an all-time chin. So therefore I believe he’s the puncher in this fight. If Berlanga comes out acting like a puncher, we will see a short night. His best bet is to box the great Canelo Alvarez and make this a distance fight. Canelo’s jab, defense and counter punching is too good for a fighter like Berlanga to try to overwhelm him with power. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Mr. Edwards, this isn’t exactly your area of expertise but maybe you know something about it. For many years I have been used to having champions introduced last for title defenses. Now that seems to have been reversed. Do you have any idea why? Best, Leslie Gerber, Woodstock NY.

Bread’s Response: I have noticed it lately and I don’t know what to make of it.

 

Hi there from Down Under. Longtime reader of you column, first email. In my 35-odd years of following boxing, there have often been big droughts of world-class Aussies on the world stage. My favorite now-retired boxers were Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding, Kostya Tszyu and Danny Green. They always provided good, entertaining fights that were value for money. I’m quite pleased with Australia’s current crop of world-class fighters. I can’t remember when we had so many world-class fighters on the world stage. I’d like your thoughts on Jai Opetaia. He seemingly came out of nowhere with barely a recognizable name on his record to convincingly beat Maris Bredis on points. Opetaia did this without going down suffering a jaw busted in two places along the way. I saw a big improvement in Opetaia in the rematch with Breidis, who came on strong after breaking Jai’s nose with an accidental headbutt. I’ve seen commentary from various critics that Opetaia has stamina issues. I don’t know about you but I reckon after going 10 hard rounds and getting a busted nose, and dealing with a busted jaw in two places, it’s going to be quite difficult to get oxygen in. That’s going to have an impact on your output. My thoughts on Opetaia: fast, mobile, supremely fit, big power, great boxing ability for a big man and a vicious streak a mile long. He’s approaching his peak, and I hope a few of the other title holders find their cojones to face him in 2025. His next opponent is a stay-busy bout, but I reckon Massey was the best the Turki Alalshikh could find to face him.

Also, what are your thoughts on Tim Tszyu? He was brought up in an old-school Russian household by his old man Kostya. Tim’s well-schooled, isn’t afraid to face anyone, has big power, decent boxing skills and is tough, as proven in the Fundora bout. Speaking of that bout, I may be biased but Tim busted Seb’s nose in the first round and found a home for the right hand in the second, landing 10-12 shots flush and hard. I reckon Fundora would have been lucky to make it to the eighth round had it continued. The most telling blow of the fight was the accidental elbow, opening one of the worst cuts I’ve ever seen; the blood obscured Tim’s vision and range perception as he was unable to land that right hand with the same authority as he had in the second. He couldn’t see Seb’s punches, either. He did prove what he is made of. I’m looking forward to his IBF super middleweight title shot. He has a pretty good chance of winning and, if he does, he’ll go after the biggest names he can find.

Liam Paro: I’d seen him coming through and knew he had some ability. Very pleased to see him go into the monster Matias’ backyard when nobody else was willing to bring home the title in a very convincing fashion. I’m eagerly waiting to see who he will face in his first defense. I hope that it’s not Devin “Huggy Jab” Haney, one of the worst value for money and boring fighters I’ve ever seen in my life. 

Honorable mention for George Kambosis: Yep, average ability on the world stage, but he peaked on the right night and maybe Lopez was ill or not at his best but talk about gaining the ultimate mileage from one victory to set yourself up for life financially. Yeah, I reckon he lost to Maxi Hughes, but he has been willing to face the best opponents possible in Lopez, Haney and Lomachenko. There’s talk of Kambosos being Paro’s first title defense or facing Zepeda in Saudi Arabia. Zepeda will slaughter George in a mismatch, so I hope he stays away from that fight. If George can’t get the Paro fight (yeah, I know it’s not a great matchup, but most boxers face a gimme in their first defense) he should bow out gracefully and retire. He has nothing to prove and has achieved more than his ability should have allowed him to achieve. 

I’m looking forward to your response. Thanks for your time. Down Under Daz.

Bread’s Response: I actually agree with mostly everything you said. I believe Opetaia has future P4P potential but I think he needs the right opponent to catapult him or they may move him to heavyweight for recognition. I’m big on Opetaia but I do think he over tries in spots. He can reach the next level if he settles down slightly. One of the reasons it seems that he has stamina issues is because he goes 100 miles per hour. I don’t think he has stamina issues. I think he has pace issues.

