Whats up Breadman,  I’m a young 26 year old, but since I grew up in a boxing family, I grew up watching video of all the greats. From my favorite Salvador Sanchez, to Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez, Muhammad Ali etc… and thanks to ESPN “Ringside” footage of Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson, Guglielmo Papaleo “Willie Pep”, Joe Louis, Carmen Basilio, Jeresey, Joe Walcott and many more.
We all know style makes fights and we all know that a pure boxer most of the time beats the brawler.  What is the answer to a fighter with good hand speed? A great jab  What is the answer for someone that puts a lot of pressure? Angles, good footwork, counter punching
Mayweather has all the answers to whatever Manny Pacquiao is going to try to do.  The reason why fighters cant unload on Mayweather Jr, it’s not because they don’t have the hand speed, or they don’t have any power, or just failed to put pressure on him.  Mayweather has the ability to keep a fighter at a distance. You take a step forward Mayweather takes a step back, you hesitate bam your hit, and he is out the way. You press and press you get close bam he hits you, and again he is out the way.  Now he jabs, and jabs again you think your able to hit him because he is hitting you, you throw a punch, he takes a step back counters with a right hand “Beautiful.” With the exception of that 1st Jose Luis Castillo fight all of Mayweather opponents have looked the same. Mosley looked the same way Marquez did against Mayweather. The last time Pacquiao was put in with a good boxer/counter puncher he damn near almost lost and that was with “Juan Manuel Marquez.”
Also Pac has no defense, he gives you upper body movement, but no head movement. Mayweather’s ability to give angles will also give Manny Problems because he won’t be able to set. When Manny Pacquiao unloads he jumps forward throws punches in bunches and his hands are down, that’s why he always get hit. Manny comes ready to fight all the time, but he has a lot of flaws that Mayweather Jr. will be able to exploit  I guess my question Senor Breadman is…… What do you think Manny can do to give Floyd Mayweather Jr Problems?

Bread’s Response: I see you have been researching this great sport we love. Good for you my man. To answer your question there are many things Pacman can do to give Floyd problems. Floyd has a gift of making fighters scared to open up because he counters them to death. Manny has a gift at punching while his opponents are punching. If you look at fights closely, this one trait , along with catching a guy on the ropes is probably responsible for 75% of the kos you see. It’s very difficult to punch while your opponent is punching. Fighters know that they leave themselves open and vulnerable when they punch. Manny is a dare devil. He looks into the eye of the storm and fires. In all honesty I am surprised Manny has not been kod at least 2 or 3 more times in his career. I’m telling you this is a very dangerous thing to do. If Manny can punch WITH Floyd  and catch him with some stuff he does not see, he can hurt him and possibly stop him. Floyd already is not an over active fighter. If Manny can discourage Floyd it may make it appear he is doing more and he can win a rounds. Along with this, the biggest factor in this fight will be how well Manny takes Floyd’s punches. If he is able to eat Floyd’s shots like the real Pac Man and he does not cut up too much, he has a better than average chance, because of his workrate and punch variety. I personally think that Manny has his work cut out for him but he does have a chance. The kid is on a historic run, he is still in his prime, and as of yet I have not seen him get sucked up in the moment.
 
 
 
Stephen, I hope that all is well.  As a fellow writer & boxing lover, I commend your witty responses & sounded observation our sport!  A lot of people are surprised at Floyd's fighting behavior in the ring from his previous win over Shane. I am not, Floyd has always had an offensive side to him, remember he handled the late-great Diego Corrales with pure boxing. Personally, I am not a boxer's fan, but a boxing fan, meaning, I respect every fighter/boxer. Floyd to me, was the same Floyd when he fought this past Saturday. Yes, he did handle being punched extremely hard (and he says Chop-Chop & Zab hit him harder, he would know, but body language wise, Shane made Floyd body pause, and if Shane would have stepped back, Floyd would have fell forward and let his gloves hit the mat to catch his balance or land on the mat), and he adjusted even better.  Floyd is a good fighter, and he has not surpassed the achievements of Sugar Ray Robinson, or Mr. Ali, but he has the potential to do so. I will give him credit, but what I would like to do, is this, give him credit for being an outstanding outside the ring preparer. Regardless of who turned who down in the past, Floyd awaited the perfect time to fight Shane. Yes, Shane was doing well, but he beat a Margarito who might have lost his confidence after being discovered to be trying to edge his win with cast-like substances on his wraps, battling a game Cotto, and beating an aging Vargas with back problems. Yes, Shane was fighting the test of time, but he was not knocking out young guys, such as Berto. Mayweahter saw an opportunity and he baited Shane in, without really begging Shane to fight him. Floyd knew that Shane could be unwrapped if the fight went on, and he discovered that by allowing Shane to chase that knockout punch. Floyd, congrats on your win.  Now, let us go to the drawing board and put this Manny fellow on the front canvas. I know a lot of people would like to see this fight, but as a boxing fan, I would not. I say this, because Floyd is not playing fair. I think people that are not into boxing can have speculations, but when it comes to a fellow boxer making statements about someone using steroids, he or she should have some very solid proof. Envision Dr. Dre saying Kanye being nominated for the same Producer of the Year Award & Dr. Dre saying, "Kanye does not make those beats, he has a ghost-producer", and he makes this statement with no proof. That type of behavior would make the gossip columns run with it, rumors to be born & people to question the credit of one's achievement. It hurts when a person outside of your game makes accusations of cheating, but when it is a peer in the same craft, it burns, it simmers, it stings in the Soul, because that is your livelihood, your life in certain respects. Floyd has an undefeated record, and people could make all sorts of assumptions on how he protects his record, but they do not. I think that Floyd has already won the battle outside of the ring with Manny, and now we are saying, "Manny take the test". As a boxing lover, that is not cool, not cool at all. Even when Liston fought Ali, and Liston corner wanted to "cheat", Ali did not run back and protest, he fought. And I am sure that Liston's corner did not attempt to cheat for the first time with Ali.. Fighters know, trainers know as well. But Mayweather is special man, and he is going to push people into making Manny fight his fight with bloodtests and all. Why can't it just be regular testing, and a great fight.  Stop the games, Mayweather, you are too good for that.  Peace.  Shaun.
New York.

