Daily Bread Mailbag: Teofimo Lopez, how good is Bakhram Murtazaliev, can Jaron Ennis unify, and the late Salvador Sanchez

In his latest mailbag, the respected coach Stephen “Breadman” Edwards discusses recent comments made by Teofimo Lopez, the emergence of Bakhram Murtazaliev, Jaron “Boots” Ennis’s hopes of unifying the welterweight division, the greatness of the late Salvador Sanchez, and more.

Hey Breadman,

It’s very telling (and embarrassing) how no black boxers, trainers or commentators have come out to fry Teofimo Lopez for his racist comments about black fighters and bananas. When someone faces no repercussions for being racially disrespectful, they become quite comfortable being racially disrespectful. ESPN, Top Rank, Tim Bradley, aka “Uncle Tim”… none of them have repudiated Lopez’s racist rhetoric. The silence is deafening. Had the situation been reversed and a black fighter said this level of racially disrespectful things about Hispanic fighters, all hell would break loose. In  2001, when Bernard Hopkins threw the Puerto Rican flag down and stepped on it, he had to run for his life because Puerto Ricans responded the way you’re supposed to respond to that level of ignorant and wanton racial/ethnic disrespect. 

Carl Hewitt, Queens, NY 

Bread’s Response: I agree with you 100 per cent. But if you look at my X (formerly Twitter) account, on October I posted that Teofimo Lopez was out of line. Then after that I was interviewed by Mill City and I restated my feelings that Lopez was out of line with his monkey-and-banana comments in referencing a black fighter. I didn’t like it then. I don’t like it now. And it’s never going to be okay with me. 

I think certain subjects aren’t addressed in boxing because the self-serving trait kicks in. Trainers may think if they speak out they won’t get certain jobs. Promoters and media may think they won’t get access to the fighter anymore. Personally, I don’t care. If I feel compelled to speak out, I will. However, more times than not, I don’t say much when it comes to controversial subjects unless I am directly asked. But when I heard Lopez’s comments, they bothered me and I said what I said. 

In fairness to the others you addressed, I don’t know if Lopez is still with Top Rank. So it may not be their responsibility to make him publicly apologize or at least put forth some damage control. Same for Tim Bradley. So I don’t want to criticize them specifically. But boxing as a whole dropped the ball in this situation. In fact, I am curious to see who Lopez’s next promoter will be. Because the next time he fights, those comments will resurface. And if any promoter decides to take Lopez on without doing damage control in terms of public relations concerning his comments, it will be viewed as indirectly condoning his behavior.

Hello Breadman, 

I had an eerie feeling after watching a replay of Murtazaliev vs Culcay. Murtazaliev was hurting Culcay. It looked to me that Tszyu ran into a brick wall. Do you see any resemblance in Murtazaliev to Beterbiev? He looked to have improved a lot, and he looked very strong. I think he is a definite lock to beat Fundora. I would like to see him fight Errol Spence. I know Boots Ennis is doing all he can do, but why not pay the extra money to Brian Norman Jnr to get the WBO belt? You pay a little extra now to get a better return on investment later. With the IBF and WBO titles all that is left is Barrios and Stanionis to unify the welterweight division. There is nothing left at welterweight. I have never seen that division so depleted. I don’t understand the thinking in Boots’ camp.        

I also think boxing needs continuity and requirements. I always hear Canelo has earned the right to fight who he wants. He can fight who he wants, but his mandatories and number-one contenders should be given their chance. He should be stripped if he doesn’t comply. Other champions have been stripped in much shorter time spans. It just bogs down the whole division, everyone waiting on the Canelo sweepstakes, so he should be held to accountability. David Benavidez should have gotten his shot. No way Berlanga should have been picked. I guess, in a way, Canelo is bigger than boxing – rules do not apply to him. We now have a regular champion, an interim champion, and a champion in recess. None of those are necessary. Too much posturing. How do you like Mbilli vs Benavidez and Mbilli vs Plant?                      

Thank you

J.B.

