How’s it going, Bread? It’s been a while since I last wrote you. This was mainly because I’ve been sitting back and trying to accept these travesties which are plaguing the sport we all love so much. The general consensus on Antonio Margarito is that he shocks.not be given a shot at Pac Man or even be allowed back into the ring, but this just may be the blessing in disguise everyone is waiting for. Manny could very well put such a beating on Tony that he will retire from the sport. I just don’t see this fight going the distance. Manny’s speed and movement will cause problems for Margarito and I’m guessing a corner stoppage. Your thoughts? Chris, Brownsville, TX
Bread?s Response: I didn?t want to say this but you guys ask me so much it kind of forces me to reveal something. I had a dream that Margarito knocked Manny out with an uppercut! Couldn?t believe it, I rarely remember my dreams. That being said , I?m not going to assume that it?s really going to happen. I like Manny to win the fight. I just don?t like the fight for him. This is a fight between a junior welterweight and a junior middleweight. And let?s not forget the half of foot in height. Manny is the king of those long sustained beat downs, and Margarito is the king of taking them. If Margarito regains his form he had in 2008, this will be a fight. Before you guys go crazy I know , I know, I know about the tainted handwraps. I am not glorifying Margarito?s achievements at all. But the guy was doing some subtle things with his pressure style that I was impressed with. He was really in a zone as far as closing distance, urgency and punch selection.
Finally, Bread…FINALLY!! We actually agree on something but what took you so long? I was starting to get worried when your response to this catastrophe of fight was that I’m Mayweather fan so i can’t see pacquiao objectively. It worried me terribly Bread, lol. But i’m gald that you see what a sham this fight is: – neither fights at 154 and it’s a title shot – it’s at a catchweight – maragrito is a cheat and shouldn’t have a license -Margarito got destroyed in his last real fight I could keep going on and on. I got a serious problem with pacquiao. And if you start to look at his history and his patterns in choosing Tailor made opponent, shot fighters, fighters coming off losses…. It’s just shameful! I”m gone Bread…Peace.
Bread?s Response: I have always said I didn?t like this fight. Never once did I waiver. We probably agree on many more things, but I understand Floyd is your guy. We will disagree on Manny picking on guys. Seeing both sides of the game as I do, it?s a manager?s job to pick the opponent that will make his fighter look the best. You would too. But I don?t think Manny picks on shot fighters or fighters coming off of losses. We can assume Cotto is not shot. He may not be at his absolute peak of 2007 but he is not shot. Clottey was coming off of a razor thin loss. A loss that many thought he won. It?s no shame in making that fight. Tarver and Pavlik both fought Bernard Hopkins after similar losses and you see what they got. Hatton was coming off of a good win vs. Malignaggi. Everybody seems to forget that. Oscar was not in his prime but he certainly wasn?t shot. He performed reasonably well against Mayweather. Plus he was not coming off of a loss, he had just beat Forbes. You see what happens when you discuss exact facts. Sometimes you guys form an opinion based on what you want to be true. This Margarito fight is the 1st fight that I feel Manny has had that should be considered as shameful. And the only big fights Manny fought against guys coming off of losses were Morales and Clottey. We know about Clottey?s loss and Morales beat Manny so we know he wasn?t shot. Please don?t make me put out a list of fighters who fought guys in big fights coming off of competitive losses and good performances. I will say that I feel that Manny should have fought Andre Berto, Tim Bradley or Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez for obvious reasons and Berto or Bradley because that slick urban style would get Manny ready for Floyd. It would also dispel the rumors that Top Rank does not want to match Manny vs. Black American fighters. When Manny fought at the smaller weights , he had an excuse. But now there are enough quality Black American fighters to make fights with. I know he is going after Floyd but if Floyd is not around there are many others.