Bread’s Response: I agree with pretty much everything you said except that Liston did not cheat in his 1st fight with Ali. I’m going to tell you guys a quick personal story. When I was in college studying Criminal Justice, I brought up my major for a reason. Three friends of mine were involved in a shootout over a dice game at a local bowling alley. One of the guys they were shooting at got shot in a face, another sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. This same exact night , I was hanging out with a girl. I was driving my mom’s car. After dropping the girl off , some jerks through some old tires in the middle of the road,I ran over the tires and damaged my mom’s car. Because of the damage on my mom’s car, another one of the neighborhood moms decided to put 2 and 2 together and got 5. She told my mom I was the getaway driver in the shooting at the bowling alley. Need less to say I had some explaining to do. I was majoring in Criminal Justice and that was about to go down the drain. My friends were arrested and I was a potential suspect. My mom was livid. I had to explain myself to everybody over and over. I was 100% innocent but nobody cared. That incident happened over 10 years ago and it still sickens me to this day. Until something valid comes out about Manny and steroids , I say leave the kid the hell alone. If he decides to take the test than more power to him, but he shouldn’t be expected to if it’s not part of the state mandate in which he is competing in. Until you get accused of something you did not do, and then you have to go around trying to convince everybody you didn’t do it, you will never understand how Manny feels.  I do.
 
Whattup Breadman. I usually write to G. Rowe's mailbag but decided to drop somethin in yours this time. After Floyds performance against Shane, the fight everyone has been talking about is a fight with Manny. Even before the Mosely fight, I felt like Floyd would beat Manny, and I feel that way even more so now. There are a couple reasons that I feel this way. One would be Floyd's ability to use distance and angles against his opponents. Floyd is very good at using angles to negate certain punches that guys would usually throw without thinking twice, thus causing them to hesitate rather than pulling the trigger. I think his use of angles and distance would be pretty big weapons against Manny in my opinion due to Manny's tendancey to lunge a little too much with his punches at times and even putting himself in positions balance wise which would set him up to be countered. I just dont think that Manny is very comfortable against counter punchers but again, thats just my opinion.
My question is whether you think that Manny's face will hold up? The reason I ask this question is that we have seen Manny taking some wear and tear as of late, and I wonder if you think that Floyd would be able to bust him up with clean accurate shots? Another question is one that I don't think that I have heard asked is how Manny would react to adversity? We all know that in boxing moreso than any other sport, for the most part you are what you are. You may be able to skate along and hide certain discrepancies or bad habits against lesser competition, but sooner or later someone is gonna make you revert right back to what you truly are. Now I am in no way discrediting Manny or saying hes been fighting lesser opposition, im just curious as to how he would handle adversity much like Manny people's perception of Floyd before the Mosely fight. Will he instictively tie up and weather the storm or will he simply stand and fight his heart out?  Bread my ast question may sound wacky, but its one that I think is valid. Have you heard any rumblings at all about Shane maybe starting to have problems with his equilibrium or balance? The reason I ask is because I saw Shane stumble walking up the steps at the weigh in, and then again on fight night. And I know he swings pretty wild at times, but there were a couple instances in the Margarito fight and once in the Mayweather fight where he lost balance throwing a punch in the fight. Maybe in puttin too much on it but I think there could be at least a little cause for concern there for Shane along with would seems to be slightly slurred speech. Let me know what you think Bread.  AMAC from CALI.


Bread’s Response: I think Shane just tripped on the steps nothing more nothing less. But guess what , in the days leading up to the fight I came out and said I didn’t like the way Shane’s speech sounded. I also did not like the look on Shane’s face when he had to give that last PED test on the 24/7 episode. I received some negative feedback by members of the media for my statement about Shane’s speech but I only wrote what I saw. I almost wanted to change my pick for the fight. I don’t know if anything is wrong with Shane or not. I pray to god he is ok. Shane seems to be a good human being. But the guy has been fighting for ever and I have always heard he spars about 300 rounds in camp for his fights. That along with 52 career fights and an extensive amateur career, who knows anything is possible. Slippage may start show.