Bread’s Response: I think you’re jumping the gun a little with Bakhram Murtazaliev. A lock to beat Fundora – I don’t know about that. We don’t know if he has the stamina late in a fight. We don’t know of his adjustments. I’m not saying he can’t beat Fundora but a lock is strong word after catching Tszyu cold. Let’s just see more. 

I know Boots wants to unify but I don’t think it will be likely. It took Beterbiev and Bivol seven years in the same division to unify. Boots does not have seven years at 147. I don’t think any of the other titlist’s handlers would let them fight Boots unless they are 200 per cent overpaid, meaning double the market the value for the fight. They won’t allow their fighters to enter a fight, as a more-than-five-to-one underdog, to lose and get stopped. Barrios has already lost to two urban fighters in Tank Davis and Keith Thurman. Boots is bigger, more physical and equally or more talented than both. Barrios would be a 10-to-one underdog versus Boots.

Norman was in a performance slump until he won the title. But he’s only 23. If he were to fight Boots in his first title defense at 23 years old, he would need life-changing money because the odds of him winning and being ruined are greater than Norman winning. He would be a seven-to-one underdog.

Stanionis would have the best perceivable chance but Shelly Finkel is his manager. Finkel is one of the best to ever do it. If he thought Stanionis could beat Boots he would have explored the fight. So as much as I would like to see him unify, I just don’t think he’s going to get the chance before he outgrows the division. I feel like boxing is missing something. Other champions in rival sanctioning bodies should be ranked. If Boots were their mandatories, then they would be forced to fight him or get stripped. They need their titles for their status. So the only thing I think Boots’ team could do is petition to be ranked by other sanctioning bodies. But the game is to Be Sold, not to Be Told. 

As for paying Norman more money. I can’t really say. Because I don’t know where the offer started and stopped. But you have to be mindful because once you start overpaying too much, the word gets out, and then everyone follows suit. So you may be right, but it’s not so simple. Either way, they have to figure out a way to get Boots in a big fight. Honestly, if they don’t, I can see him cleaning house and getting new management and promotion. It has to be frustrating to Boots to see fighters that he knows he’s better than get bigger platforms and make more money. 

As soon as Boots moves to 154, the titles at 147 will get unified and stars from 140 will move up to 147. Mark it down.

I’m a big Canelo fan. And I do think he can fight whoever he wants. But I also agree he shouldn’t be allowed to keep the belts hostage. If he doesn’t fight a mandatory then he should be stripped. But that’s not how boxing works. They allow favor to popular fighters and that’s just what it is. Boxing doesn’t want to fix itself. Trust me on this. If we see it, they see it.                                                         

Hi Bread,

Hope all is good in Philly. This is probably not groundbreaking to you, but just something I’m starting to notice more often. The guys at the very top and that historically have been at the top have a gift for keeping their eyes open and locked in on the opponent while also staying relaxed. Is it that if you stay relaxed you’ll keep your eyes open or if you keep your eyes open you’ll stay relaxed? Is this gift something that can be taught, or do some guys just have that gift?

Sean, in Ireland 

Bread’s Response: You make a good point. I believe everything can be taught but some athletes give you more to work with than others. Keeping your eyes open in a fight is definitely something you have to work on by sparring consistently. Then, obviously, everyone has different reflexes and comfort. I think you can keep your eyes open if you are comfortable being hit. The more you feel threatened, the more you close your eyes. And although most elite fighters are used to being hit, everyone has a different comfort level. Once your comfort is up, then you will be able to lock in and keep your eyes open under duress.