Hey whats up breadman and G !!!!! Hey I am becoming a little disappointed with BT lately. I use to write to G alot and havent written to you but read often and very legit. This alex stone dude saying wlad klit is best ever!!!!!! I didnt read any further even though he said hear me out. That is an opinion but absurd. Boxing is lets say on downtime right now lets at least keep the discussions legit. Overall BT is still number 1 but lets keep it there.
Bread?s Response: Don?t be disappointed in BT, Alex Stone has a right to his opinion. Various opinions is what makes BT the best site in the world in my opinion. If Alex was not a sharp a guy he wouldn?t be writing for our site. That being said I disagree about Wladimir possibly being the best heavyweight ever. He is not even the best heavyweight in his family. His big brother is. Why, because big bro has more on the inside. I for one can?t forget Wlad?s losses. Anybody can get clipped I get that. It?s no shame in that. But Wlad has had panic attacks in the boxing ring. I am not suggesting he is a coward, no man is who steps in a boxing. But he lacks something in that area. Wlad lost his fights against Purity and Brewster on heart. He was flailing around the ring every time Peter hit him. He was literally falling to the canvas to avoid punishment. I am sorry, that is not the actions of the best heavyweight ever. These things didn?t happen when Wlad was a 15 year old kid who panicked his 1st time in the silver gloves. No this stuff happened to a man who had an extensive amateur career, and in the Brewster and Peter cases he had over 30 fights. I may sound like I?m being hard on Wlad but I am consistent in my beliefs. I am a firm believer that what is on the inside is more important than what?s on the outside. Give me unwavering courage and determination any day as a fighters biggest attributes. I will say that by next year I will be putting both K bros in that exclusive list of great heavyweights who separated themselves from their contemporaries. But in my humble opinion he could never be the greatest heavyweight ever.
Breadman! I have to keep it real, I am actually excited about Pac-Marg. I understand that Margs does not deserve this big money fight, but after he was skipped over for all the big fights a few years back, this is just pay back. This does nothing to help Pac get ready for PBF though. The news about the Super Six sucks. Green must be devastated. I for one really enjoyed this and thought it was going great. I hear most people talking about the pace of the tourney but, that is the typical schedule for a top fighter these days. If these guys weren?t in the tourney they would not have been fighting 3 times a year anyway. Keep up the great work! Roy
Bread?s Response: What up Big Roy? I understand that top fighters only fight twice a year now but just because that?s the norm it does not make it right. We need to see the best fighters in the world more often than twice a year. I?m not saying 5 times a year at the elite level. That would be unreasonable. But nobody can tell me that these guys can?t fight once every FOUR months. My goodness it only takes two months to train. I?m going to give you an interesting stat tell me what you think? Vitali Klitschko fought 3 times in 2009. Wlad did it in 2008. Fernando Montiel this year in 2010. Manny Pacquiao in 2008. Andre Ward in 2009 , and Juan Manuel Lopez in 2008. Something happened to each guy when they did that. Our perception of them enhanced. That extra fight per year, keeps them sharp, it improves them. It also gives the public an extra chance to see our guys. I didn?t even go back too many years because you know those guys fought more often. But Oscar fought 5 times in 1997. He should know something about staying in the public?s eye. Margarito / Pac will definitely be pleasing to watch. They both have action styles and give it their all. Now that the fight is on, I am interested to see if Manny can keep such a long, tall man off of him all night. The one weakness in Manny?s game is he does not know how to steal a rest without taking punishment. For example Floyd and James Toney will relax in their defensive posture for a minute or two and pick off shots. Andre Ward will grab you and grind you. K bros will feint you and create distance. Because of Manny?s size and style he does not have an effective resting style. Every fighter gets tired from time to time we just don?t always know it. If Manny gets a little tired this fight, it will interesting to see what happens.
Yo Bread, I know BT is cool with Team Alexander and I know you did that interview with Tim Bradley before the Abregu fight, but I want you to keep it real, like you always do. I read on another site that Bradley?s Promoter Gary Shaw offered him 1.1 million to fight Alexander next year. I assume King will be offering Devon the same. Do you think this enough, because Bradley apparently has not responded.