 
 
 
Hey Bread?? The thought crossed my mind that Mosley may have been like a 'deer in the headlights' but then I told my self can't be as many big fights as Mosley's been in?? Maybe the 24/7 thing and all of the hype got to him and sapped his strength. Mayweather had a slightly torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder for the 1st Castillo fight and it's true he was not as strong physically as he is today, at 130lbs Floyd fought mostly off of talent and didn't work as hard as he does today. When he moved up to 135lbs he wasn't as strong for the weight class, his shoulder was hurt and Castillo weighed 9 lbs more than him on fight night. Floyd won the 1st 5 rounds going away and IMO he won 8 and 11, but he was surprised that his punches had no effect on Castillo. The thing that TURNED it all around for Floyd was that SPARRING SESSION years ago against Paul Spadafora at 135lbs, Floyd was cocky then and out of shape, Spaddy's TRAINER Jesse Reid seized on the opportunity to get Mayweather to spar with Spaddy KNOWING Lil Floyd wasn't in SHAPE, Spaddy handed Floyd is ASS!! Since then Floyd hasn't allowed himself to EVER be out of shape again, I heard he was sparring regularly in his Vegas gym during his retirement just in case he got the call. Shane Mosley ONLY conceded to Mayweathers TERMS and took short because believed in his HEART that he was going to BEAT Maweather and dominate him which would have made for a bigger payday in the NEXT fight. Mosley ALSO fed into the BS that Floyd was a punk, ducked Margarito, ONLY CHOSE to fight smaller guys, he was BIGGER, STRONGER, JUST as FAST, Floyd couldn't hurt him, in-short all of the TALK that PBF naysayers use to diminish and discredit Mayweather, and ALL these THINGS made Mosley overconfident and he CHOKED!! Just like he CHOKED against Forrest and Wright while taking short money, with the HOPES of a greater return in the future. Floyd's legs were GREAT Saturday nite, Roach is just blowing smoke, to CREATE some drama and a line that the Mayweather naysayers can get into. The mantra that's going around 'Floyd doesn't fight anyone he can't beat' is a TRUE one, Floyd BELIEVES he can beat ANYBODY, that's another perception that his detractors have that's misleading because it's looked at from a negative direction as if Floyd won't fight them if he thinks he can't beat them, once again Floyd thinks he can beat them all. But he's not gonna take no Shane Mosley money to do it and reduce his value down to that of a $6.5M fighter, that's what people don't understand!! Fans think that Pro boxing is a sport it's a GAME like POKER and you have to play your cards right, everybody AIN'T gonna FIGHT everybody that's the WAY it's ALWAYS been and it has it's LOGIC. Mayweather AIN'T NO PUNK that dude can rumble, it's just he's a cerebral dude and ain't gonna take no shorts, if Pacquiao would've conceded to a 14 DAY testing period which I've heard Mayweather negotiated in good faith we would've got Mayweather/Pacquiao in March or May, but NO 24 days was all they'd allow ONLY after the 24/7 series was used to prove that he's given blood within 30 days originally thought to be 14 days. Today Roach is saying 17 or 18 days, THEY'RE BUDGING because THEY KNOW Mayweather has the UPPER hand and they're GOING to TRY again to MAKE it SEEM like Mayweathr is AFRAID and DOESN'T want to FIGHT, and the HATE TRAIN will board up and leave the STATION.


Bread’s Response: Shane was a deer in the head lights. It pains me to say that about an all time great fighter but he was. So you think Floyd won the 1st Castillo fight 7-5. I never really talk about it because Floyd righted his wrong. But I watched the fight about 5 times leading up to the Mosley fight and I feel Floyd lost. Floyd did win the first 5 rounds but Castillo got into a rhythm and kind of big dogged Lil Floyd. Floyd says that Manny improved too much for belief after he was 26. But in all honesty Floyd has improved a lot also. Floyd is a much better fighter today than he was back then. I implore you guys to look at him back then. He was great but he gave up too much ground. He was never jittery like Shane but he had too much wasted motion. His since of timing and distance is better today. We should watch that one together also. I actually heard that Pac will go down to a 14 day cutoff. I also heard that the May/Mosley fight did about 1.3 buys. Can’t wait to see the actual numbers. If this is the case 1.3 mill buys are big time. But it’s not the projected and hoped for numbers by Golden Boy. We shall see. Those numbers will directly affect the negotiations.
 
