Canelo vs. GGG: 5 keys for Gennady Golovkin

4. Set up the left hook downstairs

Canelo Alvarez employs nimble body contortions to avoid punches when he’s planted, and the Mexican is fairly cagey when it comes protecting his chin and getting opponents to lunge. Fortunately, Gennady Golovkin is one of boxing’s most balanced fighters, and he’d be well-served digging his left hook into Canelo’s body to drain his suspect reserves and prevent some of those slick counters from being fired back with conviction.

Canelo counters well with his uppercuts and right hand, and he’s adept at slipping jabs. Because Golovkin relies so heavily on his jab, he’ll need to establish a pattern of punches that can occupy Canelo’s guard and prompt hesitation. Golovkin’s overhand right off his jab is an excellent weapon, but it would behoove him to punctuate combinations with his left hook to the body, or set that punch up with feints and evasive dips of his own.

The important thing is to avoid head-hunting in the hopes of scoring the spectacular knockout so many feel is within Golovkin’s grasp. Although Canelo continues to mature and absorb knowledge with each passing fight, he has shown a tendency to gas in the past and languish on the ropes. A steady body attack from Golovkin will test Caenlo’s conditioning and make those evasive contortions taxing.

Plus, Gennady Golovkin consistently scores stoppages with body shots, or thanks to an accumulation of blows downstairs. Who can forget his crippling knockout of Matthew Macklin? While Canelo is surely preparing for that kind of onslaught and targeting, Golovkin has the tools to land his hook after subverting Canelo’s expectation for that “next” jab or overhand right.