Call me crazy, but Shane is going to pull off the upset, its hard to put a blame on shane based pn his two recent performances, both Mayweather and Mora are hard too look good against, but I know your history and you agree that this fight has the same taste a Tyson vs Holyfield 1, when no one gave Holyfield a shot, he was coming of a ko loss to Bowe after he himself knock him out before running out of gas...Mosley lost to Mayweather after almost knock him out before runing out of gas...Holyfield then took a fight with Bobby Czys and looked like crap just like Mosley did against Mora, so going into the fight Evander wasnt considered to provide much of a challange to Tyson, just like Mosley to Pacquiao, Oh and did I,mentioned that Evander shocked the world on November just a year after he was destroyed by Bowe? Just like Mosley is going to shock the world on May a year after he was outclassed by Mayweather..Francisco,Chicago IL
Bread’s Response: There are some similar parallels to Holyfield/Tyson but here is the biggest difference. Holyfield has too much WILL for Tyson. When Shane attempts to step it up, Manny will match his inner will and then push on. I will give you full props if Shane beats him but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hi Bread,
This is "The Boxing Guru" Alan J Kindred back with another discussion and debate topic for you, sprung into my head the by a mailbag regarding the great Ricardo Lopez by you and another reader the other day. Lopez was a complete technical beast, and it was a shame networks in the USA pick up on him much to late. Undefeated as an amateur and a pro, with the one controversial fight against Rosendo Alvarez, in which Lopez was dropped and roughed up like never before and escaped with a draw later avenged. In the Alavarez fight I think Lopez was already past his best days although still quite excellent. However for this topic of discussion we will be taking Ricardo Lopez several years before that fight (From the Ala Villamor fight 1996) up against any of the lowest weight fighters throughout history (from 105 to 115) until we think we have someone who can topple the great Ricardo "Finito" Lopez 51-0-1 (38).
At Strawweight 105 it is relatively undebatable that any of the other fighters in history could have competed at this weight with Lopez since he already dispatch several other fighters on my all-time top 16 for 105. Obviously Alvarez comes to mind because he fought Lopez well in their fights, but I think the Lopez who destroyed Ala Villamor gets rid of Alvarez as well. He defeated Saman Sorjaturong in a defense of the 105 crown, who would later become a dominant champ at 108 making my top 16 for 108. He defeated Kermin Guardia who while coming up short against Lopez and Alvarez did manage to win titles at both 105 and 108. He blew out Alez Sanchez in a 105 title unification. Sanchez was a decent champion at 105 before he met Lopez.
At 108 he destroyed Ratanapol Sor Vorapin who was a long time champ at 105 with 18 defenses of his crown and was champ for 5 years. It is to bad they didn't fight much earlier perhaps. He also beat Zolani Petelo at 108. Petelo was a champion at 105 were he had 5 defenses after winning the title from Vorapin.
These six mentioned fighters have made my all-time top 16 in either 105 or 108 and I beleive signify the best wins of Lopez career legacy wise.
Now we will explore the other fighters in history that have made my all-time top 16 from 105 to 115 that haven't faced Lopez and what might happen if they did.
At 105, the one fighter that perhaps could challenge Lopez, and it isn't Chana Porpaoin or Leo Gamez, might be the slick Ivan Calderon in his prime. I beleive Lopez would fight a patient fight using his jab along with height and reach advantages to win a comfortable unanimous decision. Calderon lasting the distance where many could not in a slightly boring fight for those wanting action, but interesting for those who admire the defensive and technical side to the sweet science.
At 108 I think Humberto Gonzalez lacked the height and dynamics to give Lopez a problem and beleive thats a late stoppage win for Lopez. I also think Jung Koo Chang and Myung Woo Yuh would also fall short but may last the distance. The one fighter who may have a chance at getting a win at 108 and it's a puncher's chance is Michael Carbajal. Carbajal had real good size for a 108 standing at almost 5'6 and would be little taller than Lopez. Carbajal also had a decent chin and even better ability to get up from a knockdown showing heart like few have displayed. I beleive the Carbajal before the first Gonzalez fight which while he won it, took something from him, would have given a fight of the decade type of fight with Lopez. Carbajal had the speed and dynamism (if that's a word) unlike any other at 108. While he lacked the technical perfection of Lopez he was athletic and very mentally strong. I would predict a Lopez decision win or late stoppage on cuts, but Carbajal would be live the whole fight and he had tremendous power for 108 if he could catch Lopez in a rare mistake.
So again I agree with you Bread on your assessment of Lopez handling it from 108 down, aside from a prime Michael Carbajal giving him a potential life and death scrap.
At 112, and here is were I'd like some of your assessments on these different match-ups.
We have the old school Jimmy Wilde, technical Miguel Canto, Vic Darchinyan, Nonito Donaire, Mark Johnson, Phichit Sithbangprachen, Santos Laciar, Yuri Arbachekov, Fernando Montiel, and Pone Kingpetch. So as we can see the competition gets quite a bit stiffer as we get to 112 (a murderers row actually for 112), but perhaps Ricardo Lopez as great as he is could get some wins from this group.
Where we can draw the line is 115 as I don't see Lopez hanging with Khosai Galaxy, too much strength and size difference would be to much for Lopez to overcome in my opinion. If they were the same size structurally it would be a different story. Lopez is on my all-time top 10 P4P.
So I guess what I'd like to know Bread is what you think about these ideas and match-ups. Keep up the good work.
TBG Alan J Kindred
Bread’s Response:  Ricardo Lopez is so good that it’s not out of the realm to compare to fighters that competed 2 divisions over his prime weight. I have said many times that the history of boxing would be different if Salvador Sanchez had not died, if Ike Ibeabuchi had not went to jail and if Ricardo Lopez was 40lbs heavier. Lopez fought in pretty much the perfect style. He does everything right. I believe if he was bigger he could rival Ray Robinson. Lopez was that good. I would suggest ALL young boxer punchers watch footage of El Finito.


