BOXINGTALK : DAILY BREAD SUNDAY BRUNCH EDITION

Hi bread! I'm writing concerning Carl Froch's win over Lucian Bute and a comment you made that got me itchy a little. First, your comment about the Canadian coach being under the gun because of recent performances of David Lemieux, Jean Pascal and now Bute. Obviously I am Canadian... and I think you might not know the coaches other than Russ Anber maybe. Pointing the finger at the Canadian coaches in general for the way the fighters performed in the last few fight was unfair. Russ Anber brought Lemieux in training camp with Sergio Martinez to show him the habits of a champion. Anber knew that Lemieux was living the life and not doing what he was asked to do. Lemieux was cocky and he thought he would knock everybody out. On their return to Montreal, nothing changed and Anber decided that he couldnt keep coaching Lemieux who was still stubborn and undiscipline. Results, He got KO'ed. Who is to blame? Anber knows about inside fighting and all the crafty techniques and he is a good teacher, too. The jockey cannot win the race if the horse doesn't want to do its share. Marc Ramsay is the coach of Jean Pascal. Boxing specialists like you, are a bit tough with Pascal. Yes he fights in spurts, yes he is wide and wild, he doesn't have the greatest defense but he beat Dawson when everybody thought Dawson was the next p4p, he put Hopkins on his ass twice, hurt him bad in the end of their second fight. Nobody ever did that to Hopkins. Ramsay's fight plan against Dawson showed the blue print to beat Dawson. Maybe it showed the blueprint to beat Pascal too but You don't become "the ring" champion just because you are strong and fight like a maniac when the pressure is on. Come on!! Pascal has a great team around him. Finally, IMO Bute's trainer Stephane Larouche is probably our best trainer ever in Canada. His instructions between rounds are precise and simple. You just can't understand because he speaks French. If you could, you would like him. The way Bute fought wasn't the way they planned obviously. They planned to back up Froch, to dont let Froch come forward so much. They mentioned Ward smothering Froch by coming inside. They sparred heavy guys putting pressure on Bute, they had Glen Johnson as sparring partner, another guy who was lenghty who was passing his feet while punching like Froch. They knew what to expect but on the night, Bute didnt deliver. It happens! It will happen to you also if it hasn't already happened. Larouche built Eric Lucas into becoming a world champion with very minimal talent. That is the challenge. Minimum talent with maximum results. You are as good as a coach as the fighter you have. Same thing in all sports.

Lastly, just want to raise a few points about fighting in England. When the inspector came to give the gloves to Bute, the man put the gloves down and was about to leave when Larouche said "you aren't supposed to leave the gloves unsupervised and I hope its the same on the other side". We all can assume it wasn't. Also, something to think about, after the fight, Froch never took off his gloves. He even gave interviews with his gloves on long after the fight was over. It wasn't a habit to do so as if you look at all his fights against Dirrell, Ward, Taylor, Kessler, he always took them off. Did Bute lose because of that? Surely not. Fighting away from home is a bitch for everybody! You can't trust anyone!

Mike Lafleur
Bread�s Response: Thanks Mike always a pleasure reading your respectful comments. I will say a know a thing or two about counterproductive behavior involving commissions. They need more members. It�s hard for one person to watch a whole team. Especially if that team wants to do wrong.

Also you seem to be suggesting something shady going on with Froch�s gloves. I don�t know what to say. I will look at Froch after those fights. If you know anything that happened up there put it out brother I will research it. But right now, I�m giving Carl Froch full props on a great performance.

As for the coaches up in Canada I wasn�t trying to offend anybody. But let me ask you if Pascal, Lemieux and Bute would all have delivered big time, then everybody would be singing the coaches praises. Now that they didn�t, why can�t I question a few things?

I am not down on them because of a fighter losing. Fighters lose all the time. That�s no big deal to me. But I saw some flaws that I think come from training. For example defense and ring generalship. Please just listen to what I�m saying and not take offense.

Jean Pascal scampers around the ring aimlessly with no purpose at a high speed. He looks like he�s running. Then he stops and fires a fast rapid combo and then he scampers some more to get his oxygen back just to do it again. Pascal has not learned the ability to be defensive without burning so much energy. He has not learned to pace himself at all. Everybody can see the wind sprint he�s doing and the recovery he needs in the ring. I don't know who we blame but somebody has to accept something. If I saw Pascal doing that in sparring, I would tell him the judges will think he's running and not boxing. I would also tell him he's burning himself out. His flaws and style seem accepted because he hasn't changed one bit from what I can see.

