Gennady Golovkin trainer only watched Canelo Alvarez fight twice
On Wednesday, Aug. 22, trainers for Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez addressed the media during a joint conference call. GGG’s trainer discussed fight preparations.
Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez fought to a draw in 2017, but they are gearing up to do it again on Sept. 15 live on HBO pay-per-view. The rematch is nearing the end of the buildup stage and Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez and Alvarez’s trainer Jose ‘Chepo’ Reynoso took part in a media conference call.
Most trainers and boxers study their opponent’s previous fights. Some fighters choose not to review fight film, but the majority of trainers like to scrutinize fight film to develop a strategy for their boxer.
FanSided asked Sanchez about how he and Golovkin went about preparing for this fight regarding film study. Sanchez’s response was surprising.
"“First of all, we’ve watched it twice, once on tape and once live,” said Sanchez. “As coaches we can work on a strategy. We can work on a lot of things that we want to do in the fight, but when the fight presents itself, depending on how the opposition is fighting the fight, things can change. We can try to have A, B and C plans available. ”"
One might assume that Sanchez reviewed the first fight numerous times especially since it ended in a draw, but he feels he learned everything he needed to know based on the live action and one film review.
Sanchez further qualified his rationale:
"“We work on everything in the gym just in case,” continued Sanchez. “But when the fight starts, the fighters, at least my fighters anyway, they’re going to do what they feel is best at that particular moment. We’ve worked on all the aspects, and hopefully they can implement what we worked on.”"
His point carries a practiced logic. As Mike Tyson once famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Sanchez is putting Tyson’s words into play. He’s only going to learn so much from the first fight. Plans change, and boxers need to be able to think and adjust on the fly. In their first fight, Golovkin was the aggressor and Alvarez was the counter puncher. This dynamic didn’t surprise anyone.
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It will be interesting to see if anything changes the second time around. Sanchez doesn’t seem too concerned. Is Sanchez’s approach to fight film preparation a sign of confidence or an act of hubris? We’ll have to wait until Golvkin and Alvarez meet on Sept. 15 to find out.