 

Tim Tszyu is one of my favorite fighters to watch from this era. He reminds me of a mix of his father and Canelo Alvarez. Tim Tszyu is nice with it. Being at ringside I thought he had an edge versus Fundora. And I agree totally that if he didn’t get cut, he would’ve stopped Fundora. He got to him too early with big punches for that fight to have lasted the distance if Tszyu didn’t get cut. But the cut happened and he responded appropriately. The only slight issue I have with Tszyu is that he looks better in Australia than he does when he fights in the US. Traveling is a real thing and I wonder what’s going on with him where he seems just a little better at home. 

 

I also think that Tszyu is a better boxer than he is a puncher. I don’t think he’s the massive puncher that his dad was or that he gets promoted as. I think he has excellent power, but it’s not tier one Tank Davis or Arthur Beterbiev-level power.

 

Liam Paro did a great job versus Matias. And yes he showed heart by taking the fight. Matias was a world champion and he was getting ducked by several fighters. Paro took the fight and took the belt, so he gets major props from me. However, I don’t think Paro is as talented as Opetaia or Tszyu. I don’t see him as a dominant 10-defense champion. But I do think he will stay relevant for a while. I also believe that Devin Haney is a tough style for Paro if Haney boxes and sticks with his jab. But let’s see how it turns out. Paro is riding high and Haney is coming off a tough night, although it doesn’t count on his official record.

 

I agree with 100% of what you said about Kambosos. He deserves props for his big win versus Teofimo Lopez. You can’t win a fight that you don’t take. With today’s chronic ducking, Kambosos should not be discredited because Lopez was having health issues. He won the fight fair and square. However, I think Kambosos just doesn’t have elite talent or ability. He’s a solid pro who seized a moment. But with all of the smoke at 135lbs, if he doesn’t retire soon, his record will be littered with losses. Champions like Paro will use him as showcase defenses. Contenders like Zepeda will use him to stay busy. And prospects like say Floyd Schofield or Keyshawn Davis will use him to build up their resumes. Kambosos is in a tough spot. His name is still relevant enough to make money. But his pride may not be able to handle being used up and losing more fights. Let’s see..

 

 

Sup breadman, hope all is well. Could you give us some insight as a trainer? I know you probably wouldn’t want to divulge which current fighters you train, so hypothetically what is one major flaw you would correct with Vergil Ortiz, Teofimo Lopez, and Devin Haney? (I chose fighters who are highly-regarded but sometimes perceived as flawed.) How would you implement these changes/corrections if you were training them? Or are you more of a “play to your strengths” type of guy? All due respect. Thank you. P.S. A podcast would be killer!

Bread’s Response: Depending on what stage of a fighter’s career you get them, you have to be strong but flexible. You can’t give an established fighter a cookie-cutter routine. Last week someone asked me about great fighters becoming great trainers. I remember reading about Archie Moore trying to train Muhammad Ali. Moore is obviously a great fighter; one of the greatest ever. But his boxing style was totally different than Ali’s. So they didn’t hit it off with their trainer/fighter relationship because allegedly Moore was trying to change Ali. Whereas Angelo Dundee let Ali be Ali and instilled he use his jab constantly. Obviously that worked. 

 

Now one can say that Ali was great but flawed. That would be correct. But imagine Ali trying the cross arm Moore style of fighting… He may have been more technically sound, but probably not as effective as he was with his natural style. So sometimes you have to be careful what you add or take away. I like enhancing what a fighter does well and masking their perceived flaws if possible. 

 

So, with Vergil Ortiz, I would try to address why he does everything so fast and frenetic. He’s a very talented fighter but fighters who fight like him burn out very quickly. I saw Ortiz under a great amount of stress versus Bohachuk, when he had a clear edge in talent. I would explain to him that his style will be hard to sustain as he approaches 30 and hard to impose against steady fighters who are better defensively than Bohachuk. I would try to get him to buy into slowing things down to make them more smooth and show him how that would actually speed him up in the long run. Then I would show him videos of fast fighters versus smooth fighters and demonstrate how the smoother fighter prevailed with better stamina and timing down the stretch. 

 

In Teofimo Lopez’s case, I would ask him why he looks better versus superior fighters like Josh Taylor and Vasyl Lomachenko than he has versus some of his more recent opponents. I would try to figure out if it is a style thing or an expectation thing. Then I would work on him boxing coming forward. We would work every day on coming forward boxing and how to box going forward and still run fighters into big shots. I think it would be hard because he’s not comfortable doing it, but it is something he could overcome.