I don’t really have room to break down each fight you gave me but I will say that Ricardo would win more than he would lose in the matchups. I can’t really assess Jimmy Wilde because he fought in the non modern style, although I do think he was one best punchers ever. I think Donaire and Johnson would be too big for him as well as Galaxy who is an underrated monster. But I think Ricardo whips everybody else on your list. Lopez had a great set of legs and he would move and dart on those bigger guys. If they did catch up to him, Lopez like PAcquiao is a dog who can take it and take it he would.  I don’t believe in the good big man, will beat a good little man theory. It’s simply too broad a statement and its wrong too often. Speed is usually the best asset a fighter can have and smaller men are usually faster. So therefore at times, when you have a good smaller man, who has a great chin and excellent stamina, they usually do well with heavier fighters. I’m not saying weight doesn’t mean anything because it does. It’s just not the biggest factor every time out.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Breadman I look forward to your mailbags and Boxing insight ! Onto my few Questions now that the Bradley talks have Fallen through how would Zab Matchup with Khan ? And would khan be the ideal fight for zab seeing as how Bradley pushes the pace he would dog zab in the later rounds and I Absolutely love Zab . And is the Lucas Mattyhse fight a good fit for Devon not sure if he has the Power to draw a line on the sand with Lucas.
Bread’s Response: Zab Judah and Amir Khan will be a good fight. Both guys have distinct advantages. Zab is a “wicked” puncher who seems to be able to hit everybody clean. Khan has a suspect chin, so him getting hit clean by a wicked puncher is not a good deal. Khan has showed excellent conditioning and the ability to fight hard in the late rounds, Zab’s biggest weakness. I think it’s a very intriguing fight and I can envision many different scenarios. I feel off of a Khan a little bit in his last fight. He really needs to get his feet together.
I think Devon will beat Matthysse because Matthysse is not busy enough. Devon jab and amateur pedigree will win him the fight but I don’t think he will be impressive. Devon’s victory over Juan Urango was kind of fools gold. The kid is just not a clean puncher. He doesn’t connect with clean showy shots you would expect a fast boxer puncher too. That’s why it’s important not to assume and label certain fighters because of their style. For example Chavez was a terrific boxer but people refer to him as a one dimensional brawler because he was Mexican and he came forward. Hopefully Devon can improve on this big flaw. If not, it will haunt him at the top level. But I do expect Devon to outpoint Matthysse.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What’s up Bread? Archie Moore was 39 when he won the LHW title in 1952 after a long wait. Emanuel Augustus would’ve been a great fighter if he’d not taken those ALL of those short-notice fights that he was known to do in other fighters back yard for SHORT money. Of those 30+ losses 2/3 of them were robberies. Augustus didn’t understand the business of boxing. Early against Pacquiao, Sugar Shane will be competitive, but as the fight rolls on if Shane hasn’t hurt Pacquiao, the Filipino steamrolls Shane. But I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Shane lands something big early and gets a stoppage. Also Shane seems to be in the same frame of mind he was in prior to the Margarito fight, where everybody was saying the same things they’re saying now, that is – Shane doesn’t have a chance. Shane’s herky-jerky style is a positive for him against a guy who also has a herky-jerky style. If Shane’s in his rhythm look out. Darchynian has no chance against Donaire, Agbeko laid the foundation for how to beat him. As he moves up in weight his punching power becomes negligible.
Bread’s Response: What’s up Rob? How ya been? Moore has two recorded birthdays. One in 1913 and the other in 1916. So I didn’t want to say an exact age that he won the title because I knew someone would write in and attempt to correct me. I actually had the argument with a friend and I told him, if Moore’s birthday is in 1913 then there is no doubt he is the best fighter ever over 40. But there is some legitimate debate.