Hi Breadman, I can't understand why people keep bringing up that "Pacquiao had such a hard time with Marquez, and look what Floyd did to Marquez" talk. Can't they see that both Pacquiao and Marquez are very different fighters now compared to when they fought at 130 lbs?  To start, Pacquiao became a monster when he went north of 130. No, he didn't suddenly grew 17 lbs of muscle. He was depriving himself at 130. Much the same way when Hopkins "grew 15 lbs of muscles" to 175... he was cat quick on his first title fight at light heavyweight and shamed Tarver that night. At 130, Pacquiao couldn't finish an old Barrera (2nd fight), not even Larios at 126 (despite scoring 2 KD). The right hand of Pacquiao was still developing when he was at 130 also. Now he's a complete 2 handed fighter with great footwork. No more unbalanced stance starting with the Diaz fight at 135. I remember Greg said that he was impressed that Manny was not unbalanced anymore when he throws power shots in his mailbag after that right. Let's go to Marquez. He decided to become more of an offensive fighter at 135 which netted him his 2 victories over Casamayor and J Diaz. We all loved that! But unlike Pacquio, he ate a LOT of punishments in those 2 fights. Also, look at JMM's body at 144. He was not muscular at all. He was a lot slower during the Mayweather fight than we usually see him. He said it himself "Not that I am making an excuse, but the weight differential was too much"  What I am saying is, we can't use Pacquiao's experience with JMM at 130 to say that Manny will be a sparring session also to Mayweather. Manny is a beast at 147. He obliterated opponents who were suppose to be "the bigger fighter". Before Pacman's fights with Diaz, De la Joya, Hatton, and Cotto...Pacman was thought to have been "bitting off more than he can chew". Now some quarters are still thinking the same with the Mayweather fight. I say, we'll never know until we watch the fight. JMM cannot do what he does best past 140 and gets hit a lot at 135. To me, that is the difference, and the reason why the supposed analogy i question does not make sense. Are you on the same page with me Bread? Now, I am not saying Manny wins because at the end of the day, it's still Mayweather who is yet to lose. But why is the demand for this fight off the hook? Exactly. Because Manny may be the beast that Mayweather won't be able to tame. But we'll never know until it happens, so for the millions who are dying to watch around the world, let's pray they do get ready to rumble! You mentioned fighters with great IQ like Hopkins, Ward, Calderon... Robinson and Leonard. You didn't mention Calazaghe. That man has fantastic ring IQ (no loss also, and doesn't punch that hard), and I saw that in the Jones fight. See how he adjusted right after his knockdown where he was visibly hurt? He put his face right in front of Jones to close the space for the left hook. Jones couldn't adjust (or maybe was surprised at what seeming nonsense Joe was doing).- Joey

Bread’s Respnse: I’m feeling you my man. I’m feeling you. Sometimes a guy just has another guys number. It happens in boxing. Manny has always been a beast, he is just a complete beast now. Floyd does need to tame Manny in the ring and not on paper. This is not fantasy boxing. Fans on both sides bring up the others struggles so they can make their point for their fighter. I do believe when and what weight Manny fought Marquez at played a part in the fights they had. But it’s also something about Marquez’s style that drives Manny crazy. Calzaghe to me is an instinctive fighter. I believe Calzaghe does things because he is gifted. I believe he improvises on the fly. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a high boxing IQ because he does. But I think if we asked Joe to explain to us what he does, he couldn’t explain it with words. Feel me? This may sound contradictory but I think Joe is more of genius than somebody with high boxing IQ. If Joe were forced to take a written test on what he does I’m not sure he could write out his actions. Feel me again? 
 
 
 
Okay Breadman.  My question to you is... what fighters, in your opinion, have the capability of being the the next big stars in boxing. Let's face it, right now people are wondering if Shane Mosley will ever fight a professional prizefight again. Floyd Mayweather is 33 years old and Manny Pacquiao is not far behind him. On top of that, we still have fighters like Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones TRYING to hold on. All of these names I just mentioned are special fighers who maintained, or are maintaining, at a high level, but it is a very real possibility that two years from now we don't see ANY of them in the ring again. For a couple of these names, that's probably a good thing. Fernando Vargas flashed superstar potential early in his career, but the Trinidad fight pretty much ruined him. David Reid was never the same after Trinidad either. Jermaine Taylor was well on his way, but EVERYBODY followed Kelly Pavliks lead and are knocking this kid out every time he steps in the ring now. Speaking of Kelly Pavlik... he was exposed against and old Bernard Hopkins. Jeff Lacy was going places, but Joe Calzaghe (now retired) SOUNDLY defeated him and POOF... another one bite's the dust. I used to think Andre Berto was "it", but I am no longer that impressed with him. He is blessed with good hand speed and athleticism, but despite Shane Mosley's showing against Mayweather, I think Mosley would have been too much for Berto. Berto needs to develop an inside game, and that isn't going to happen overnight if he doesn't have one now. I think Miguel Cotto became that star... but I don't know how much longer his career has left after Margarito and Pacquiao. No real need to bring up Edwin Valero. I'm sure you get my point, breadman. Boxing NEEDS some new blood if it's going to continue to be relevent in any sense. Jamar Kareen Ellis

Bread’s Response: Devon Alexander, Chad Dawson, Lucian Bute, Yuroikas Gamboa and Erislandry Lara.
 
