Canelo, Boxing Myths and More

I feel like every field has what I think of as the myth that refuses to die. It’s like, despite so much evidence to the contrary, many people in that said field still cling to that myth. So with that in mind, what do you think are some of boxing’s biggest myths that refuse to die? What myths have you tried time and time again to disprove? 

Bread’s Response: “You have to take the title from the champion.” You have fighters who actually repeat this. It’s the dumbest and most repeated myth in boxing history and it’s not true. This was made up because a champion got “outboxed” and he complained the challenger “ran” and it kept going.

“You have to be born a puncher”  Just because some fighters were born punchers that doesn’t mean punching power cannot be enhanced through proper training and technique. Punching power can be enhanced, just like a pitcher’s mph on their fast ball can be advanced. Just like an athlete’s 40 yard dash time can be advanced. Just like a vertical can be enhanced. All of these things are explosive actions that are measurable. Scientifically speaking, do you know how dumb that sounds to suggest you have to be born a puncher in order to be a good puncher. Wow! Can you imagine a football coach saying, ‘Your 40 time is 4.7 seconds and you can only be a 4.2 runner by being born so there is nothing we can do about it to get you better?’” Only in boxing can something so ridiculous be repeated and believed. 

Here’s another: Ray Robinson ducked Charley Burley and Ray Leonard ducked Aaron Pryor. Just check the timelines and tell me when they were supposed to fight. I have more but these stand out to me.

Greetings Breadman! Welcome back to the weekly mailbag, always an insightful reading for the boxing fans and your fanbase that have followed you for nearly 14 years. In the past two weeks, Canelo and PBC supposedly mutually parted ways only to come back. It appears that Jaime Munguia might be next for Canelo. However, in boxing things can change quickly. Since the Amazon Prime deal, I get the sense PBC might do business differently. I guess we have to wait a few fights are made to see how it will change and what their vision is. One thing I do know is David Benavidez moving to 175 would be a great move by him. Benavidez is a big guy, young, strong, hungry and will be making his own history in a weight class that he belongs in and has the potential to dominate for years. He can always move down too like he has mentioned before. I remember Amir Khan chasing a Floyd Mayweather fight for years. In fact, Khan wasted his time by being inactive, not focusing on his career, instead waiting for that fight with Floyd which he was told was going to happen and never did. Would you potentially favor David Benavidez over the other top light heavyweights?

Lastly, at age 36 in great shape, Terence Crawford has been in one mega fight his entire career. He has shared that he will fight 2-3 more times before retiring, who can he fight besides Jaron “Boots” Ennis that can provide him a real challenge at 147, 154 or 160? Thank you for your continuous dedication and knowledge we all look forward to read every Saturday morning. Kind regards, Eman from Los Angeles

Bread’s Response: Thank you for the question. But I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Don’t overly concern yourself with how the PBC or any other platform does their business. Just enjoy the fights that they put on. Trying to figure out what they’re doing is pointless. When you go to see a good movie, do you care if the movie is being shown at AMC or  Universal Theatre? Or do you go enjoy the movie? Personally, I go enjoy the movie.

To answer you, Canelo vs. Munguia is a huge fight. People were so happy to say Canelo was doing business elsewhere, just to eat crow at this point. It’s why fans and media shouldn’t concern themselves with that stuff. This fight is not only going to be huge, but it’s fan friendly. This is a vicious, action fight.

I have to see how Beterbiev and Bivol look in their fight. Right now, I will say I favor Benavidez to beat Bivol. I favor Beterbiev to beat Benavidez.

I think Crawford is so good that he would beat Canelo at 168 pounds. I think his endurance, educated feet, IQ and ability to rise the occasion would be the keys versus the great Canelo Alvarez. But there is one fighter I think about Crawford fighting and I can’t come up with a winner hypothetically. That fighter is Jaron “Boots” Ennis. He is the one guy that I can think can match Crawford in important areas. I have no idea who wins this fight. With everyone else, I see Crawford winning. With Boots, I say to myself, they have to fight in the ring to decide it.