Bread?s Response: I always keep it real. You guys don?t have to say that to me when you write in. I couple of months back I said that the Bradley/Alexander fight is not a PPV fight. Therefore they will fight on HBO World Championship Boxing. When that happens , the fighters pretty much get a portion of whatever the License Fee is. Basically how ever much the network is willing to pay for the fight. I figured their purses would be somewhere between 1-1.5 million. I also heard from my sources that they would want more. I have read Kevin Cunningham state that both Bradley and Alexander deserve more than the purse that Khan made for Malignaggi. The problem in that scenario is, Khan was not splitting things with Malignaggi 50/50. I believe Khan?s purse was a little over 1 million bucks. I would never tell a fighter what it should be worth for them to go risk their life. But in this market I?m not so sure that they will get much more than that. I guess their teams could be creative and ask for more sponsor money. Or they can ask for a portion of the gate. Devon does a big gate in St. Louis. Let?s not forget the Promoters also get a portion of these License Fees. I did a little research and I am going to list some ?reported? purses of fighters , of similar weight, ability and stages of their career. I think you will find this interesting. Mayweather 1.5 mill/ Corrales 1.25 mill. Chavez 1.2 mill/ Taylor 1.2 mill. Sanchez 1mill/ Gomez 1mill. Pryor 1.2 mill/ Arguello 1.3 mill. Now those are reported purses but I think they are pretty accurate. Judging by those numbers and this poor market, I?m not sure the offers will get too much higher. Hopefully whatever has to happen does happen so this fight can get made. A true star will emerge.
How did you like the Calderon vs. Segura fight? You said Segura would come on in the 2nd half of the fight and that he was dog. Was that the fight of the year so far?
Bread?s Response: I would have to say yes. That was Fight of the Year thus far. Segura is not just a dog he is a mad hungry pitbull. I knew the 2nd half of the fight would be like sand in the hour glass for Calderon. Man was I impressed with Segura. I keep mentioning that guys these days don?t know how to pressure a man. They allow them to breath. They act like they have 20 rounds to catch the guy. A championship fight is 36 minutes, that?s all. When a man is slicker and more skilled than you, you can?t just assume he will get tired, you have to make him tired. Segura understands that. Congrats to both guys, they gave it all they had. You can’t ask for more than that. I expect Margarito to attempt to walk Manny down just like Segura did Calderon. The difference is Manny will be shooting higher caliber ammo at Margarito. If he can?t hurt Margarito.
Bread I know you said James Toney was a long shot and he only had a puncher?s chance but you still bet on him. Do you feel like he let boxing down?
Bread?s Response: I bet on James with my heart and I openly admitted it. I tell you guys all the time , the favorites are the favorites for a reason. Those little old men in Vegas are rarely wrong.
James may have let some people down but not me. I wouldn?t have bet on him if he was the favorite. I looked at it like a longshot come up. I think some will say he let boxing down because he was beat so easily. Everybody has their opinion. The guy couldn?t get big fights in his sport, so he brought some attention to himself and got mangled. Oh well, I hope he was paid well. I actually think James underestimated MMA in general.
What I am about to say may not be politically correct but it?s true. Many boxers and black guys in general, look at MMA as a non black sport. A sport that was kind of conjured up because the participants can?t box well enough to be successful professional boxers. Many MMA guys box in the gyms and they get handled.
The problem with this line of thinking is, you can?t just assume you can beat somebody up, because they are not as talented as you in one area. We all know that Randy Couture would be a journeyman boxer, but he was smart enough not to be a boxer. He knows his limits. I said last week I hope boxers don?t go over there because I am a purist. I hope they understand the difference.
Just think about this. When two boxers fight and one is more talented, usually the analyst will say, the less talented boxer has to turn it into a street fight. Well that?s what MMA is to degree. Boxers have no business over there and they have no business over here.