Think about this. The reason why Bernard Hopkins can have so much success against Pascal is because of his lack of basic fundamentals. Bnernard�s stamina is no where near what it used to be, but he still has a much better gas tank then Pascal. He�s not in better shape than Pascal, he knows how to fight better than Pascal. I blame Pascal also, but you can�t tell me this man�s trainer can�t take any of the blame for these obvious flaws.

Now onto Lemieux�. Lemieux can�t defend himself against resistance. He�s all puncher. All he does is put his hands up when you fight him back and he has so much give in his demeanor under confrontation. Look at him against Joachim Alcine and Marco Rubio. When they engaged him he couldn�t do one thing to stop their aggressiveness accept cover up.

Next up to Bute. When Froch pressed him, all he did was cover up. No jab, no feint, no isolation move to make Froch pause, so Bute can get to a better place. Nothing. Just covering up and waiting for the inevitable. Just like Lemiuex did against Rubio. Think about that.

The Canadian coaches may be really good. I actually like some of the training that I saw. But when you have one top level guy who doesn�t know the difference between boxing and running, and two others who don�t know how to stop a guy from walking to them and beating them up, there is a problem. Maybe the fighters are freezing up , maybe the coaches are not giving them the right preparation. Maybe it�s both. But the point should at least be questioned.

I believe you touched on a possible Andre Ward-Lucian Bute match-up a few days ago when someone brought it up. I, for one, think that Bute would have had a great chance to beat Andre. I think the uppercut would have a been a huge problem for Ward�s style of fighting; specifically the in-fighting. People are trashing Bute now, but remember, there�s a reason Ward didn�t take that fight when he could have been paid handsomely. Secondly, man I�m really getting fired up for this Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight. At first, I have to say that I didn�t really like the matchup. I thought it would be a blowout. I didn�t think Timmy had the skills to compete. I thought he had the heart but I didn�t believe in his skill set. However, the tide is now turning and I think he�ll come in ready both physically and mentally. The reasoning behind my change of heart is from listening to him talk recently about the fight. Not including Juan Manuel Marquez, think back on the best guys Manny has fought over the past few years. What did they ALL say coming into their respective fights with Manny? We ALWAYS heard the same things like, � I�m bigger than Manny. He won�t be able to take my power. I will impose my size and strength.� Ya know, the usual nonsense that we hear from his opponents. But with Timmy, he actually has a game plan and you can tell that he�s done his homework. He pretty much reflected what you told us in how or why Marquez gives Manny problems. Circle to your left, take half a step back and fire like an SOB. Now, there�s probably more to it than that and it�s probably easier said than done. But I like it that Timmy has a different approach other than thinking size and strength will do the trick. -- Dante , Okc
Bread�s Response: Before we allude to Ward ducking Bute let�s remember Ward has not fought at all since the Super Six. It's not like he passed Bute up to fight lesser guys. He obviously had some personal issues he wanted to address before jumping back into another big fight. If we were two years after the Super 6 and Ward still didn�t fight Bute, I could understand where you are coming from but that�s not the case. It�s all academic right now anyway because of what happened to Bute-- a loss to Carl Froch.

Stylistically I assume the uppercut could have been a big weapon for Bute against Ward. But Bute would have so much technical war fare coming his way from Ward, he would be up against it. Bute pretty much folded against Carl Froch. That�s not people crapping on him, that�s exactly what happened. The triangle theory is not always accurate but the way Bute lost does not sit well with me.

Bradley has the right mind set and approach. But let�s remember Bradley does not fight as well off the back foot as Marquez. He�s not the precise puncher or counter puncher. It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out. I�m expecting a really good fight.