 
 
Hey Breadman, greetings from Puerto Rico. I always read your mail and find that your opinions very informed. For me as a boricua, the question is how do you see the Miguel Cotto fight playing out? I think that regularly he does well against technical fighter with few ko's, so I think he'll come victorious. However, the main flaw that I've seen in Cotto is that he tends to get tired in the middle of the fight and that since the Margarito fight he has forgotten some boxing defensiveness, which cause him his near loss to Clottey and the loss to Pacquiao. You think Emmanuel Steward can do something to improve any of those flaws or the guy is just simply shot? Wilmer

Bread’s Response: Cotto is not totally shot but he is not the fighter that beat Judah and Mosley. If Cotto boxes coming forward he will be much better for it. Yes Steward can help him if he gets through to him. Steward is one of the best trainers to ever live.

 
 
Listen my brother, I'm not one to take offense, and clearly you sound(ed) offended, why are you taking my opinion so personal? Isn't you mailbag filled with your personal opinions? I have no problem with you, I just think you were and are wrong, nothing personal about that. As far as sleeping through class, I graduated with a 3.77 GPA, am Vice President of a bank and own several businesses and lots of real estate and am worth about $1.1 Mil at 33. Not that that matters, but since you questioned it, there it is. On to the important stuff, and I love boxing debates, we all do. Did Shane get the most money he could have possible gotten, obviously not. If you look at the pay disparities when fighting the "Money Men" of the sport, this was not that far off. Look at when Shane fought Oscar BOTH times, what percentage do you think he got? Look at when TRINIDAD fought Oscar, what percentage do you think he got? That is why the rematch never happened. The Trinidads always said "just flip the names on the contract and you have a deal", meaning percentages, and it never happened. Shane reportedly demanded like $15Mil for the DLH trilogy after he was offered like $10-12 Mil. If you watch the first Winky Wright fight, they talk about it during the broadcast. Shane said he wanted "what was fair" out of principle, he beat the man twice. He ended up getting maybe $3 Mil to fight Winky and got his a$$ kicked twice. Had he fought DLH, he would have made 4 times that amount, in hindsight that was a STUPID move, wouldn't you agree?  How long had Shane been trying to fight Floyd and Manny? You are an insider and you know that it was getting pretty embarrassing the way Shane was begging for those fights. He even agreed to weigh like 142 at one point to fight Manny, COME ON! If he had so much leverage, once again, why did he sit idle for 16 months after the biggest win of his career and had to settle for REALLY short money to fight Berto? When you are 38 years old, your wife just took half (or more than), you are spending hundreds of thousands on lawyers (Conte/divorce), you have been idle for over a year, your opponent pulls out at the last minute and you do not know if you will EVER get that last big fight. Then the biggest money fight of your career comes your way at the perfect timing (as you know, boxing is all about timing), you would have to be a damn fool not to take it. So, lets play devils advocate... Shane refuses the (supposedly) small purse and PPV upside. Mayweather either fights or doesn't fight, maybe he causes Mayweather to make less money fighting someone else, but what does that do for SHANE'S pocket? Nothing. People worry about another mans pocket to much. So where would Shane go and what would he get? Berto, Williams, who? How long would it take to get back in the ring with one of those fights (two years off)? How much would Shane get in those fights? $1-2 Mil on regular HBO. Now, he may or may not win those fights. Would that be smart to make $8Mil LESS to fight someone else? The answer is he!! no. He did that once in his career and he wasn't going to make that mistake twice. If he had defeated Mayweather, which he knew in his mind he could, how much would he have made in the rematch, and then against Manny? That is the short money to make long money analogy.  That is what Floyd did when he fought DLH, he took short money and now he is making long money. I'll send you a free copy of my book when I write it, entitled, Mr. Economics.

Bread’s Response: You got me beat. I am very humble when it comes to money. I know God can take it all way, whenever he feels like it. I am just thankful for my laptop so I can rap with you guys. I respect your opinion, I just disagree. Shane could’ve got more without blowing off the fight.

 
 