 

If possible, I would get him easier sparring partners to work on this; to build his confidence, then build up from there. This is harder to teach than it looks because some people just see things differently. And Teo is locked in when you come to him. But when he has to hit a target moving away from, it’s tougher on him. We would do constant drills until he couldn’t get it wrong.

 

With Devin Haney, I actually told Devin a few years ago to stop listening to these critics who tell him he can’t punch. He doesn’t have to knock fighters out to win fights and be great. I would explain to Devin that he’s not going to turn into Tommy Hearns this late in his career. But if he sticks with his gifts… a great jab and reach for the weight and a nice set of legs. It has got him to the top level of boxing.

 

I would respectfully try to explain to Devin that acting like a puncher has gotten him into trouble. That being a WINNER is better than being just a puncher. Some flaws are about temperament. Some flaws are about style. Some are about concept. It’s about a receivable delivery and whether the fighter is willing to acknowledge the flaws and buy into the solution. If you notice each fighter is different and each flaw has to be addressed differently.

 

Believe it or not I think correcting Devin would be the easiest because his issue is more about how he approaches a fight. He was trying to stop Ryan Garcia and he forced it and it got him in trouble. With Teofimo and Vergil, one would have to adjust their styles physically which is harder to do in my opinion because they have built up years of muscle memory doing things a certain way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your commentary has caught my old learned eye… congratulations on using more brain cells than most people. I’m 65 and have been living in Vegas since 1986, toward the end of the golden era of both boxing in Las Vegas and boxing on free TV. Jeez, I miss those Tuesday night fights at the Blue Horizon. Now to the point: Can “Boots” Ennis become a three-division champion? I say yes, if he goes old-school and fights regularly and closes out the noise on social media. 

Hey if you are ever in Vegas, text me. Let’s go grab a good meal over pugilistic conversation. Yours truly, Chad Saxton.

Bread’s Response: I personally think ultra talented fighters in this era are hard to match. Notable American fighters don’t want to face Boots because the embarrassment of losing is too hard on social media. So they just find a way to not fight him. We have seen that with PBC and now Matchroom. It’s not going to get easier unless he either loses or struggles. His only career struggle was a fight where he literally won every round. I predicted he will win titles from 147 to 160. I think you’re right. He has to stay active and fight the best available fighter; like GGG did over a decade ago. GGG took an active schedule and just destroyed fighter after fighter until he was BIG enough to pay the more well-known opponents what they wanted to get in the ring with him. Tom Loeffler did a great job developing GGG.

 

Boots is going to need the same treatment. Fight the best available fighter three or four times per year. Period. GGG never moved up. Obviously Boots is big for 147. But welterweight is history’s most prolific division out of the original eight. Boots deserves a chance to defend his belt a few times and establish a legacy before moving up, just like Mayweather did at 130 and Mosley did at 135. Mayweather waited almost three years for his one superfight at 130 versus Diego Corrales. And Mosley never got a superfight at 135. But that’s his best weight. Boots can’t get frustrated with the politics of boxing. And the way you beat that is to stay active, keep winning, and keep cashing checks to take care of your family. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Bread. Hope camp is going to plan for Caleb and yourself. I really enjoy his YouTube videos. My question is about matchmaking. Do you think matchmakers are too conservative these days when building up a fighter? We are going to see Edgar Berlanga against Canelo and a lot of people are saying he isn’t seasoned enough, etc. But they seasoned Jaime Mungia till the cows came home and he still got beat. Maybe it’s better to go in there with less experience? I don’t know, but I’m curious where you sit with that. Sean Lacey.

Bread’s Response: I don’t think matchmakers are too conservative these days. I think they are just overall doing a poor job, except with a select few fighters. I understand when you get a Cuban or Ukrainian amateur standout and you fast track him. But matchmakers are now fast tracking 19-year-old Americans who are decent amateurs but nothing exceptional. You have fighters with fewer than 15 fights at the top of sanctioning body rankings but they aren’t ready to fight for a title yet.

 

I won’t give examples of poor matchmaking because it’s just not ethical. But I will give you some examples of some of the better matchmaking I have seen over the last 15 years or so. Kelly Pavlik developed sort of slow, but Top Rank took their time with him and kept getting the right guys in front of him. He was almost 30 fights in when he fought Jermaine Taylor. And he needed all of the seasoning he got. 