Hello Breadman,

I will watch J-Rock vs Hernandez later after Catterall-Prograis. I don’t like the way Regis has been taking punches in his last few fights so put a small bet on Catterall to clip him late – think I saw something. Yes, I might be being too generous to Bivol giving him the first seven rounds, even if I admitted there were swing rounds – draw was probably the fairest result. It was a difficult fight to score but I can’t give Artur more than six rounds as I have round seven for Bivol, which is easier when you have a three-minute clock in the corner of the screen compared to sat ringside. Some rounds I even had to rewind during them a few times to see what actually landed or not, which obviously you can’t do and score this way in real time. I will say that the way I score fights has changed over time. When I was newer to boxing I used to value volume and aggression highly; now I place less weight on that and look for clean punching first and foremost. I think maybe this kind of thing influences fan perceptions. There should be a photo of an IBHOF ballot paper in that BoxingScene article. Other than Pacquiao, I don’t know who deserves to get in. I like your P4P list. I do think that in truth there is a clear top four who are elite, plus the next top four who have separated themselves so could probably just have a P4P top eight right now. The last two spots I don’t think anyone is nailed on. You didn’t answer my question about what in your view makes a complete fighter? 

Much respect

Bread’s Response: A complete fighter can pretty much hold his own, doing any of the basic concepts at the top level. So, for example, the fighter can fight well enough on the inside, mid-range, outside, countering or attacking, to be able to beat elite opponents. Pernell Whitaker is known as a slick boxer. But if you watch his fight with Chavez – who is considered a greater inside fighter than Whitaker – Whitaker was able to hold his own on the inside, as well as every other range. And on top of that he was able to outbox Chavez on the outside. Pernell Whitaker is a complete fighter.

Bread,

Hope you and yours are well. Still basking in the Beterbiev-Bivol post-fight afterglow that comes with watching a superfight between two all-time greats at the top of their respective game. It wasn’t furious like my all-time favorite superfight, Hagler-Hearns, but it was high drama throughout. I love how both fighters carry themselves outside the ring and operate inside it, but was definitely pulling for King Artur and thought he got a well-deserved victory. I wouldn’t have been upset at a different outcome, so long as it wasn’t marred by the age-old boxing axiom – the ridiculously wide-margin card. We all know the script – A side appears to get edged in a tight fight, wins every swing round on one card to “earn” a 118 – 110 or something similar, and afterwards everyone is incredulous and calling for an investigation of the judge instead of talking about what really happened. It’s happened so much through the years you pretty much learn to accept it’s one of those BS things that comes with boxing. No bad taste in the mouth after this one. No screaming at the TV/big screen like after other great match-ups such as GGG-Canelo I, Chocolatito-Estrada II, and Hagler-Leonard (though SRL did have a case for the narrowest of Ws). How your guy Kyrone Davis got the W after being on the wrong end of one of those cards is probably the most amazing thing out of the whole ordeal – much like how Floyd survived the same against Canelo.

As for this fight, I read one of the surprises of the fight for you was Bivol’s toughness. He definitely proved that and then some. After watching again, are you surprised by anything Beterbiev did or didn’t do? One thing I found fascinating was how fundamentally solid a boxer he was against someone known as a master technician. It wasn’t a surprise necessarily, because of his deep amateur pedigree, but the perception going in was this was a bull-versus-matador contest, and it turned out to be anything but that. Sure, Bivol was effectively quicker and slicker, and it no doubt caused Beterbiev issues, but in no way was he out of his depth – try as the telecast did to lead you to believe he was getting frustrated and outclassed. I know his sheer physicality gets a lot of the credit, but his footwork is highly underrated and was a key for him in getting off effectively throughout the whole fight, not just the last three rounds.

Speaking of which, how do you think he looked moving on his surgically repaired knee? I’m no expert but I saw no slippage whatsoever. None of that “fight happened past their best” nonsense with this match-up – both guys were the absolute truth. Finally, kudos to the BoxingScene folks for posting the high-quality images of Beterbiev and Bivol going at it as the accompanying photo to the last two mailbags and in the fight specific articles. There was nothing iconic like a fully strapped and glowering Inoue with the two lovely Japanese round-card girls in traditional garb on either side of him after claiming bantamweight supremacy, but beautiful stuff nonetheless. 

