In this week\u2019s mailbag, Stephen Edwards \u2013 one of the sport\u2019s most-respected trainers \u2013 answers your questions about fights that could have been different over 12 rounds rather than 15, who he likes in the newly-announced Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr fight and current goings on in the lightweight division.<\/p>\n
Bread, It feels like a cliche, but count me among those who have you to thank for a bright spot every Saturday morning. We appreciate it. I was wondering how different boxing history might look if some of the classic 15-round fights were only scheduled for 12. An example is Leonard vs. Hearns, which you can argue would have been a win for Hearns if it were 12 rounds (I acknowledge that if it were set for 12 rounds, both guys would have fought differently). That said, who are the fighters who perhaps overachieved because 15 rounds revealed their strengths, and who are the fighters who underachieved because 15 rounds revealed their deficiencies? With gratitude, David in Miami<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s Response: You know what, I appreciate the question but I don\u2019t like to view things without context. In 1981, championship fights were fifteen rounds. No one knew about what would happen a few years later that fights would be changed to twelve rounds. Leonard hurt Hearns badly in the sixth and seventh rounds of their first fight. Maybe he wouldn\u2019t have geared his attack the way he did if he knew he only had twelve rounds to get Hearns and not fifteen. We will never know, but I don\u2019t like to say what would or would not have happened because that\u2019s not the context they fought under. They prepared for a fifteen round fight, not a twelve round fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And in fairness to Hearns, he\u2019s not a guy who was stopped late in fights in his career. In fact his other two KO losses were third round stoppages. So for all sakes of argument, the fight went how it went, on that night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In regards to the fighters that overachieved because fifteen rounds revealed their strength\u2026 I wouldn\u2019t say overachieved but I will name some fighters who were money from rounds thirteen through fifteen. And some who weren\u2019t or some who I believe wouldn\u2019t have done very well in the fifteen round era.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Salvador Sanchez, Alexis Arguello and Carlos Monzon are fighters who were as good as it gets from rounds thirteen through fifteen. In fact without a clear statistic, just eyeball recollection, I feel like those guys won 80% of their championship rounds. All of them had late dramatic championship stoppages after the twelfth round.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fighters who I think had issues or would have had issues with fifteen round fights\u2026 Mike Tyson, Gerry Cooney and Jermain Taylor all come to mind as fighters who would\u2019ve had or had issues with fifteen round fights.<\/p>\n
Do you think Brian Norman Snr sees something in Jaron Ennis. He still seems willing to fight him. I heard you were present for their sparring sessions, could you shed some light on how the sparring went? I know sparring isn\u2019t everything but it does indicate how a fight may go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: When you\u2019re facing an opponent you can\u2019t look at him in awe of, you have to look at him in flaw of. I have no doubt that Brian Norman Sr sees something in Jaron Ennis. I have no doubt he\u2019s optimistic that his son can win. It\u2019s just up to his Brian Norman Jr to exploit whatever his dad sees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to speak on a sparring session publicly. Especially one that none of my fighters were involved in. It\u2019s unethical and unprofessional so please don\u2019t ask me that again.<\/p>\n
What do you think of two big potential fights in the lightweight division? Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda seems almost done and Abdullah Mason vs Floyd Schofield. Schofield is asking for 2.5 million, do you think that\u2019s realistic or a duck move. Who wins these barnburners?<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: Volume fighters can usually do well with pure boxers. So in the rock, paper, scissors of styles, Zepeda can trouble Shakur. But I like Shakur to win this fight. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Shakur stopped him although it\u2019s most likely a decision win for Shakur. I just feel like Shakur is a level above Zepeda. I feel like Shakur punches better to the body than he does the head and a good body attack is needed to slow down a pressure fighter. And I think Zepeda has put so much into his performances I think he may have peaked out. I don\u2019t know how much better Zepeda can get and with high energy fighters, their decline comes earlier. For a safe bet, take Shakur by UD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what offers were made to the Schofields so they can ask for whatever they want. I respect Floyd Schofield Sr. for trying to get the most money he can for his son and himself. Boxing is a dirty game. And if Schofield Jr. starts losing or showing decline, he\u2019s going to be thrown to the wolves for short money. So while he\u2019s young with star potential they have to reach for the stars in terms of money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That being said, I don\u2019t know if 2.5M is realistic for a prospect non-title fight. But who knows. Mason is with the Saudis now\u2026. The worst thing that can happen is someone comes up with a counter offer. And they negotiate from