 

Andre Berto was not the best prospect in Al Haymon’s stable about 15 years ago. I thought Andre Dirrell, Gary Russell and Jermaine Taylor were better fighters at that time. But Berto is a millionaire and a two-time world champion. He got matched as good as you can get in the welterweight era he was in. He got to win two vacant titles; he got big fights on big stages. And he was only put in over his head when there was no one else to fight. That was very good matchmaking.

 

Currently, I see Xander Zayas being matched really well. I don’t view him as the second coming of Tito Trinidad. I think he needs more developmental time. But you don’t see him challenging for a title just yet. You don’t see him fighting Tim Tszyu or Vergil Ortiz. I believe both would stop him inside eight rounds. But he’s being ALLOWED to get better. And he’s going to take the best opportunity for him without rushing it. Again, I don’t view him as a can’t-miss talent. But I love how he’s not being rushed into a fight where his chances of winning are low.

I also liked how Gilberto Ramirez and Jaime Munguia were matched. Ramirez fought Bivol for huge money. But if you look at his career, he was never really up against it in a fight. I don’t think, besides the Bivol fight, he was ever a prohibited underdog in a fight. The same with Munguia. Munguia got to fight Sadam Ali for the title at 154 in a loaded era. He defended the title a few times but struggled versus Denis Hogan. He moved up shortly after and he’s fought about 10 building fights on a busy schedule. Munguia never fought a tough fight at 160 versus Janibek or Andrade. Their styles would have been tough on Munguia so he was kept away from them until he got the huge payday at 168 versus Canelo. Now he’s about to fight again in another comeback tune up type of fight. Excellent matchmaking.

I think promotional companies want fighters who are ready-made at this point. And unless a fighter checks all of the boxes early, they don’t want young prospects who need five years of developing. They want you to be about 10-0 when they get you. The times are different.

However, I will say that matchmakers are not God. And the fighters still have to go out and win. But overall I see poor matchmaking at its highest in this era. It’s almost as if someone goes on Boxrec.com and just clicks on names to make fights. There’s no science behind it and you can tell. I know this because I worked with a matchmaker, John Beninati, very closely when Julian Williams turned pro. I was able to give him input throughout Julian’s early stages and we got him to a title shot and eventually two world titles. It’s very tedious. But the problem is that all fighters don’t get the same privilege. Not so much the problem but it’s the reality. So no, I don’t think this era is too conservative. I think it’s not detailed enough. I also don’t agree that you can get too much experience. I don’t believe there’s such a thing as that. However, you can wait too long to take a tough fight and miss your window of opportunity. But that’s not too much experience. That’s overcooking your product.

What’s up, Breadman. Who would win in a fight between Gervonta Davis and Roberto Duran in the lightweight division? Thanks. Have a great week

Bread’s Response: At this moment I would pick Roberto Duran. Duran has a case for being a top 5-10 fighter ever and number one at lightweight. Tank is awesome but he’s not where Duran is just yet. 

God Bless, Bread. Hope you and the family are well . We have the fights this week in Vegas and I would like your opinion on the Lara versus Garcia fight. I believe this will be a very interesting fight. I know Garcia has not fought in almost two years, so he might be rusty. Erislandy, though, is not quite as fleet of foot as he used to be. I believe this will be a slugfest. Erislandy has been knocking out fighters in his last few fights! The key, I believe, is if Danny can take his power at the new weight class. Danny had one of the best chins at welterweight. Can he take Erislandy power at this new weight class? Your thoughts.

Bread’s Response: Lara has always been an underrated puncher, in my opinion. His left hand is a serious weapon and, although he doesn’t have a crazy KO percentage, he can clip you with one shot. I don’t like to say whether or not one guy can take the other’s punches, because we really don’t know until it happens. But you’re correct Danny Garcia has an excellent chin. In fact, his chin gets overlooked in this era. If we made a list of the best chins in boxing over the last 20 years, Danny would be on that list. Taking a punch is about many things. Genetics, neck strength, and even the thickness of a skull. But many forget it’s also about seeing the punches; bracing correctly and most of all composure. Everyone gets hit and hurt, but not everyone has the composure to get past the hurt. Danny has shown an amazing underrated ability to not really show when he has been hurt. I also think this is a big part of the fight. Can Danny take Lara’s punches? 

