Abel Sanchez: Plan is to not let Andre Ward breathe

Andre Ward is set to take on Cuban light heavyweight Sullivan Barrera this weekend, and in anticipation of their meeting Abel Sanchez goes into a little more detail into how he's tailored Barrera's style and what they plan to do to beat Ward. Sanchez begins by reiterating that Andre Ward isn't the same fighter that he used to be, and then goes on to talk about how he's preparing Barrera for the fight.

"...the best that I can do is prepare Sullivan to take what's given to him, to take what's in front of him. Sullivan has a style that is from the - I meant to say from part of the Cuban school and part of my school. The attacking style that he has now and the knockouts that he has now are some of the stuff that we practice in the gym."

Sanchez elaborates by saying that he was never trying to completely change Barrera's Cuban style of boxing, only alter it so that he becomes more aggressive while utilizing better technique -- something similar to what he's done with Gennady Golovkin. Sanchez believes that by meshing his teachings with the Cuban style, he will provide more opportunities for Barrera to do what he needs to do to win.

"It's just a matter of going at Andre and taking what he gives us but not to let Andre breathe."

For those who question Barrera's stamina, mentioning that he's never been past eight rounds, Sanchez responds by saying that all trainers with high-level fighters train for 14-15 rounds. He believes it's just a matter of keeping Barrera calm in the corner. I guess we'll find out for sure this weekend!

Is anybody picking Sullivan Barrera in this one? Sound off in the comments section below.