The PBC Mailbag: Canelo-Munguia, PBC No. 1 and More

I’m starting to get the feeling that Jaime Munguia will upset Canelo Alvarez on May 4. Let me explain. Canelo is 34 [Note: Canelo is 33] with lots of tread on his tires. I’ve seen him in a knee brace. He also is being distracted with David Benavidez wanting to fight him and not giving him an excuse. Munguia looks better with Freddie Roach and he’s much younger. Munguia has nothing lose and if you look closely, he may not be as slick as Canelo but his legs and stamina are better. I think Munguia wins a controversial split decision. Thoughts?

Bread’s Response: I like the moxie in your pick. If you’re correct I will tip my hat. This certainly wouldn’t be the first time Freddie Roach won a big fight as an underdog. But I’m picking Canelo Alvarez. 

Everything you said was true but I just think Canelo is a special fighter. And special fighters turn back tough challenges on a regular basis. Munguia is good but Canelo has seen this movie before. Munguia has not seen anything like Canelo. 

Canelo is one of the better defensive fighters in boxing. Because he doesn’t move away often his defense gets underrated and overlooked. But Canelo can slip, block, parry, roll and counterpunch. He has extra layer of defense and he has a great chin. 

In this violent fight, I think the difference will be Canelo will be landing clean shots, while Munguia will land his share but not as clean or damaging as Canelo’s. In a war, the fighter who is being hit the cleanest, will usually show the effects of the war more. Munguia can win, but in order to he’s going to have to have next level durability. I’m talking Jake LaMotta level durability. We shall see.

Hi Bread, I hope you and your family are safe and well. Thank you as always for the knowledge and wisdom you provide us with each week, I wanted to say you are an inspiration to me personally and to many others, I am sure. I had a slightly different question but if you had to pick four boxing guests, dead or alive, either fighters, trainers or promoters to have as dinner guests and talk with for a few hours who would they be and why? Thank you for your time.

Bread’s Response: What a question. You know when I was younger, I read somewhere that you should never meet your idols or people you look up to because you will find flaws in them and it will change your views. So, once I became professional trainer, I never tried to get close to people I admired because I didn’t want it to change my view. So, you’re asking me a question that I most likely wouldn’t partake in because of my fear of losing my admiration for those that I have looked up to. But my job is to answer questions so that’s what I will do. 

Mike Tyson is an easy choice for me. His knowledge of boxing and historical leaders is mind blowing to me. I heard him mention warriors like Achilles and it resonates because I also love great historical warriors along with boxing. I watch the Shaka Zulu miniseries in its entirety every other year. I almost met Tyson in 2013 in Las Vegas at a fight. I was very close to walking up to him. But there was so much going on I didn’t get a chance to. I wish I would’ve done it. Tyson is the one guy I would break my rule for.

Emanuel Steward. I actually met Steward in Atlantic City while he was doing the Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson rematch. He was awesome to talk to. We talked for what seemed like two hours and I would have loved to get to know him better. 

Cus D’Amato seems very interesting to me. His teachings are alive today in Mike Tyson and Teddy Atlas. Cus was something else with his logic as far as fighters and I would love to soak it up.

Al Haymon is a person I have met. But to have him as a dinner guest would be different. I would love to learn things I didn’t know about the business side that would serve me better going forward. So, I picked an ex-great fighter, two trainers—one a more recent trainer in Steward and one an old school trainer in D’Amato. Then I picked the most revered business figure today in Al Haymon to cover all of the bases.

“ Munguia has not seen anything like Canelo. ” Trainer - Stephen "Breadman" Edwards

I know you've studied Elijah Garcia for the fight with your fighter, Kyrone Davis. I’m disappointed you guys didn’t get the shot because I think Davis is underrated. But Garcia seems to be primed for a title shot so I doubt if you guys will get to fight him now. My question is what do you think of Garcia’s chances to win a world title this year or do you think he should wait for his title shot?

Bread’s Response: I have studied Garcia and he’s a good fighter. He seems heavy handed, strong and has good conditioning. But I wouldn’t pick him to beat Erislandy Lara or Alimkhanuly Janibek right at this moment. I also think Carlos Adames would beat him right now, although that’s a tough fight for Adames if Garcia makes it out of the first few rounds. 

At this point I just don’t think Garcia knows enough yet to beat Lara or Janibek. Garcia is 20 and you just don’t see 20 year old middleweight world champions. Most of the great middleweight champions won the title in their late 20s or 30s. Look at the ages of Bernard Hopkins, Marvin Hagler, Carlos Monzon and Gennadiy Golovkin when they won their belts. Very rarely do you see a great middleweight champion younger than 25. It’s a mature division and the field is usually stacked because of the bell curve.  And although the division isn’t as hot at the moment, I still wouldn’t pick Garcia to beat the current champions.

Garcia is now the #1 contender for the WBA. So, I think his title shot will come sooner than later. Let’s see how it plays out.

Who is the bigger star, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Gervonta “Tank” Davis?

Bread’s Response: This seems to be the topic of day lately. Objectively speaking if we go by history and the PPV and purse numbers, Canelo is the bigger star. He’s done over 1m PPV buys several times. He also fought Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and GGG. You can’t get much higher than that in terms of spotlight for big fights. 

As for Tank, I would say that he is the biggest current American star in boxing and the biggest star below middleweight. But overall, worldwide, I would give it Canelo at the moment.

Has the PBC ever had the number one, pound for pound fighter? I was trying to research and I haven’t found a conclusive answer because I don’t know exactly when the PBC started. If they haven’t who do you say has the best chance to be number one?

Bread’s Response: You know you may have me with this question. I think the first PBC shows took place in 2015. Floyd Mayweather was still active in 2015. He fought Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto in 2015. Now the question is, was Floyd #1 in 2015? If I remember correctly, I think GGG and Chocolatito were considered the top guys but Floyd certainly had a claim. Andre Ward may have an argument but he was a little inactive in 2015. 

This question is fascinating because there was a little time warp as far as #1 P4P. After that window of time Floyd when retired and after, I can’t remember a PBC fighter being #1 but I could be wrong. From my recollection Errol Spence was the highest rated P4P fighter who is with PBC. I think he topped out at around #3-#4.

Who do I see being #1? I think Tank Davis or David Benavidez have the best shots. If Benavidez were to stop Canelo or become undisputed at 175, he would have a great case to be #1. If Tank Davis stops one of the standout lightweights/junior welterweights of this era, he would also have a very strong case to be #1. Both, in my opinion, are top 10 right now as we speak.

Send questions and comments to dabreadman25@hotmail.com