Highlights from Bread's mailbag:
On Ward vs. Kovalev:
Yes I did think Hopkins would be more competitive with Kovalev. No excuses. I thought Hopkins would take him on the inside and smother his power to an extent. But Kovalev won every round and in a dominant performance. He managed the distance better than I thought he would. People actually criticized him for not being able to knock Hopkins out but it’s almost impossible to knock Hopkins out once he gets in a defensive mode.
Nevertheless I’m standing by my prediction that Kovalev vs Ward will be much closer. Much more hotly contested. Ward doesn’t have a history of letting rounds go by. I’ve never really seen him allow a guy to win rounds against him. He’s very conscious and reactive when it comes to that. Where as Hopkins will lure you in for a few a rounds and allow you to fatigue yourself. Andre Ward doesn’t do that. He tries to outpoint and frustrate his opponents every single round.
I also believe that Ward will have better stamina down the stretch than Kovalev. Kovalev pushed like hell to stop Hopkins but he was fatigued. I also saw a fatigued fighter vs Chilemba. I agree that he wasn’t in tip top shape vs Chilemba. But I also think he doesn’t leave the cleanest lifestyle in between fights. He seems to blow up in weight and I have seen him with drinks in his hands attending fights. Every little thing counts when it comes to a fighter’s gas tank. I think Ward has the better natural lungs. I think Ward ekes this one out.
Mythical Pryor matchups:
Pacquiao is the better puncher of the two for one shot and I think the hand speed is comparable but the slight edge to Pac. Pryor is just so dam crazy and relentless he’s able to overcome tactical disadvantages. Let’s just say they may have to fight 3 times to settle it.
Hawk vs JCC is another tough one. Chavez is as clever a fighter I have ever seen circa 87-91. He would ride and catch lots of Pryor’s shots and he would counter him to the body. But he would probably give up lots of points doing so. Let’s say Pryor by a disputed decision where he looks worn down towards the end.
Mayweather vs Pryor is a tough fight stylistically for Floyd. If you can’t hurt Pryor, he is extremely difficult to move away from him and box him. He forces you to fight. Nobody was ever able to box Aaron Pryor. Nobody. He swarms in a different kind of way. Floyd is much stronger than people realize and his inside game is nasty. It would have to be. But going by Maidana1, Castillo1, Hatton and Augustus. In The rock, paper, scissors of boxing. A swarmer can overcome a boxer. I would take the Hawk by decision. I know he doesn’t have a better legacy than Floyd but this is head to head.
Whitaker vs Pryor. Whitaker has a natural higher volume than most pure boxers. He really puts a jab on you and despite the myth he’s brutal to the body. He would have to be vs Aaron Pryor. Had Pryor lived a little cleaner outside of the ring this fight could’ve happened. I honestly can’t call this one. Again I think they would have to fight 3 times to settle it.
For @Newzz
State of Ohio top 5. Let’s see the best would have to be Ezzard Charles. We can also put Joey Maxim, Jimmy Bivins, Aaron Pryor and Ray Mancini.
Still getting asked about GGG and opponents:
I think GGG is a bad man! I think his critics need to get off of his back. Specifically fighters at 160lbs are not in a hurry to fight him. In his negotiations with the best middleweights in the world, they always need more time, more money and more tune up fights. What does that say about Golovkin? Unless you are with a smaller promoter like Willie Monroe was, OR you get paid well above market value you will not Golovkin. Period!
Danny Jacobs is a terrific fighter but if he doesn’t take the fight, he doesn’t take the fight. I haven’t given it much thought because GGG is already the WBA super champion. Danny Jacobs is the WBA regular Champion. I would assume as far as legacy Jacobs needs this fight not GGG. Golovkin in my opinion is the best middleweight since prime Bernard Hopkins. If middleweights of his era don’t want to challenge him, in essence they are standing down and conceding he is the supreme fighter in the weight class. There is no other way to look at it.
For the record I think Golovkin should call Erislandy Lara’s bluff. Offer him the money he offered Jacobs and make that fight. No one can say he’s picking on Lara because Lara has been calling him out. I know Lara is a junior middleweight but he’s viewed as a top 20 p4p fighter, he has a name and he has ability. I for one would like to see it. I repeat no notable fighter at 160 will fight this man. He’s too dangerous.
The state of Danny Garcia's career right now:
I think Danny Garcia has a solid legacy. He has some solid wins and he has controversial wins. He fights some tough fights where he’s the underdog,then he fights some easy fights where he is the overwhelming favorite. I think the problem the fans have with him is he seems to go from one extreme to the next. If he fights Keith Thurman like he said he would next then I tip my hat to him.
I don’t think Danny is trying to duck Thurman.
I think he’s laying the ground work for a Canelo PPV fight if he beats Thurman. I don’t want to speculate on a Garcia vs Canelo fight yet. Let’s see how he handles Thurman.
if he really tweeted that, taking sublime shots at AB?
) he struggled with a weak chinned past prime mike oliver and nearly came close to losing by DQ..then gets on a PPV and gets stopped by gradovich, who had proper time to train this time around, in one sided fashion
