In this week’s Daily Bread Mailbag, the brilliant Stephen Edwards discusses some of boxing’s biggest talking points, and takes you inside the corner from last weekend when his fighter, Caleb Plant, adapted to win a firefight with Trevor McCumby.
Congratulations on another stunning performance for one of your fighters. First, Julian Williams versus Jarett Hurd, and now Caleb Plant versus Trevor McCumby. Because DAZN doesn’t do as much of a great job putting eyes on the corners in between rounds as much as HBO and Showtime used to, we can’t listen in on what is being said anymore, or really take in the round-by-round interactions.
Can you take us through what was the strategy for the fight – especially round by round. The way Caleb dug deep in that fight seemed to have ‘fighter locked in step with coach’ written all over it along with a solid game plan the way J-rock vs. Hurd played out for you. Always a fan, and always looking forward to seeing you go to work in those rings.
NuYoRican
Bread’s Response: Thank you. Trevor McCumby shocked a lot of people but he didn’t shock us. I knew he would be fast, strong, explosive and dangerous. I also knew that because Caleb has lost his last fight, that Trevor would be very confident. The gameplan was to simply outbox and hold the center of the ring if we could. But during an exchange I saw that Trevor was shelling up on the inside and he didn’t seem as comfortable as he did outside. I also noticed he had momentum power. Whereas he needs to create a head of steam to generate power. Not comparing him but sort of Deontay Wilder when he steps in hard with his big right hand. So I told Caleb to stay close and back him up. I told him before the fight to trust me and that I would never ask him to do something I didn’t think he could. So, during the fight, I told him this may be uncomfortable but I need you to push him back, stay close to him and not let him step into anything. Although it wasn’t gameplan A, we worked on it tirelessly in camp. We worked on specific inside shots and what we needed to do to make McCumby fight off the ropes. Caleb was ready to do it if he had to. To be honest it was more of an adjustment, than it was a gameplan. But I was comfortable asking him to do it, because I saw him do it in camp.
I just recently watched the fight after I got home. I thought Caleb won the 1st round pretty handily. But I could see that Trevor was explosive. In the 2nd they both broke a sweat and things heated up. Trevor landed a nice shot at the bell and they tangled up and Caleb went down. The referee called it a slip but Team McCumby was very happy. I knew Trevor would have momentum in round 3. I thought Caleb did good in round 3 but Trevor was fighting really determined. Trevor and Caleb tangled up and Caleb went down again on a push. In the 4th round, Caleb was winning but Trevor sort of rushed him and landed a hook to the shoulder and Caleb went down. It reminded me of Evander Holyfield’s knockdown of Mike Tyson. It didn’t hurt Caleb, but I respect the call. Caleb landed a nice body shot in the 4th, that bothered McCumby that most didn’t notice but I did. Caleb told me in the corner he was ok. I believed him. In the 5th round, he stepped to McCumby and I saw that McCumby didn’t like that. It wasn’t so much that Trevor couldn’t fight inside. It was more that he didn’t like Caleb stepping to him.
During the 5th round, I started yelling to stay close to him. In between the 5th and the 6th I told Caleb to turn into a savage, stay close and walk him down. That’s exactly what he did. Rounds 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were all pretty much Caleb walking Trevor down, putting him on the ropes and controlling the action. Trevor would explode with a big shot here and there. But what happens often is, the all-around fighter gets “warmed up” to the power. Caleb had warmed up to Trevor’s explosive power. Trevor hit Caleb with a nice counter I believe in the 6th and Caleb ate it. At that point, I saw Caleb was zoned in and that we would be ok. We were ok, until the stoppage at the end of the 9th. Trevor had started taking a beating by the 9th round. I wish the ref would’ve let the fight go into the 10th so there would be no complaining about the stoppage. Caleb was in critical shape and I know what he was capable of doing after getting rest in between the 9th and 10th round. But it is what it is. Time to move forward.
Ironically the week before the fight. I showed Caleb some moves that J-rock did vs Hurd. He absorbed them like a sponge. Then as a world class athlete, he duplicated them. I’m very proud of Caleb. It’s not easy to fight a style you have never fought before in a real fight, under that type of resistance. Trevor McCumby came to win and he tried all the way until the end.
Congrats to you and Caleb on the great performance over the weekend. Wanted to comment on what I perceive I noticed. I never like to say a fighter is punching harder because that sounds like insinuating the fighter couldn’t punch before. Caleb hasn’t been a KO artist but I’ve always thought he hits harder than people give him credit for. Anyhow, I noticed his shots were more thumping this time and he was “meaner” with his punch intentions. I won’t go into details on why/how I think that is because if I’m right that could be giving away some strategy but I definitely notice an improvement in the authority of his punch delivery. He should be commended for humbling himself and putting in the work as a fighter and you should be commended for being able to adapt his style as a trainer. I would love to see this version of CP get another crack at Canelo. Keep up the great work.