Take care,

Ray – Elmhurst, IL

Bread’s Response: I thought Beterbiev versus Bivol was an excellent fight. Yes, I was surprised at Bivol’s toughness. And I was surprised that Beterbiev that didn’t go to the body more. I also think Beterbiev underused his left hook. But his feet and boxing were on point. I thought Beterbiev looked fine physically. He just didn’t fight his best fight, but that may have been because Bivol didn’t allow it. 

The A-side decisions are getting disgusting. I’m waiting for the day a network interviews a judge after a bad score card immediately after a fight. I don’t want the culprit to have time to get their story together.

Sup Breadman, 

My question is about overlooked attributes/skills fighters have. For example, Beterbiev doesn’t load up on his shots and always seems close to his opponent and seems a lot quicker then he is because of it. The way GGG is always in position to throw punches; Canelo turning his fist as to land his punches at the knuckle, etc. Are these the things that separate the truly elite fighters from the average? Can you give examples of these nuisances in other fighters? Hope you and yours are doing well.

Thank you

Bread’s Response: Great question. Yes, I know several great fighters with tremendous attributes that get overlooked because they have other attributes. Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Roy Jones are three of the best body punchers I have seen but yet they don’t make top body-puncher lists. Oscar De La Hoya had a great chin but he didn’t make the great-chin list. Marvin Hagler had one of the best jabs in boxing, but it got overlooked.

Canelo Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez and Roberto Duran all had great defense for attacking fighters but they don’t make the list for great defensive fighters. I can go on about this. The media and the fans routinely mislabel great fighters with their styles and attributes. 

In this era, Beterbiev boxes going forwards, so his boxing skills get underrated.

David Benavidez gets hit but he has good defense. He blocks punches. He catches them. And he takes steam off of them. When he fought Demetrius Andrade, Benavidez displayed better defense, but Andrade is considered slick. Andrade is awkward, but he wasn’t slicker than Benavidez. You can’t listen to the compliments. You have to look at the fights. 

Monster Inoue has a superior IQ. Did you see how he used a jab to belly versus the taller Fulton for several rounds before he went over the top with a right hand? Or did you see how he boxed versus Donaire in their first fight, after Donaire was timing him when he was attacking? A very high IQ, but because he’s a brutal puncher it gets overlooked. 

Caleb Plant is viewed as feather-fisted. But he has real pop. The brutal KO of Anthony Dirrell was no fluke. And the destruction of Trevor McCumby was authentic. But because he likes to box and he’s a showman, I hear people repeat that he can’t punch, and it’s just not true.

I don’t have enough room for this question, to be honest. Fighters are constantly mislabeled in boxing, to a point when I read something accurate I give the person who wrote it extra credit because the mislabeling happens so often

Sup Breadman, 

Could you give us a style breakdown of Salvador Sanchez? What he excelled at; how he would apply his style in the ring? How, as a trainer, would you try to counter his fighting style; what modern-day fighter does he remind you of? How would he have faired against other contemporaries had he not passed?

Thank you – hope you and yours are doing well.

Bread’s Response: Salvador Sanchez is one of the top 10 fighters I have seen in my lifetime. In 1981-82 the debate as to who was the best fighter in the world was between Sanchez and Ray Leonard. That’s how good he was – in a time that had Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Marvin Hagler, Aaron Pryor, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran and Alexis Arguello. The debate was down to those two. Ask anyone around in that window.

Sanchez’s style was of a fleet-footed boxer puncher, with sneaky power, elite stamina and elite durability. He was a finished fighter.

As a trainer, if I had a guy who could move and counter, that is how I would have him fight Sanchez. Actually fight Sanchez how Sanchez fights. I would not over-engage him. I would make him lead as much as possible, and try to make him press the fight. Sanchez could press competently, but he was much better if you came to him. 

A modern-day fighter he reminds me of – Teofimo Lopez has a little Sanchez in his game, but they are built differently, so it doesn’t jump out. But look how much better Teofimo is when you press him versus when he has to press you. The closest to Sanchez overall, I would say, is Juan Estrada. But Sanchez is better than both by a considerable margin.