I also believe a big part of the fight is who the judges will be. And can Lara dominate in terms of winning rounds? Lara is a tremendous talent, but he has three close losses and three draws on his record. The judges have never really favored Lara’s style. I think Danny can fight a spoiler type of fight; similar to the way he fought Jose Benavidez Jr. I think Danny is going to try to box Lara. If this was 10 years ago, I would say Lara is all wrong for Danny. But right now, with Lara being more of a puncher than a boxer, I think Danny has a better chance to sort of steal a decision. My gut say that this one goes the distance, with a lot of controversy. Neither Danny or Lara has ever lost really bad. Both know how to keep a fight close enough to debate. I think we see it in this fight also. And I think Danny is more of a crowd favorite. Call me crazy, but I think Danny Garcia gets a close, controversial decision.

Breadman, I remember you had mentioned that Paquiao was seriously damaged when he fought the much bigger Margarito. I definitely didn’t notice that upon first viewing. But, after viewing it again and reading about it, you were definitely right. So do you think Usyk may have had the same issue when he fought the much bigger Fury? He certainly had much more success than Margarito against Pac. Do you think Fury has the advantage from the first fight? Also, do you think that if Margarito didn’t have such damage to his eye and they did an immediate rematch that Margarito would have won the second fight?

Bread’s Response: Good question. But my initial impression is that Usyk was in a tough fight but I didn’t see the damage that Pac suffered. Margarito wasn’t winning rounds like Fury was, but in my opinion he was doing more damage with his heavy punches. Who’s winning rounds and who’s doing damage is not always the same. 

I think Usyk versus Fury was very close. And I expect the rematch to be close too. It’s not just about residual effects of damage taken. The big issue that I have noticed is fighters can’t repeat the mental focus from fights of that level. There is a place you have to go to mentally to compete at that level. Out of Usyk and Fury, I think Fury’s the one who has taken more damage in his career and was the one who was hurt more in their first fight. I think Fury’s punch resistance is something we have to observe closely. He has shown a great ability to recuperate. But he’s also shown that he gets hurt very often. He has been knocked down several times over the last few years, including being dropped in back to back fights. 

Greetings Breadman. I saw you a few days ago at the Grand Arrivals and wanted to thank you for making time when I approached you to talk some boxing and share my personal thoughts with you. I appreciate your insight. 

I’m not going to ask you any strategic questions about Caleb Plant’s upcoming fight on Saturday night; I’m sure it will be discussed next week after the fight and we can then look forward to your thoughts and assessment afterwards. I do think Caleb might get a stoppage which can hopefully lead to other big fights in the division. I had a quick talk with Caleb that day as well. I appreciate his honesty and him keeping it real. 

I did have two questions for you, Breadman. First question: When a fighter arrives four days before the fight, how important is it to not have any distractions leading up to a fight? Making the weight? Having family, friends, entourage, and others around? Can a fighter lose the fight or their focus before they go into the ring on a Saturday night? Sometimes the lights can be too big. 

Second question: I believe that Roberto Duran is a top 20 fighter of all time. The way he won fights, moving up in weight, his competition, and his fan-friendly style. If he would have beaten Hagler and Hearns in those back to back fights, where would you have ranked him all time? I always look forward to the weekly mailbags and insight. Thank you, Breadman! Kind regards, Eman from Los Angeles.

Bread’s Response: Making weight correctly the last few days is almost as important as the training camp. I’ve seen fighters lose fights because of distractions and bad weight cuts; everything from there not being a big enough tub to the hot water not being hot enough. In terms of family and friends that make it about them and not the fighter, it happens often. Personally, I warn fighters about these distractions. Some they can control. Some they can’t. I do what I have to do but I don’t stay under a fighter. Fighter’s get mean and feisty while cutting weight. They snap quickly because they’re in an aggravated state. People don’t get that. The anxiety is at a peak. So it’s important to let them BE as much as possible. I don’t even address things that have pissed me off until after the fight, because I don’t believe in bothering a fighter right before a fight. So to answer you: it’s not just about the lights being too big. The distractions can be too big, because everyone doesn’t know how to handle a fighter on fight week.

I have Duran closer to top 10 of all time than top 20. If he would’ve beaten Hearns and Hagler in back to back fights, he would be the best fighter in history! Hearns is no worse than the second best junior middleweight ever. Hagler is a top five middleweight ever. No ex lightweight champion in history could beat the Hagler of 1983 and the Hearns of 1984 back to back. So if Duran pulled that off, he would be the best fighter ever. 

Hi Breadman. I pray God is blessing and continues to bless you and your family and the fans of your mailbag and their families. 