SB
Bread’s Response: Caleb definitely punches harder than most people think. He doesn’t have overly heavy hands. But he has hard and explosive hands. I think it looks like he doesn’t punch hard because sometimes he’s not trying to punch hard. Sometimes he just wants to touch you. But when he sits down on his shots, he can hurt anyone. We have definitely worked on delivering shots harder. I won’t get into detail but it’s working. But I hope fighters keep believing that Caleb can’t punch. It makes my job easier.
Hey Bread, Congrats on the win vs McCumby. Also thanks for answering questions we have. Much appreciated. Making a prediction here, we will see Canelo vs Tim Tsyzu. I am aware there is a weight difference but I think both would be game. Reason? To show some people boxing is not for sale. Could be wrong but just a prediction.
Sean
Bread’s Response: Not sure what you mean by boxing is not for sale. But I agree about Canelo vs Tszyu. I think it can happen if Tszyu gets two more big wins.
What’s up Breadman!
Congratulations for your big win with Plant! That was an real risky fight for him. I watched videos of McCumby before the fight, and I thought he could be more difficult than people realize. It seems like that guy is a brute who can hit like a truck, and who can be surprisingly fast and slick. Plant’s strenghth and conditioning are elite, great job coach! I enjoyed the inside fighting and the bodywork. It reminded me of the Williams vs Hurd fight (which is one of my favorite fights for inside fighting). Was that the game plan our this you adjust during the fight? can see the alchemy between you two, and I hope it will bring you to the top again. Once month to go for Beterbiev vs Bivol, the more I think about that fight and the harder it is to pick a winner. 3 options come to my mind : 1) Close fight going the distance, in which the 2 of them have their moments (Beterbiev or Bivol get the win) 2) Bivol win in a close fight going the distance but his flashy combination don’t allow Beterbiev to really put his punches together 3) Beterbiev displays his boxing skills and everybody realizes that his timing and ring IQ are unreal, and he KOs Bivol inside 9 rounds. I have a tendency for the 3rd, but I think Bivol has too much heart and IQ to allow that. I am a very big fan of both so it’s hard to watch a fight when it’s the case. It will be a great time for me (the boxing skills display) and a bad time (stress because there will be a loser, who might be losing by knockout). Anyway I can’t wait.
PS: I’m glad you mentioned ATG list at 175 for the winner, because I don’t know if people realize how great this 2 fighters are.
Thanks for your time.
Max from France
Bread’s Response: This is a light heavyweight superfight. Light heavyweight is the least heralded division of the original 8 besides featherweight. So I’m glad that the guys at 175lbs will get center stage. I don’t like when I waffle on a fight. My pick is still Beterbiev but I will admit, Bivol looks great in training. I love his pendulum rhythm. I also love his demeanor. He never gets emotional. He never gets excited. He’s just a technical wizard, who has an efficient approach to boxing. Beterbiev’s injury bothers me. He always seems to get hurt. That’s a big issue for me. But my initial pick was Beterbiev by late ko. It may go the distance but I’m not picking against Mr. Wrecking Hands. I still say Beterbiev wins but it may go the distance…Can’t wait.
Mr. Edwards, I trust all is well, sir. I have to admit you and your team are exceptional! That mid-fight plan change was executed flawlessly. Short and sweet here, Plant was up against it. Then out of the fifth frame, perfection was achieved. Great ideas and implementation. Sir, you are Grade A!
Regards,
Jon Aka NC Uppercut
Bread’s Response: Thank you. Caleb did a great job and our chemistry is excellent. Also, props to Trevor McCumby. He gave us a real fight and he came to win. You have to respect that.
Good afternoon, sir,
Second time writing, always tune in every Saturday. Always being curious about food intakes before a fight. What to fighters usually eat before a fight and how long beforehand do they stop eating? Same with liquids. Same for after the fight. How do they control the urge to go to the bathroom while fighting? Does adrenaline and not thinking about it take care of that? Also heard Canelo say a story about his trainer needed to help him go to the bathroom because he had his gloves on. Is that how things usually happens, or do fighters take the gloves off. Hope you dint find these questions weird! Just curious to know how things work. Congratulations on the victory Saturday. Great performance.
Bread’s Response: This is a very interesting question. On three different occasions I’ve had a fighter have to go to the bathroom. Once I took off his gloves and he went on his own. In the other two times, the fighter’s father was there. So their fathers took them to the bathroom and I assume they helped him because they didn’t take the gloves off.