What’s cracking Bread- Absolutely the best in the game w/those mailbags, YOU’RE KILLING IT!!! I need my daily bread son, keep it popping dawgy. Alright, and now down to business. I don’t see how people are saying Money May is a fraud, he only takes fights he knows he can win, his resume isn’t legit, etc. That’s all bogus. Let me expose these people who share OPINION and not FACT. Floyd has been beating tuff competition from the beginning. Back in 88’ when he fought Genaro Hernandez, dude was a beast, had 38 wins, had only one loss, and had won his last 6 till May showed up. May broke his spirit so much that dude retired after that. Wow. So does Floyd fight a bum next, no, he goes after Angel Manfredy who people were ducking. Dude was in his prime, had won 23 straight but Floyd gave him the bizness w/a 2nd rd TKO. Oh, he doesn’t count, he wasn’t that good…? Really, b/c AFTER the Floyd fight, he went on to beat Julio Diaz, Ivan Robinson, and gave Spadafora hell. Give Floyd his props and stop frontin yall… THIS IS FACT. Moving along, Floyd decided to fight yet another fighter everyone was ducking in Chico (RIP). Dude was 33-0 knocking everyone and their momma out. Floyd gave him his first “L” as well. Chico went on to wins titles, beat Cassamayor, Frietas, Castillo to name a few. Again, May fought and defeated a PRIME fighter who nobody else wanted to fight. Does Floyd play it safe after that? No… in fact, he faced Castillo 2 fights in a row, defeating him both times. Please note, that wasn’t a shot Jose he fought either, that was a PRIME Castillo. And people say he doesn’t take risks?!?!? For goodness sakes, he fought N’dou after that as well and people weren’t exactly lining up to fight that guy either. He was 31-1 and people were avoiding dude until Money took him out. So his opponents are handpicked huh? Ok, I’ll give you Gatti, he was OLD and done, but hey, that was to put May on the map. That was his showcase fight and it worked. Fighting Zab after that was LEGIT. Zab was still good and still dangerous. Yes, he lost to Baldomir before the May fight and it could have taken something out of him but the eye test says otherwise. Zab was in great form and the only thing that separated he and May was what was in-between their heads that night. If Zab actually had some type of focus, he could have been and all-time great. A Microcosm of his career can be seen in the Tsyu fight. He CLEARLY was better but playing around and not taking things seriously, and he got caught and took that “L”. Anyway, after he waxed Zab, he fought the guy who had just beat Zab b4 him in Carlos Baldomir who has won 19 in a row and against some good comp. That was a legit win for Floyd as well. I remember people thinking he was going to lose that fight. So his next opponent, ODLH… ok, yeah, I’ll give yall that Oscar wasn’t prime and on the downside of his career, but he was GAME that night and was very competitive. But again, Floyd was just too much. Any lesser fighter would have lost that night. Next up, Ricky Hatton who was undefeated, won freaking 43 in a row and was just walking through dudes… that is of course, until he fights Money May. See a theme here. LOL. Hatton was a pure flat out BEAST at the time and was a legit threat to beat anyone but who beat him, May did. He actually laid down the blueprint on how to beat that guy (which Pac followed to a tee). So, does May take the easy way out by coming back after 2 years? Has he ever done that his whole career?!?!?! As you can see, the answer is a resounding NO!!! Dude decides to fight JMM. This dude is in his PRIME, gave Pac-Man fits and many (including myself) think he actually beat Pac both times. This is the same guy who had just beaten Rocky Juarez, Cassamayor, and the Baby Bull Diaz. He fights Money and get waxed like Mr. Miyagi. So what now… people still doubting, ok, let me fight Pac… oh wait, he’s scarred so let me fight ANOTHER person he don’t want to fight besides JMM, and that’s was Sugar Shane. Pac REFUSED to fight him. Shane could have slapped his father and walked into the ring w/tights w/his wife face in the front while gyrating like Ravishing Rick Rude and STILL wouldn’t have gotten a fight from Pac. But May ain’t NEVER scarred so he fights him and waxes him as well. Ok, so let’s put this into perspective. Money May is LEGIT, a true HOF, and his resume can’t be denied. People saying oh, he ducking P-Will, etc. YEAH RIGHT!!! P-Will lost to freaking Quintana... I rest my case. If Quintana can beat him w/boxing skills, how much worse will May wax P-Will since he is the best skilled “boxer” out there? I mean, honestly, look at P-Wills resume… the 5 best fighter’s he’s faced are Margarito (win), Winky (win), Martinez (win) which are legit, but then you have freaking who else… do we count Quintana (win & loss) and then I guess Verno Phillips (win)… ARE YOU SERIOUS… freaking Verno Phillips. He needs to get his weight up and fight some better fighters before he knocks on either Pac’s or May’s door. He just isn’t on their level. Not even on Shane’s level. Look at Shane’s top 5, Oscar (2 w’s), Floyd (loss), Winky (2 L’s), Viper (2 L’s) & Cotto (loss). Those are a lot of losses (which tells me he’s overrated) but at least he’s fought 2 HOF in Oscar and Floyd.  For fun, let’s look at May’s top 5. We have Shane (win), Oscar (win), JMM (win), Castillo (2 w’s), & Chico (win). That’s 3 HOF easy. Pac just edges out Floyd w/Morales (2 w’s, 1 loss), JMM (Draw, Win), Barrerra (win), Cotto (win), Oscar (win). He has 4 HOF on his resume. They just have to fight to secure their legacies. Then they can say they fought competition on a similar level as Oscar who is unparalleled when it came to the competition he faced. I mean, you can’t even do 5 with him, but some notables are Sweat P (win), Chavez (2 w’s), Trinidad (loss), Shane (2 L’s), Manny (loss), Floyd (loss), B-Hop (loss). He fought right there 7 HOFs and I didn’t even go through his entire resume. But the thing about him is he lost way more against the greats than he won which is why Pac & May are BETTER. Whomever wins this fight between the 2 will go down as the top of their era bar none. Your thoughts? G’Money from B-more

Bread’s Response: Thanks my man appreciate it. Manny and Floyd have faced similar comp. MY problem with Floyd as I have said many times is his retirement. He claimed he retired because his body was tired. But yet he seek rematches with Oscar and Hatton. Either you are tired or you are not. Oscar’s competition level is better than everybodys of the last 20 years.
 