In your last mailbag you talked about Angelo Dundee winning against Sandy Saddler and Archie Moore, but Dundee himself admitted he didn’t come up with the strategy of the Rope a Dope. Ali did this on his own and you can hear Dundee screaming and imploring Ali to get off the ropes during the fight. I also saw a fight where Eddie Futch and Angelo Dundee were in the corner of a fighter named Cubanito Perez and he got blown out in his fight with Meldrick Taylor who was trained by Georgie Benton. 

I think it is more about the fighter than the trainer. Tom Brady left Bill Belichick and won a   Super Bowl without him; and Belichick without Brady flopped and got fired. Popovich didn’t win championships when he had Robinson and Rodman but won with Duncan and since Duncan has left he hasn’t done anything. Hopkins left Bouie Fisher and kept on winning but Fisher didn’t do anything without Hopkins. Tyson kept doing his thing without Rooney who never got anywhere near the same success without Tyson. 

I do think boxing trainers have more impact than any coach in any other sport but ultimately it comes down to what is within the fighter. That is why I hate it when fighters lose and then blame their coaches instead of owning up to the fact that they just got beaten by a superior opponent. Errol Spence is the latest to do this nonsense and I have lost a lot of respect for him.  You weren’t complaining when you were winning with Derrick James but now that you lose you blame and fire him. That is despicable. You win together and you lose together. Take the good with the bad.  Evander Holyfield fired Don Turner for stopping his fight with James Toney and I was furious about that because Turner saved that man’s life by throwing in the towel. Holyfield is a real ingrate and should have been ashamed of himself for firing that man. 

I love you Breadman, even though I have never met you. I know it is your mailbag to do as you please, but I must admit that I’m a little disappointed that you won’t be posting Carl Hewitt’s letters anymore because I found him to be intelligent and a good read. The back and forth between you and him was very intellectually stimulating and I didn’t see him as a troll but just someone with a different perspective. You both made great points and it is very entertaining and a great read.  What would be great is if you both gave your predictions before every big fight and then we would see who the real expert is. Carl is really feeling himself with his Crawford over Spence pick and he should but let’s see if he picks winners consistently like you do. My money is on you.

I just pray that God continues to bless you in all your endeavors. I think I speak for boxing fans everywhere when I say that if you weren’t around we would be in trouble. God bless and take care, Blood and Guts from Philly.

Bread’s Response: Obviously the fighter’s talent and skill are the most important factors in a boxing match. But, after that, nothing is more important than a trainer’s input. It’s why fighters are always searching for the right fit. In this current era the trainer’s value has been devalued because there is this unspoken nuance that no one says out loud. But at the top level many fighters don’t want to pay the trainer. So like the NFL running back, the trainer has become devalued. But this is an easy way to look at it. Let the other members of the team do the trainer’s job. Then let the trainer do their job. Let’s see who can do their job better.

I didn’t say Dundee came up with the Rope A Dope. I know he was against it. But my point was, Moore and Saddler couldn’t figure it out and they both got fired afterwards. 

No trainers in history can make Cubanito Perez beat Meldrick Taylor. The talent is too far apart.

The examples you gave are just off. Brady did win without Belichik but there are too many nuances in football. Drafting, free agency, defense, special teams. Too much to cover. Sometimes great players win without their great coaches and sometimes they don’t. Popovich won two of his five championships with David Robinson…

Mike Tyson remained champion for a little while without Rooney. But he was clearly better with Rooney. He clearly slipped after he left Rooney. 

Hopkins continued to win without Fisher. But it’s not fair to say that about Fisher because he didn’t really train fighters after Hopkins, then Fisher passed away…. Besides that Hopkins is a one in a million type of fighter.

I didn’t know Holyfield fired Don Turner because he stopped the Toney fight. But that’s boxing. Trainers get all of the blame when something goes wrong, but minimal credit when things go right. 

I’m immune to it at this point. I have been blamed for everything that could go wrong in a fight. Even things I literally have ZERO control of. But I take the good with the bad. A trainer isn’t ready for the success if he’s not ready for the criticism. But fighters should overall protect their trainers. 

I never said I wouldn’t post any more of Carl Hewitt’s comments. I just don’t want to talk about the same Boots Ennis topic every time he writes in. Carl has to think of some new material because going back and forth over the same thing gets old. Content has to be fresh. Carl is more than welcome to write in whenever he wants. He just needs new topics. 

  

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