I love my guys but I’m not ever grabbing a fighter’s manhood and helping him go to the bathroom. That’s where I draw the line.
Fighters should drink more than eat after a weigh in. I won’t say exactly what they should drink but they definitely should drink more than eat. There are certain things you can drink where you won’t urinate as much. They should eat balanced meals with carbs and proteins. Usually, they won’t be able to eat a lot so this is a slow process. On the day of the fight, a fighter shouldn’t eat huge meals. The meals should be just enough to curb the growing appetite but nothing huge. Stuffing your stomach makes you sluggish. Last but not least, the fighters should consume agreeable liquids and foods. Even if something is healthy, a fighter is taking a huge chance by consuming something that is unknown to them. Familiar fuel is important with athletes.
How do you see the Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua fight going? The fight has been advertised as “whoever lands first, wins”, but I think there’s a chance a technical boxing match breaks out in this one. What are your thoughts? Thank you!
Bread’s Response: This fight has me perplexed. I was all in Anthony Joshua when it was first announced. I am very big on Ben Davison and Lee Wylie as coaches. But Dubois seems very confident and he’s on a career-best run. When you have big punching fighters who are vulnerable it’s always intriguing. It’s really a coin flip. But I’m going to say the more mature fighter Anthony Joshua, lands the shot he needs to land and wins in a shootout.
Hello Breadman, First of all let me give belated congratulations for your great victory with Kyrone Davis over Elijah Garcia, the unusual scorecard spread notwithstanding (yes, I noticed that). As you know, I wrote you and thought that Garcia would be the man in that division. I have been reading the mailbags with interest but not had time to write in, I’m not hiding! I haven’t seen the fight but I feel in particular you deserve special credit for insisting on a rehydration limit when Garcia came in over the limit. Likewise, you deserve special credit for stopping the Kyrone-Benavidez fight when you did, not because Kyrone couldn’t necessarily continue but to protect and preserve him for the future. Without you doing that who knows if he would be in the position he is in now, nearing a world title shot. These are the kind of details that people miss. Kyrone also seems like a really good dude from interviews, he comes across really well and you two seem to be a perfect fit for each other. In my humble opinion Kyrone has now earned a shot at Adames after the way he stepped in at short notice to save that Benavidez show, and I think it’s a great next fight for both where we the public would find out exactly what each guy is and push the winner to the next level. I also reckon Adames team don’t want that smoke as he clearly seems to be being built up for a money fight… Not trying to blow smoke I’m just not sold on Adames yet. Jrock was hurting him every time he landed late in that fight before the questionable stoppage. As far as potential trolls go, it is just best to block them and move on once you think you know what they are up to. Even if they are talking nonsense or looking for a reaction it can still affect you negatively in subtle ways. There has been psychological research done that shows that trolls don’t actually care about what you/they say, all they want is attention and if you give it to them they have ‘control’ and ‘win’ in their eyes. To add to that, I feel that as you are almost genius at times with some of your insights and predictions, it gives you an air of authority that people want to be blessed by and I’m sure this explains some of the mails and reactions you get to your agreement/disagreement. You mentioned that you know the trolls read every week, but just by you even giving some of your mental capacity/headspace you are giving them what they want and allowing them to modify your behaviour in some small way. Maybe you remember or still have the email. I wrote you a decent length prediction on Crawford-Spence that was essentially bang on the money as to how the fight played out. After the fight, you also broke down what happened almost to a tee how I had broken it down beforehand. You didn’t print my pre-fight mail and honestly I wrote it more because I knew you would enjoy reading it as a fellow boxing head than for me to receive some kind of faux-internet ego boost. Likewise with the Usyk-Fury mini breakdown that you did print. I have also never brought up Spence-Crawford since (or should that be Crawford-Spence now?). I have no idea whether the person who has been mentioned over several weeks now is actually a troll or not. My point is that needing to be right is childish and honestly getting drawn into such debates is a bit of a waste of time in itself when there are much better things we can put our energy towards and I’m sure the mailbag will be the better for it.
And lastly, I know you already have to wear many hats in your job as a trainer and outside of that as you have shared, but I second what others have said a boxing podcast with you would be essential viewing. It seems like every YouTube video I have ever seen that features you is filled with comments praising your input. You would unironically be great on ProBox TV. I’m a little surprised if they haven’t approached you since they purchased BoxingScene. (Also I got Plant by one-sided KO). Much Respect as always
Bread’s Response: Thank you. Kyrone Davis vs Elijah Garcia is on YouTube. The full fight. Check it out when you get a chance. Kyrone definitely has earned a BIG fight. I don’t care if it’s Lara or Adames. Both are with PBC and they are easy to fights to make. Kyrone beat the #1 contender in the world, by a wide margin. There is no reason it shouldn’t catapult him into a huge opportunity. We will see what happens. As I always see. All I need is 8 weeks and drug testing and we can fight anyone.