there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think they will fight right now to be honest. Lots of times, pride and ego and social media starts this stuff, where fighters who are in the same weight class and at similar stages start going back and forth. The next thing you know, a proposed fight gets talked about too early. I think this is one of those fights. I believe that someone from one of their teams will put their pride to the side and move in another direction. But if somehow they do find the money and they fight next, I don\u2019t know who will win that fight. It\u2019s a really tough fight to call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Schofield has gone twelve rounds already, so that\u2019s a big deal in this type of fight. But Schofield has also been cut and dropped and he struggled in that fight. Mason, on the other hand, was dropped twice and hurt. He seems to be a better puncher and boxer than Schofield but he also seems a little stiff and predictable in his attack. Schofield seems physically stronger and possibly a better athlete. It’s a tough fight.<\/p>\n
I have respect for both teams and both young fighters. Both look like they have future champion potential if moved right. But in all honesty, they both need more development. They both need more work. Development is not something you rush, it\u2019s something you cultivate. Development is like growing a fruit. If you pick it off the vine too soon, it may taste pretty good, it may look pretty good. But it won\u2019t look or taste as good as it would if you would have let it ripe all the way. That\u2019s how I feel about Mason and Schofield. Both need a few more fights for the elite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thank you Heavenly Father for our weekly Bread. Amen. Bread, you\u2019ve been saying that Serrano just has to make a slight adjustment to KO Taylor and I agree. I won\u2019t ask you what that adjustment is exactly because as you say the game is to be sold not to be told. I would ask if at least I\u2019m on the right track. I believe she needs to make two small adjustments but the second one to me is the one. The glaring one to me is cutting off the ring. If she did that even a little bit better she would force Katie into more exchanges giving herself a better shot at landing the kill shot\/shots. However, to me the one adjustment that would get her the KO would be to just switch her rhythm. She begins every combination with a jab or two followed by the straight left. If she, from time to time, just throws her lead left straight first followed by a right hook she\u2019d catch Katie and KO her. Would love to hear your opinion. Even if it doesn\u2019t make the mail bag.<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: You\u2019re not wrong but that\u2019s not the adjustment I was talking about. And let me just say this, Amanda did excellent in both fights. I know plenty of people who think she won. I just see something that she does over and over again and it\u2019s adjustable. It\u2019s within her style. It\u2019s not something unreasonable once I say what it is. I also want to say that a fight is not scripted. And it\u2019s easy to be on the outside and say what someone should or should not do. Amanda is doing the best she can and maybe she doesn\u2019t see or agree that she needs to adjust. Let\u2019s see how it goes.<\/p>\n
Jake Paul is a massive favorite in his fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I expect Paul to win by brutal knockout. It bothers me that Paul selects old, smaller fighters with name recognition to pick on. I openly root against him because of this. That being said, he\u2019s following a formula every other promoter follows. Is it time for boxing fans to acknowledge that Paul isn\u2019t doing anything wrong? Or is it fair to criticize him for being a \u201cweight bully\u201d who picks on older fighters?<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: You have a right to your opinion. It\u2019s subjective, it\u2019s yours. So if you feel like how you stated, stand on it. It\u2019s nothing wrong with that. Just don\u2019t support the event. I expected Paul to fight Chavez Jr. And I expect him to beat Chavez Jr. up. Chavez Jr has been on the decline for a very long time. Paul is fresh, resourceful and naturally bigger. This will be a good name on his record, but this should be a clear win for Paul. This is boxing and the A side, who generates the money, can basically fight whoever they want to.<\/p>\n
The fight I\u2019m looking forward to is a rematch with Tommy Fury. That will let me know exactly where Paul is. Fury is not an elite championship level fighter. But he\u2019s solid and he\u2019s young. He beat Paul. Paul can fight just about whoever he wants. And I am interested in seeing if Paul wants to avenge his only career loss. It would let me know how much he has improved. And it would reveal his character and intent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hi Breadman. I have a question about negative emotions in a fight. If there is hostility between boxers, is it possible to use it to your advantage? How would you guide your fighter who can\u2019t stand his opponent? Thanks for sharing your knowledge Jakub<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: Sure it can be used against the opponent if there is hatred before the fight. There is a saying about holding onto anger is like grabbing a hot coal and attempting to throw it at someone. It means you burn yourself. By being blinded with anger you don\u2019t realize that the hot coal will burn your hand before you get to throw it at the person you\u2019re mad at. \u00a0<\/p>\n