First off, RIP Johnny Tapia and best of best wishes to Paul Williams, it is a shame for him to be in the position he is and I truly hope he is able to walk again. No disrespect to Williams, but why do boxers jeopardize themselves by riding bikes? The legendary Chico Corrales past on one, Anthony Dirrell is lucky to be alive and now Williams. It amazes that these guys make their living from their bodies and need to protect it to the fullest. On another note, whats your take on Amir Khan getting rid of conditioning coach Alex Ariza? Do you think it was a good move on Team Khan and if he got rid of Ariza before, why would be bring him back only to toss him out again? Is it just me or is PacMan going to toss Ariza out once the Bradley fight is over? Just listening to Freddie's comments on dude seem to indicate that its only a matter of time until he's replaced and I think Manny will do it once the fight is over so that he doesnt have to face the questions leading up to it. Last but not least, did you hear the allegations that Floyd Mayweather may have tested positive for PEDs but was not disclosed to anyone due to the contract they had in place with the testing company. If this is true, I could see why Floyd has been pointing the finger so much to Manny. Anyhow, what is your take on these weekend fights. Much love my man, keep baking that bread, and Ill keep consuming it. J---
Bread�s Response: RIP Johnny Tapia. Man could that guy fight. He is probably no worse than the second best junior bantamweight ever. I have so much love for the original Baby Faced Assassin. May his soul rest in peace.

I don�t want to talk about motorcycles. That was Paul�s choice. All I can say is Paul Williams was a joy to watch. He was ALL heart. In this day of politics, Williams was one of the few guys who you got the gut feeling would fight anybody. Stand UP, PWILL. I mean that literally and figuratively.

For some time now, I have stated that Alex Ariza was just doing too damn much. I would hear Ariza make comments that totally contradicted comments made by Top Rank or Team Pacquiao. These comments were actually played up by other websites and Ariza kept giving the interviews over and over. I knew he would start to aggravate people and now things have seemed to boil over.

I assume Khan fired Ariza because Ariza left the Philippines to train Chavez Jr. Khan made a trip to the Philippines to train with Roach and Ariza and Khan had a fight set up for May 19th. I understand where Khan is coming from. I would have been pissed also. But this schedule stuff has to get worked out early.

I think Khan felt disrespected so he canned Ariza. I also think Freddie Roach is tired of Ariza and his days seem to be numbered. Roach is pulling rank right now. This will not end pretty. I expect some nasty things to come out of this. Usually when teams break up, nasty secrets come out. Interestingly enough, Freddie Roach does not seem to have anything to hide because he clearly wants Ariza out. We shall see.

I am, and was, a big fan of Lucian Bute. I can't understand how so many people dismiss Bute after suffering a single defeat against another good/great fighter. One loss doesn't make you a fraud. Bute could have stayed at home in Quebec and rattled off title defenses. It was his decision to take the risk against to travel to Nottingham and face a dangerous opponent. Let's not forget, Froch, Kessler, and Ward wouldn't go to Montreal. How often does the champion travel to the opponent's hometown for a fight? Yet, when the media writes guys off who lose in similar circumstances to Bute, the effect is to encourage boxers to stay at home and take easy fights because it's not worth the risk. It's a ongoing problem in the sport. Good/great fighters of the past lost to other good/great fighters all the time and weren't written off. As a fan of Bute, I'm not jumping off his bandwagon yet. No, sir.
1. Prior to the Froch vs. Bute fight, I didn't view Golovkin's amateur knockout as absolute evidence of his lack of chin. Did you know Peter Manfredo Jr. knocked out Carl Froch in the amateurs? Froch has walked through some nice shots in his professional career. I actually think Bute withstood a lot of Froch's shots before going down in the fifth round. I'm not even now convinced that Bute doesn't have a chin. As a fan, am I blinded?
2. Leaving his chin aside, what's was your critical assessment of Bute's performance? What did he do so wrong that led Froch to dominate him from post to post? If you're Stephen Larouche, Bute's trainer, what do you need to change going into a rematch?
3. I thought Bute seemed really off, like it wasn't him in the ring. This is a guy that dominated Sakio Bika, Glen Johnson, and Librado Andrade (he lost two rounds out of 16 if you think about it). Those are savage dudes. In those fights, Bute seemed to know his range. He was calculated. In this fight, his range was off, he didn't move fluidly. Heck did he ever even throw his patent uppercut? Even one combination? I understand Froch is a different animal, but compare their performances against Johnson, and it's night and day. Was it a styles thing? Maybe Froch's awkward pressure, compared with their traditional pressure, took Bute out of his game. Could the smaller size of the ring have been an issue? Could fighting away from home finally have affected his performance? It just seemed like an uncharacteristic, off-night for Bute to me.
4. Lastly, how does this knockout to Froch affect Bute's career. Ssome knockouts are debilitating: Jermain Taylor's knockout against Kelly Pavlik seemed to change the trajectory of his career. However, history has shown us many fighters that became stronger and better after suffering a bad knockout. If you had to make a prediction here, be real with me, what do you think happens with Bute?
I'm a fan so I may be biased in favor of Bute. What does your trained eye tell you regarding the above questions?
Bread�s Response: You can�t look at Bute as a fan. Look at him a man. I like Lucien too.
First off he deserves full props for going to England. No doubt about that. But the outcome can not be ignored. Bute�s chin is now a liability in my opinion. It doesn�t mean he will get knocked out everytime he fights, but man he was wobbling over common contact. Basically everytime I have I seen Bute hit on a semi constant basis he was hurt. That to me is a sign a suspect chin. His knockout loss in the amateur can be thrown out, but not these pro mishaps.
Many fighters have come back from bad knockouts. Let�s see if Bute has what it takes. Bute has a stacked division in front of him. He definitely has a chance to redeem himself. Unfortunately in boxing you are as good as your last performance and his last performance was not so good. My trained eye told me something simple please don�t take this personal as a Bute fan. Carl Froch made him have a bad night. Froch is too much MAN for Bute. I know that stings but that�s what it is. At 100% Froch would walk through everytime. He�s been through too much and he�s willing to take too much. I was a Mike Tyson fan also, and I had to face that reality about him fighting Evander Holyfield. Take your feelings out of it and you will make the assessment much easier.