I don’t even want to mention trolls. It’s not worth it. But for the record I don’t think everyone who disagrees with me is a troll. But when a person goes over the top and micromanage every single thing a person does, to criticize them, it aggravates me. So sometimes I ignore it. Sometimes I give them a taste of their own medicine. It really just depends.
Ironically I have been approached by ProBox about a Podcast. And I have been approached by a notable trainer in starting our own. So I’m weighing my options and you will see me on a podcast very soon, God willing. Thanks again.
Going back to the posting of Carl’s comments… Do you have favorite and least favorite people who email you questions for the mailbag? Can you tell the level of boxing knowledge the fans have based on their submissions? Have you ever considered getting involved in the sport in a non-coaching capacity? And how does someone go about getting involved in the sport in a non-athletic capacity? Is it hard? Are their barriers to entry? Thanks.
Bread’s Response: Carl is nowhere near my least favorite. He was just my most recent. I’ve had some racist who called me names and challenged me to fights if they ever saw me. I’ve even had some guys who made romantic passes at me.
I’ve also had some cool guys who write in. There was a guy from Texas named Robert who used to write in. I could tell he was the truth as far as his knowledge. He was very, very good. He also trained fighters in Texas. There were a few more but for some reason he stands out. I can usually tell someone’s level of boxing knowledge when they write in. There is a detail that one writes with, when they really know the game. I can’t explain it, but I know when I read it.
Getting into boxing is not hard. Boxing is lawless. Anyone can get in it. But succeeding in boxing is very hard. I don’t know what capacity you want to get in so your question is hard to answer. You have to be more detailed as to exactly what you want to do.
Bread, I hope you and yours are well. Regarding the recent article on this site, ‘Staff Roundtable: Wisest choice for Canelo Alvarez’s next foe?’ What’s your take if you’re at the table with this motley crew of writers. I know you’ve talked about it in this space in some form or another so don’t mean to cover old ground, but the question popped into my head prior to reading the article, as I’m sure it did for lots of fans in the wake of Canelo’s recent win. After going through a number of obvious parameters I came to the conclusion the only choice for a last big fight has to be a fellow P4P/ATG, the indomitable one, Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. Add Bud to the list of Money and GGG, and Canelo would’ve fought inarguably 3 of the top 10 fighters of the first quarter of the 21st century, dudes whose monikers alone make you wanna throw air punches when invoked. Throw Bivol’s name in there too if he’s able to claim L HW supremacy. His resume stands on its own as-is, regardless of the controversies involved with the GGG results, but add TC to it and it can never be disparaged by any fan with half a brain cell. This is a superfight in the richest sense of the word. Winner of the fight has to be the best fighter of this era. Also, Neequaye’s “ordinary” comment regarding Crawford shows just how lil he knows about boxing, though I still have hope for him since he’s generally a decent writer lol.
Take care, Ray
Elmhurst, IL
Bread’s Response: Canelo has an excellent resume. But I don’t get his fans trying to devalue Terence Crawford as an opponent. Crawford would be one of the best fighters Canelo has ever faced. Mayweather, Bivol and GGG are the only opponents who can argue for being better than Crawford. Canelo’s fans seem to want to win the fight on paper, instead of winning it in the ring. It’s so weird. Most people thought Berlanga would get stopped by the 8th round. It didn’t happen. We don’t know what will happen in these fights. It’s why the fighters fight.
Canelo fought Matthew Hatton in a catchweight fight. He fought Shane Mosley at 154, who used to be a lightweight and was over 40. He fought Miguel Cotto who used to be a junior welterweight. He fought Amir Khan who was a fighter who had punch resistance issues at 140lbs in a catchweight fight at 155lbs for the lineal MW title. He’s fought Josesito Lopez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He just fought Jermell Charlo who jumped 2 weight divisions and Edgar Berlanga who was a huge underdog and never beat a top 10 fighter in any weight division. But yet according Canelo’s fans Terence Crawford is NOT worth fighting because he’s too small or struggled with Madrimov. I don’t agree with that or understand it.
I think Canelo has taken some very tough smoke. But he’s also taken some business fights, like every other superstar. I think Canelo Alvarez knows boxing. He knows Crawford is a threat, despite what his fans say. Canelo vs Crawford is a real fight. And fights aren’t won on paper. They aren’t won on predictions. It comes down to who’s having their night, on the night they fight. Crawford is not going to be beaten by predictions. Canelo will have to do it in the ring. Let’s see what happens.
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