“ Muhammad Ali is the Babe Ruth of boxing. ”
Trainer – Stephen “Breadman” Edwards

 I know you’re into other sports besides boxing. So, I wanted to know what Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Tank Davis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Terence Crawford, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and David Benavidez would be of other sports? For example, who is the Michael Jordan or Tom Brady of boxing?

Bread’s Response: This is a great, great question. I love it. Ok let’s see. I will give you my answer and a quick why on each of the fighters you named. 

Floyd Mayweather is the Lebron James of boxing. His sustained excellence with no real drop off in terms of his performances are Lebron-like. It’s hard to tell when their primes started and stopped because neither really has had a bad year, or in boxing terms a bad night. 

Muhammad Ali is the Babe Ruth of boxing. Bigger than life. Iconic! The showstopper of showstoppers. The guy who predicts KOs in the round he wanted to get them in and did it. Just like Ruth called home runs before he hit them.

Gervonta “Tank” Davis is the Damian Lillard of boxing. Smaller athlete but loves to take and make the big shots. Super Clutch!

“Sugar” Ray Robinson is the Michael Jordan of boxing. When asked who the best is, Robinson and Jordan’s name come up more than anyone else. Not only do they pass the eyeball test, but they also pass the analytics test to substantiate their top status.

Terence Crawford is the Kawhi Leonard of boxing. Leonard does not get the recognition of some of the other great small forwards of all time. But watch him close and he’s on the same level as Durant and James. And on any given night he can outplay them. Kawhi is subtle in his greatness. Just like I believe Crawford is on a similar ability level of Mayweather, Whitaker and Leonard. But because Kawhi and Crawford do things their own way, they aren’t as universally appreciated but every bit as good.

“Sugar” Ray Leonard is the Sandy Koufax of boxing. Because of his detached retina and low number of fights, Leonard isn’t ranked as high as Robinson and Armstrong all time. But on his best nights, he can go with anyone. Koufax is viewed the same way among the greats but everyone knows, Koufax has a case for the being the best ever. And because of Leonard’s wins over Benitez, Duran, Hearns and Hagler, he’s viewed as one of the best ever.

David Benavidez is still young and it’s a little early to say. But since you’re asking, I say “The Greek Freak,” Giannis Anteokeounmpo. David and Giannis apply a level of physicality and determination that make them among the best in their sport. I love this question.

Now that Canelo vs Munguia has been announced, can you give a breakdown of the fight? How competitive do you think it will be and does Munguia have a legit shot to win?

Bread’s Response: I think the fight will be action packed. I think Canelo wins if he’s in the same form he was in for Jermell Charlo. Canelo was on fire versus Charlo. He literally won every single round against a world class fighter. But I don’t just assume Canelo will be in that form for every fight. After Canelo’s career best run in 2021, in my opinion he went on a three-fight performance slump versus Dmitry Bivol, John Ryder and Gennadiy Golovkin. He came out of it against Charlo but the slump still happened. 

So we have to see if he snapped out of it against Charlo or was that night an outlier as to where he is currently? Munguia is violent, busy and young. This is his Super Bowl. He’s going to fight his heart out. Canelo is going to have to deal with his youthful energy. If Munguia can take his punches we may be watching a CLASSIC. 

I think the styles mesh very well. I like Canelo by a 65/35 ratio. But I think he has to be in the right form. The Canelo that showed up for Ryder is not going to beat Munguia right now. This has Fight of the Year written all over it.

If you were a matchmaker in a perfect world, who would you match Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Leo Santa Cruz and Deontay Wilder with?

Bread’s Response: Hmm. Danny Garcia, I would give him a shot at the junior middleweight title. I know the titles have been broken up but whoever he can fight by the summer. Tim Tszyu, for example, if he beats Keith Thurman.

I think Shawn Porter has retired. 

Leo Santa Cruz, this is a good one. But I would match Santa Cruz with Rey Vargas at 126lbs. That’s a great action fight that I think Santa Cruz would win. 

Deontay Wilder…umm, let’s see. I would match him with Anthony Joshua. Joshua is the biggest name who is available at the moment. And more importantly Wilder has been calling him out for years. It would be a shame if they came up in the same era and NEVER fought. This fight would most likely end in a brutal early KO no matter who won.

Send questions to: dabreadman25@hotmail.com.