 
 
Fucking incredible man. Really.. For god knows how long, all we heard was "Floyd needs to fight a REAL welterweight, he needs to fight someone who poses a THREAT" and after destroying Margarito, Shane Mosley became one of only two guys that Floyd needed to fight. Mosley or Pacquiao, nothing less was acceptable. So then Floyd signs to fight Mosley, and once the fight was signed, so many people said now that Floyd is fighting a real threat, he is going to get knocked out or he will lose. What happens? Floyd dominates Shane, and now it's "Shane was old" or "Shane overtrained" or "Shane was rusty from 16 months off" or "Shane wasn't himself" STOP. Seriously. I am on the verge of just not reading boxing websites anymore because there are just so many stupid and ignorant haters that it actually pisses me off. Shane wasn't old 5 minutes before the fight when people were still saying he's going to KO Floyd, and he certainly wasn't old in round 2. Shane overtrained? Come on. Shane is a professional who has trained for dozens of fights, he knows what he's doing and how to train. Shane's 16 month layoff? Please. Floyd fought once in the past 30 months before fighting Mosley, and hey, that was just a "sparring session with a lightweight", right? Give me a break. Not to mention, had Shane fought in January and Floyd still dominated him, people would just say Shane didn't have enough time to rest between fights. I've been reading your stuff before you even starting writing for Boxingtalk, back when you and I would often contribute to G's mailbag and I just wanna say you've come a long way in a short time. You definitely know your shit and I enjoy reading your mailbags more than I've enjoyed any on Boxingtalk, past or present. You tell it like it is, and back things up with facts, and you know your shit (and I get the feeling you actually know, not google or youtube it). I have to question something though, before I disagree with it. When I read you saying that you think the "moment" is what caused Shane to look the way he did, I am a little confused. To me, it sounds like you're talking about a fighter who has never fought in front of a large audience against a top level fighter, being put in with Floyd Mayweather. Shane Mosley is not that guy. He has fought on the big stage plenty of times, most notably Oscar De La Hoya. If this is what you meant, then I have to disagree, but I figured I'd ask you to explain what you meant first. Anyway, all I'm saying with this email is that people are just filled with so much hatred that no matter what Floyd does, it will NEVER be good enough, and not even they realize that. I remember people saying he was ducking Hatton. He KO'd an undefeated Hatton and now Hatton's too small or overrated. I don't care if Marquez was smaller, you don't dominate the consensus #2 best pound for pound fighter in the world like that, unless you are great. Marquez was coming off of two KO victories over guys that have never been stopped, and they were both very good fighters. Now everyone wanted Mayweather to fight Mosley, and once he dominates him, there HAD TO be something wrong with Shane. What's next? I guarantee if Floyd fights Manny, and dominates him like he does everyone else, the excuses will start flying in no time. "Manny was too small" or "Manny wasn't the same as when he fought Hatton and De La Hoya" or "Manny took too many punches before stopping Cotto". Floyd could go up to Heavyweight and beat Wladimir Klitschko and it'll be "Klitschko was too slow". I don't think it will be until years from now, after Floyd is gone, when people will realize what a great fighter they were witnessing, and THEN appreciate what a great fighter he is. Oh and on a side note, I'm tired of hearing about what a disrespectful asshole Floyd is outside the ring, it's not true. He acts that way leading up to fights to sell tickets, and it works.  B from NY

Bread’s Response: Just because Shane has been on the big stage before doesn’t mean he couldn’t freeze on it. He did. The man wouldn’t even punch with a closed fist. Shane has froze up before, just not to this extent. He tightened up against Oscar in the 1st fight. He was tentative against Forrest in the 2nd fight. The moment overwhelmed him against Floyd. He was so jittery I felt bad for him. You would think he would be ok as far as nerves by now, but he’s not. I know what I saw. A nervous , tight fighter who could not operate effectively because of it.