This is going to sound morbid. But Sanchez had a crazy fight schedule by 1982. He had already had nine title defenses. Most of his fights went over halfway through, and he had a few 15-round tough decisions. He had already had four fights vs hall of famers. Sanchez dying young at his absolute peak allows him to be rated only for his peak. It’s unfortunate that he died, but the optics help him. We didn’t see him fight into his late 20s or early 30s, which would be considered older back then. Whereas, say, Alexis Arguello had over 80 fights in his fourth weight division by the time he got a super fight versus Aaron Pryor at 140lbs. So that would be similar to Sanchez fighting, say, Pernell Whitaker or Meldrick Taylor at 140lbs in, say, the late 80s or early 90s. That’s a tough assignment considering that would be Sanchez’s fourth division, versus a super talent, and Sanchez would have had a decade of elite-level wear and tear on him. 

Taylor and Whitaker were part of the ‘84 Olympics team. Sanchez died in 1982. If you look at the landscape in 1982 and on, Eusabio Pedraza was the WBA featherweight champion – Pedraza was not as popular or as liked as Sanchez but he was every bit the fighter. Pedraza had also outperformed Sanchez vs Patrick Ford, who gave Sanchez hell. I still don’t know if Sanchez would have beaten Pedraza. 

Sanchez would also have had a very tough time versus a more seasoned Azumah Nelson. A 13-0 Nelson gave Sanchez his hardest title fight. 

Then you would have had Arguello at 135lbs; an emerging Julio Cesar Chavez at 130lbs; Hector Camacho at 130lbs. Jeff Fenech ascending from 118 and rapidly moving up. Not to mention the hardcore fighters like Rocky Lockridge.

Sanchez would surely have held his own. But he would not have ran the table without a loss or two if he had not passed away. That’s just too many great fighters in their primes, who are bigger and fresher. I don’t care who you are – no featherweight moving up is going to run that table. It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely. 

But, it happened how it happened. And I don’t want it to come off like I’m disrespecting the dead. Salvador Sanchez was all that and a bag of chips. A legit great fighter; a legit top five featherweight of all time. And a legit top three or four fighter of the 80s, and the 80s is the best decade of boxing in my lifetime. 

What up, Breadman,

As a Haney supporter it’s hard in these suburban streets (non-hood ). I support the lawsuit but when I read fans’ comments on Dev Dollars it’s hard, man. I wish he would take a fight to get back in there. Even as a supporter I got questions myself. Just fight a fighter at 140-147 and get it on. A Catterall fight would be great, and he is skilled. Would answer some questions about young bro, and put him back in the mix of things. We know Dev has heart and was in the fight with Ryan, but he needs to not give Ryan so much headspace. It’s as if Ryan did not even cheat and the public disses Dev and said he was exposed. That was an Osterine left hook until they can run it back or Dev can enter the ring flexing skills again. We, as Dev supporters, are not even craving a top-tier guy – just beat the breaks off of a warm body to get your feet wet. Take a “fade” on the chin and keep it coming. He is not doing himself any favors sitting out. His jaw is as healed as it is gonna be… 

Peace and blessing,

Michael “Precise” Blount

Bread’s Response: I believe that most in this era wait too long to get back in the ring after a bad performance or loss. But I think Devin needs the right gym situation before he jumps back in. He seems to be looking for a new trainer. I saw some footage of him with Freddie Roach… I don’t know what to make of it, but I saw it. Give him a little grace and let him figure some stuff out. If he hasn’t announced a fight by Thanksgiving then it’s time to worry, but it’s only been about six months. That’s about right for this era.

O’Shaquie Foster is a massive favorite to get revenge in his rematch with Robson Conceicao. It seems like Las Vegas expects a similar fight, and for the judges to get it right this time. Is that what you expect? I believe Foster will push hard to get a knockout this time, given the last result. I appreciate your thoughts.

Bread’s Response: I actually think the fight will be competitive because Foster may over-try and make mistakes. When you feel robbed of something it makes you angry. But anger can cause mistakes. I think this will be a close, competitive fight. Drawish type…

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