Khan vs Peterson: Alex Ariza on the Fight, His Criticisms of High Altitude Training, and More (Video)

Alex Ariza is probably the most famous strength and conditioning trainer in boxing, and his success with Manny Pacquiao and particular has brought the role to the forefront of a lot of teams, as top fighters have all started to look for more of an edge with gurus such as Ariza.

Luke Thomas of MMA Nation spoke with Ariza, whose client Amir Khan will be in action Saturday night against Lamont Peterson.

On the speed differential in Khan vs Peterson:

"I think Peterson's very quick and strong at the same time, so as far as there being a differential, I think it's maybe just the fact that Amir is a little bit more busy and his workrate's higher."

On shoulder workouts and whether or not Khan has problems with injuries:

"Always precautionary. Most of the stuff that we do with him and Manny (Pacquiao), all the guys, just because being in boxing is just such a repetitive movement, so everything is precautionary."

On the way he monitors a fighter's weight:

"The way I do things is so different than the way everybody else does things, so for me to start throwing out, how much this, how much that, it's just gonna throw speculation out there as to why so heavy, or why so light. And there's not gonna really be a lot of understanding unless I really explain it. So I just leave that just the way we've been doing things, and we've been successful that way. I think the best way to look at it is look at Julio (Cesar Chavez Jr). A guy who's never made weight on time, he's making weight every time, making it easy now. So we're just gonna continue doing things the way we do things."

On his criticism of high altitude training:

"High altitude training, in order for there to be a physiological change, in other words, for your body to start to produce more blood cells, which is the oxygen of the body, you have to be up there for a longer period than eight weeks. You're looking at eight to twelve months. So the idea is once you get back down to whatever climate that you're going to perform at, you're going to acclimate within 48 hours."

On the difference between training boxing and MMA in strength and conditioning:

"It's very similar. The difference is MMA guys need more resistance training, a little bit more weight training. Most of my MMA guys I do like that. But I still believe in more speed, and explosiveness, as I do in strength."

On MMA fighters cutting too much weight:

"I think some of them do cut too much weight. We've always believed, fight at the weight that you feel comfortable at. Not necessarily have to kill yourself to make weight. But some of these guys are making their weight easily, so we're not really having any problems."