 
 
Whats up Bread, I want to switch gears for a minute. I want to know who suggests to fighters what promoter to be with, you know, how does this decision come to pass because I wrote about 2 years ago about the Peterson Brothers signing with Bob Arum, which to me was a promotional grave yard for Black fighters, they were appetizers for him because at the time his 5 course meal was Pavlik, Manny, Cotto, Margarito, and Clottey. In fact I believe Anthony is no longer a Top Rank fighter. I know the percentage of what a promoter gets should be even around the board and I guess you want to maximize your marketability but the fact is, the fighter is the assets and you need a promoter that can see you as a viable investment. And this is where I wonder where the decisions come from because Arum has long been a supporter of promoting Latin fighters because he saw an untapped market years ago and he went for it, he needs to be commended for that because he starting promoting Latin Fury cards and reaching an audience that was not mainstream. Now if going in, as a boxer, why would you sign with him, yes he and Don King, are the vets, but I am looking at it from a market standpoint, Arum does not promote black fighters the same, again we are not talking race, we are talking dollars. Look at how Zahir Raheem was treated after he beat his stable mate Erik Morales, Zahir should have been promoted like a champ but the money maker was the loser so Arum still promoted Morales, and in a business sense, he was right. I just wanted to know the intangibles of making a decision for someone to handle your career. Joemack from DC

Bread’s Response: Good question, most of these fighters are desperate when they get signed. They don’t take into consideration any of the things you just mentioned. Most have just high school educations at most, they are in desperate need of money, so when a promoter comes knocking they answer. They don’t have the leverage to wait and poster.  Fighters should take into consideration, race, region and track record before they sign with a promoter. Thanks my man.
 
 
 
Breadman, Keep up the good work, my man. Always good to read someone's opinions that are right on point for the most part, just like yours. I agree with you 100%....Shane screwed himself in negotiations for this fight. No doubt about it. Brother Nazeem said that Shane hurts himself because he just wants to fight. Period. Man, that's why fighters fight, promoters promote, and managers manage. I know alot of folks that picked Floyd are saying all of this I told you so. I'm a big Floyd fan, and to be honest, I was on the fence on this one going in. I'm also a big Shane fan as well. As much as I was impressed at Floyd's mastery, I was just as surprised at Shane's performance. Never, in all of the fights that I've watched of his, that I've seen him gassed after 3-4 rounds! NEVER! What happened to that fighting spirit? His fight game plan? You know Richardson has shown he is a master strategist. As mentioned, the only explanation is that the moment overwhelmed him. I also think Mayweather suprised him, and somewhat intimidated him, by letting him know that he will stand in front of him. But let's rewind back to his earlier days. The Shane Mosely that was 38-0 with 35 knockouts was off the chain. At that time, there were 2 fighters that I thought would never lose....Roy Jones and Shane Mosely. Shane's fast, explosive combinations and body punching were a thing of beauty. The "power boxing" was overwhelming. Then comes Vernon Forrest. Kept Shane at bay with a stiff jab and the rest was history. Shane just kept running in. No feints, no counter over the jab, nothing. 2nd fight, a little bit better, but the same thing. No adjustments whatsoever and Jack was lost in the corner. Why not? Because he'd won all of those fights with the same style. Ditto on the Winky Wright fights. Just running in and fighting. No head movement. Manny Steward has always said that Shane is just a fighter, period. He could have won that Cotto fight if he would've used some of those great skills he possesses to box him more. Once Cotto ate his right hands and was still standing, the fight was over. But you're right. Never have I seen someone with the quickness and speed that he has, use those attributes so less. Unfortunately, he has really become just a headhunter and not really setting up shots at all. I think he did an excellent job in round 2 of jabbing to Floyd's chest to set up that right hand. But other than that, those loaded up, telegraphed, buggy whip right hands could be seen from my living room. So where does he go from here? We know he'll fight anyone. I think he'll still be in line for some big fights. Since Floyd may not fight any of the other fighters, I can still see him still being able to land the Williams/Cintron winner at 154 (or the loser). Since he had such a poor showing last weekend, he may still be in the running for Berto. And finally, if he's able to rejuvenate one last time, Arum will give him Manny if the fight can't be made with Floyd.

Bread’s Response: I agree with everything you said. I think Shane will fight Berto. Shane did not look good and I think they will attempt to feed Shane to him. Who knows , I don’t think Shane will be caught up in the moment against Berto. Look for that fight in the fall.
 

Hey my man, what's up? Thanks for getting back to me about Hopkins and his thoughts on how he would fight Floyd. How typical that he would employ a dirty tactic (hitting him repeatedly on the hip which is viewed and treated as a low blow). Basically what he said is that he couldn't beat him without fighting dirty. i give him a lot of credit for what he has accomplished, and I think he's the greatest fighter over 40 in boxing history, but I can't stand his street mentality and the fact that he is a dirty fighter. In a head to head P4P matchup, he has nothing over Floyd and Floyd has almost everything over him (the ring IQ is comparable and everything else goes to Floyd). Floyd wins the fight on points.  On another subject, I am tired of hearing people say that Paul Williams is a natural welterweight and that he has moved up in weight recently. Williams turned pro at 156lbs and fought his first 25 fights between 148lbs and 160lbs!! He is a natural Junior Middleweight who elected to move down in weight after his first 25 fights and has recently moved back to his natural weight class and the one he turned pro at. Keep up the good work bro. Darrell Sherman Oaks, CA

Bread’s Response: Many fighters actually come down in weight as they become better trained and more prepared. Notables, Bhop, Allen Green, Andre Berto and young up and comer Shawn Porter. That being said I believe P will is a natural junior middle who can make 147. His gift seems to be his curse.

M

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