The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen “Breadman” Edwards giving his thoughts on various topics such as who wins between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, the news that Crawford might fight Madrimov, Boots-Tszyu and boxing’s hot young prospects
I need a clear pick and breakdown on Haney vs Garcia? Garcia’s tactics are working because I’m all over the place with my pick. On top of that Devin looks weight drained.
Bread’s Response: Devin and Ryan have fought 6 times as amateurs, each winning 3 times apiece. So although it was long ago, they are familiar with each other. I expect Ryan to be dangerous early because of that familiarity. When fighters are comfortable with their opponents, they don’t need the normal feeling out process….
I also expect him to go for it early because fighters know their weaknesses even if they don’t admit them. Ryan went for it TOO EARLY vs Tank and I think it’s because focusing hard for 12 rounds is just not something he’s comfortable with. So he tried to get the Tank fight over with as quickly as possible. That was a counter productive strategy vs Tank because he’s a lights out counter puncher. But Devin is NOT the counter puncher that Tank is. So I can see Ryan going for it again early.
So while Devin isn’t the counter puncher that Tank is, he does have a great set of legs and a consistent great jab to keep himself out of trouble. Ryan’s chances lie within the first 4 rounds. As the fight moves along I expect Devin’s ability to focus to be the separator. I think Devin’s right hand OVER the top will be hard for Ryan to deal with. I look for Devin to slowly take over after the halfway point.
My biggest question is can Devin stop Ryan? I think he can but Devin hasn’t stopped anyone in a long time and he hasn’t really come close. So if I were betting I would bet Devin to win a decision. Because that’s safe. But I would hedge with something smaller on a ko because knockouts come in all forms. Sometimes a fighter loses focus and sort of gets himself kod….. I also wouldn’t be surprised if PRIDE took over at some point and Ryan got DISQUALIFIED.
Sup Bread!
I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I’ve written in but I’ve never missed a mailbag. In one of your mailbags, you mentioned how boxing is a game of inches. I have a few questions that I want to ask you and I hope life has been treating you well!
1. Do you feel like Floyd Mayweather played the game of inches the best out of everyone you have observed in boxing history during his “Money” Mayweather run?
I can’t think of anyone that had a team that made sure to maximize his chances of success at the level that he did outside of the ring before he stepped into the ring with an opponent.
2. Do you feel like boxing is sorely missing the “Big fight” feel from the HBO/Showtime era? Watching the 24/7, lead up to the fights really brought an almost SuperBowl type feel when Watching fights on PPV…
3. With the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight getting closer, my biggest concern for Mike is punch resistance. I hated watching Evander Holyfield fighting under the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones undercard years ago as he couldn’t take punches that he would have been ok with when he was much younger. How do you feel that will play out with Mike being almost 60?
4. Thinking about the type of audience that Jake Paul brings to his fights.. .do you think that the best path for boxing to rise to a higher level of popularity is to include more influencers on main event boxing cards or do you feel like where boxing is right now is where it will be for the foreseeable future?