I am doing a little pre-fight scouting because I am off of work today and I am a little worried because in the fight vs. Joel Casamayor he was being hit the straight left hands. I also noticed that sometimes he just walked in without jabbing before he got started. I can't wait to hear your analysis on that fight. I actually can't wait for that fight.--Cornelius Turner

Bread�s Response: My video pick is coming later this week. Believe it or not, my pick is up in the air. I want to wait until the weigh in but I know you guys would want to kill me if I waited that long.

There is an article http://www.examiner.com/article/floyd-mayweather-tested-positive-three-times going around saying Floyd Mayweather failed three drug test. I assume it�s not true because none of the better websites have put it out. The article also states that there is some sort of exemption clause that has been used in the past by Golden Boy, to seal test results. Do you know anything about this?
Bread�s Response: I hope and pray that this is just a nasty rumor. Right now this is exactly how I will look at it. When there was an alleged email sent to Team Mayweather by someone from Team PAcquiao, asking about the penalty for a positive test, I viewed that as just a rumor and to my knowledge it was. When allegedly a boxer stated he injected Manny PAcquiao with steroids, I thought it was just a nasty rumor, and to my knowledge it was also.

If Mayweather or PAcquiao ever turn out to have tested positive, it would ruin boxing for about a decade. Boxing would turn into the baseball era in which Bonds, Sosa and McGuire ruled the day. The fighters would cheat in order to level the playing fields.

Right now I�m not giving any credence to Floyd Mayweather testing positive to anything. He deserves that. But I do find the statements interesting about Thomas Hauser. Hauser wrote some deep stuff about Oscar De La Hoya a few years ago. That�s not a rumor at all, that�s a fact that Hauser wrote about Oscar because I read it and I was so intrigued I emailed him about it. Hauser sort of challenged De La Hoya in the drug testing issue�.. Ironically and allegedly, Hauser currently has a job as a consultant with HBO��..

Let�s forget about Floyd for a second and talk about the testing agencies. I personally see a rift between VADA and the USADA. In my opinion this is what causes a big problem. Different testing agencies with different criteria and agenda. These agencies should ALL be on the same page. I hate the fact that we have different agencies but we do, so they have to work together. If a particular agency is found to have gotten too cozy with a particular promotional company, it ruins all credibility to the drug testing.

I am very happy that VADA seems to be doing an excellent job. I hope it continues. But the last thing we need is a Drug War between the VADA and the USADA.

Last and most importantly, collectively we need to find out about this Inadvertent Usage Exemption. If this policy does indeed exist, things take a big turn. We would have to find out, what fighters or promoters have exercised this policy? Why these policies exist, when inadvertent use seems to be a convenient excuse most times when a positive test comes about? And what testing agencies use this policy.

I will openly admit that I�m not the most knowledgeable scribe on these different drug testing agencies. I will attempt to get an interview with Gabe Montoya and reps from both VADA and the USADA to help us ALL out.