A fighter has to know himself. He has to have EQ. IQ is important but this is about EQ. If you know that you make mistakes or become fatigued when you get angry, then it would be a good idea to not allow the opponent to get you angry. It\u2019s one thing to be spiteful and intense but anger is different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I want to add that some fighters can fight angry because they\u2019re so devastating offensively. Mike Tyson and Gerald McClellan were the best angry fighters I\u2019ve seen. But neither were proven to be great late round fighters because anger subsides and there is an energy crash when you fight angry.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve guided Caleb Plant. He has had major animosity with each of his opponents I have trained him for. He\u2019s scored two brutal KOs against Anthony Dirrell and Trevor McCumby and he handled himself very well vs David Benavidez. It\u2019s just something you have to remind the fighter of. Be focused, be intense but don\u2019t be mad.<\/p>\n
Hey Breadman, I\u2019d like your thoughts concerning the sweet science of boxing versus boxing as sports entertainment. There are countless of what I consider brilliant but boring boxers who do not provide value for the money they demand or receive for the performances given in the ring. Floyd \u201cNot Worth the Money\u201d Mayweather leads the pack in this regard, more recently Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson come to mind. Mayweather was an exceptional boxer\/fighter, but rarely was he involved in a truly entertaining fight that lived up to the hype or expectations \u2013 no real memorable fights from an action perspective. Sure, Mayweather Jnr had plenty of heart, speed, reflexes, skills, stamina and a good chin. I respect his ability and accomplishments, but he wasn\u2019t worth paying to watch after you\u2019ve seen a couple of his bouts as they were all pretty much the same. Dull, with the exception of the Corrales bout and a handful of others. I can\u2019t really think of a memorable fight he was involved in. <\/p>\n
Floyd only seemed to do just enough to win his fights and not provide value for the hard-earned money fans parted with to watch his fights. Floyd Jnr was an exceptional boxer, but I reckon he was a better salesman than he was boxer by the way he convinced TV executives and promoters to pay him huge purses and the paying public to part with their hard-earned money. More recently entitled boxers such as Devin \u2018Huggy Jab\u201d Haney and Shakur Stevenson have been demanding big money for exceptionally boring styles of fighting. From the little I have seen of this pair you couldn\u2019t pay me to watch them box. I must admit that when Garcia handed Haney his ass on a platter to him with a good beating, I used YouTube to watch the replay. I resent safety first fighters who run, hold and avoid engaging in proper combat. <\/p>\n
I feel if you want to fight that way, stay in the amateurs and don\u2019t demand to be paid money you aren\u2019t worth from an entertainment perspective. I\u2019ve argued with plenty of boxing purists over the years on this point and I believe the majority of paying fans want to see quality boxing and be entertained at the same time. I believe if you are partaking in a professional boxing match where you are being paid, you have an obligation to entertain the people who are funding your purse. <\/p>\n
Ali worked it out, Tyson through Cus D\u2019Amato worked it out and Hearns, Hagler and Duran through persistence, hard work and some brilliant performances forced the fans to pay attention, and these men ultimately received the purses their talents and performances deserved. I understand that boxers need to look after their health and their best interests and I\u2019m certainly not suggesting all contests should be a Hagler-Hearns (3 rounds that had more excitement than Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson\u2019s careers combined to date) type of contest, but I choose not to pay to watch boring defensive fighters or even follow their careers. I suspect I am not alone. As usual, I look forward to your response. Down Under Daz <\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: I appreciate you writing in from Australia but I don\u2019t like or agree with your comments at all. My first question to you is, who would you want your son to be taught to fight like? Floyd Mayweather or Arturo Gatti? You have to realize there is nothing cool about taking punishment. There are too many fighters who leave boxing with serious health issues. There are also fighters who decline faster than they normally would have if they had better defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone can not be a KO artist. So a smart fighter recognizes that and he fights according to his ability. I don\u2019t criticize fighters for being defensive. I criticize fighters if they play it safe, knowing they\u2019re losing and they still play it safe. But I\u2019m not going to criticize a fighter for being defensive and he wins titles in three different weight divisions like Shakur. That\u2019s ridiculous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You guys don\u2019t play American football. So I will use a basketball analogy. That\u2019s like criticizing a basketball team for playing defense and using clock management and scoring 90pts\/game. Instead of running and gunning and scoring 120 pts\/game. When the team that scores 90 wins the championship, and they hold the team that usually scores 120 points to only 85 when they play them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t like the way a fighter fights, don\u2019t watch it. George Kambosos fought Devin Haney and trust me it wasn\u2019t all defense that had Kambosos’s head snapping back. It was Devin\u2019s jab and right hand that Kambosos