Alvarez, Golovkin train quietly for LV clash
While Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor Mcgregor engaged in a roast battle during a wild four-city press tour, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin quietly opened training camps for their blockbuster bout.
Alvarez is back in San Diego with the Reynoso family for the eighth consecutive fight, and Golovkin returned to high altitude in Big Bear, California, to join longtime trainer Abel Sanchez. Alvarez and Golovkin will meet on an HBO pay-per-view middleweight showdown Sept. 16 at T-mobile Arena.
The Mexican superstar is trained by Eddy Reynoso, whose father, Jose, oversees the operation. Alvarez (491-1, 34 knockouts) starts his day with a 6 a.m. run and trains for three hours at the gym. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are sparring days.
“Usually training is almost always the same, but the strategy is different because every fighter is different,” Alvarez said. “The strategy depends on the fight. While you’re preparing for a fight, you don’t know what happens once you’re in the ring.
“I’m a fighter who is a counterpuncher, and (Golovkin’s) style is a come-forward style, so I think both styles will lead to a great fight. My style, the style that I have, is superior to his style.”
Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOS), a native of Kazakhstan who lives in
Los Angeles, will defend his three middleweight belts against Alvarez. Golovkin has defended his middleweight crown 18 times since he became champion seven years ago.
“Abel has new ideas for this fight, exciting ideas, and I need to be my best to perform in the ring,” Golovkin said. “I don’t care about pound for pound. This is real. This is about being the champion of the world.”
Golovkin, 35, and Alvarez, 27, have earned reputations of being two of the most dedicated boxers in the sport.
“I was very happy with the first week Gennady spent in camp for basic conditioning,” Sanchez said. “The most difficult thing to do with Gennady is to hold him back. Starting slowly is just not in his vocabulary.
“Gennady has wanted this fight for so long. I can already tell he is going to pull out all stops in this training camp to be at his best on Sept. 16. This is war.”
Closed circuit tickets
Tickets for closed circuit viewing in Las Vegas for Alvarez-golovkin are on sale.
The Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-new York, Luxor and Circus Circus have priced tickets at $75. All seats are general admission.
Tickets can be purchased at any MGM Resorts International Box Office, by phone at 800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com.
The Ghost retires
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, a former four-division champion, retired this week, ending a decorated 16-year career.
Guerrero (33-6-1, 18 knockouts) is best known for his thrilling slugfests and 2013 bout against Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden.
“I’m a kid from a small town in Gilroy, California, who made it to the mountain top of the boxing world,” Guerrero said in a statement. “When I was a young kid growing up, I always believed in myself, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a small-town kid like myself would be fighting in front of millions of fans.”
Guerrero, 34, owns a boxing gym inside his Las Vegas home and lets boxers train there.
“A boxer’s career is a long and tough road,” Guerrero said. “Many tears were shed, lots of blood and tons of sweat. Many miles were traveled, thousands of rounds sparred, none were easy and nothing was ever given to me.”
Guerrero has signature victories over Andre Berto and Yoshihiro Kamegai. He dropped four of his last five fights.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gmanzano24 on Twitter.