I agree to an extent about Augustus. He was terribly mismanaged. But Augustus also trained poorly and blew some opportunities. I guess once you get set in that mode, it screws you up forever. He just came in, in less than great shape against guys like Arturo Morua and Herman Ngoudjo. He also should have beat the limited David Diaz and he came in, in poor shape against Kelson Pinto. What a shame nobody picked up Augustus early. I fought on the Bradley/Alexander undercard with us back in January. Man we were all rooting for him. I actually thought he deserved a draw. He did some “thangs” to Vernon Paris. But that’s the sad story of Emanuel Augustus.

We agree about Darchynian and Donaire but I don’t think it’s the weight. Darchynian just took a BIG bantamweight in Yohnny Perez to school. Donaire is just too good for him. Nonito is a supreme counter puncher and Vic has too many holes in his attack. I won’t make the weight an issue because Nonito stopped at flyweight, which was where Darchynian was undefeated and his prime.

Shane can herk and jerk all he wants. Manny herks and jerks but he has superior quick hand release. Shane never has. He has always tipped his shots off. Plus he has poor defensive reflexes. His only chance for prolonged success is grabbing and mauling and rabbit punching. I’m serious when I say that, I know old heads in the gym who will flat out instruct guys to fight dirty in order to  slow down a superior opponent. I know Shane and Co. can’t come out and say this directly but I wouldn’t be surprised if “dirty” fighting was not a big part of his strategy.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What's good Bread,
I Want to make a point you touched on yesterday regarding the Pac-Mosey fight. I was reading an article yesterday on SI about Derke Jeter and how ages up on even the great athletes. Father time has never been defeated and will never be defeated, evidence by the struggles of Jeter and the Celtics in the NBA playoffs.
Its obvious that at age 39 Shane Mosley's athletic tools have deteriorated. He is no longer the 26 year old who was terrorizing lightweights with blazing hand and foot speed. The quickness, speed, stamina and reflexes have deteriorated as we have seen the past few fights.
I don't give Shane much of a chance vs. Pacquiao but he can make this a competitive because he does have some tools and abilities that can give Pacquiao trouble. Unfortunately the ultimate tool a fighter like Shane can possess is in the mind. I'm not sure if Shane possesses the ring IQ and more importantly is humble enough top admit that he no longer possesses the tools that made him special.
George Foreman and Bernard Hopkins were able to handle men young enough top be their sons in Michael Moorer and Jean Pascal respectively because they went from being a beast and executioner to a savant and a genius.
 
Shane has advantages in size and strength that can give a dude like Pacquiao tough out. Shane is going 2 have to be willing to grab, batter and rough up Manny on the inside and utilize the body punching that made him one of the greatest lightweights ever and caught the attention Margarito in the 1st round of their encounter. I know that by going to the body he is risking getting peppered upstairs but Shane's got to do something to slow down Pacquiao and he's not gonna out combo the best combination puncher in boxing. Shane has a trainer in Richardson who seems like a sharp dude capable of executing a good game plan to help him.
 However; something tells me Shane does not have the ring IQ or the humbleness that its going to take to beat Pacquiao. I see Shane trying to razzle and dazzle against Pacquiao and eventually either the ref or Richardson are going to intervene in 10th round and save Shane from unnecessary punishment.
 Bread’s Response: You know I what to touch on one of your points. Shane’s ring IQ. I know he has plenty of experience and any guy who has been fighting for 20 years has some boxing knowledge. But I have never been overly impressed with Shane’s ring IQ. He seems to NEED a superior mind in his corner to instruct him over obstacles. Shane becomes VISIBLY frustrated when things don’t go his way for extended periods. I have seen him do it on about 5 occasions it’s no coincidence.


Like you stated Hopkins and Foreman are different animals. Shane has not shown their ability to adjust or fight relaxed like those two. When Shane is not getting his way, his adjustment usually is too fight harder. Meaning gassing more and loading up more.
 
 

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