couldn\u2019t figure out. And for the record, I don\u2019t view Devin as an overly defensive fighter. I think he\u2019s a solid boxer, with a great jab and good athleticism. But he\u2019s not the defensive fighter that Shakur is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Tim Tszyu had applied more defense and not been so reckless, he wouldn\u2019t have been KOd so brutally by Bahkram. There is nothing wrong with being defensive as a fighter as long as you\u2019re applying some offense. Shakur and Devin usually hit their opponents more than their opponents hit them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to share something with you. I once saw Devin in Vegas after the Linares fight. I told him to not let fans or media goad him into trying to be a puncher. I told him to box, be smart and win. After he outboxed Kambosos, he hit my inbox and asked me, did he box well and smart. I congratulated him and told him, yes. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Hey Bread, long-time reader first time writing in. We all know that training camp can be exceptionally taxing on a fighter. To the point some fighters have said they felt close to death. That\u2019s before the fight. But what is it like for a fighter after a fight? What do they go through? Thanks, MJB<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: If a fighter wins, after the fight he\u2019s usually sore but he feels good because he won. Those same bruises hurt worse after a loss so it depends on the outcome of the fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I assume you\u2019re talking about after a loss. It can be depressing. It can be a hard ride. It\u2019s why I stress performance and effort over official outcome. If you fight a good fight and give it 100%, I tip my hat to a fighter, regardless of the outcome.<\/p>\n
Dear Bread, hope you and yours are good. I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts on Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn. Firstly, who you got and why? Secondly, what are your thoughts on the fight itself? It\u2019s gonna be huge in the UK. Obviously no titles on the line but some things run deeper than belts \u2013 I guarantee both guys will care more about beating the other than winning any belt. Does personal grudge matter more than a title? Or does hardware trump all? Put another way, if the loser of Eubank-Benn ultimately wins a world title and the winner never does, who\u2019ll be happier with their career? Very best to you sir, Max Williams<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: I really don\u2019t know who wins Eubank vs Benn. I can\u2019t tell where either fighter is in their career. Eubank has seemed to decline and Benn hasn\u2019t looked the same\u00a0 since he tested positive for PEDs. Then there is the weight. Eubank is bigger but cutting down at 36 years old may affect his performance.<\/p>\n
Benn seems more confident but that may be a personality thing. Benn\u2019s father was fiery. Whereas the Eubanks are more ice. Ice doesn\u2019t appear to be confident until it puts out the fire. This is a tough call for me\u2026. I feel like Benn has a slight edge but I just can\u2019t pick him to win..<\/p>\n
Hi Breadman, First of all, I have to give you congratulations for your eye-clinic on Jaron Ennis. I watched the match between him and Stanionis and it was a display of skills, speed and stamina: \u00a0what a fighter. I have read your column for a while and read how some people accused you of giving props to Ennis only because he is from Philly, that Saturday Jaron showed they are wrong. I am curious about the resistance that some people have regarding a prospect or young champion, asking questions about their opponents. It is different when an athlete is from another discipline like baseball, basketball, football, etc. They want a young guy with a big resume like he was a champion for 5 or 6 years. I am a big fan of Ennis and I hope he can face another big name this year. Ernesto Baez, A Dominican in New York.<\/p>\n
Bread\u2019s response: Thank you. I\u2019m glad you said stamina. Ennis is one of the best conditioned boxers in the game. I have seen him spar twelve, four minute rounds, with three serious world class sparring partners and get the better of every single round. But as time goes on, that will be proven too. People are so crazy to criticize for me saying a fighter as talented as Ennis is the real deal. If they weren\u2019t trying to be contrarians they would see it too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never been that person to hate on talent. I loved Michael Jordan, Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Jerry Rice, Lebron James, Muhammad Ali, Ray Leonard, Roy Jones etc. I\u2019m sure you get what I\u2019m saying. Some people don\u2019t like brilliance and they love the common man because they see more of themselves in the common man. Me, on the other hand, I just love talent. I can appreciate the workman, like a Mike McCallum and Marvin Hagler. And I can appreciate the freaks like Ray Leonard and Roy Jones and everything in between. Ennis is the goods and I’m standing on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this week\u2019s mailbag, Stephen Edwards \u2013 one of the sport\u2019s most-respected trainers \u2013 answers your questions about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[1935,4495,28123,79,28124,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-52600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-boxingscene","10":"tag-daily-bread-mailbag","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-stephen-edwards","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114405326475435554","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}