Abel Sanchez hints at Golovkin’s game plan for Canelo rematch

We’re only a few days away from the anticipated rematch between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin this weekend on HBO PPV, and apparently trainer Abel Sanchez is apparently so excited and confident that he doesn’t mind letting everyone know what Golovkin has in store for Canelo.

In an interview with WBN Sanchez details what changes Golovkin has been working on for this rematch and how an old fight between Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya holds the key.

“I reviewed the tape of that fight early in training camp and I saw how Bernard stopped Oscar dead in his tracks with a picture-perfect liver shot. I normally don’t like to give away our game plan but I don’t mind sharing this part of it, Gennady has trained and is prepared to do the same thing to Canelo.

“We have freshened it up and even gave it a name, The Ginger Snap. Personally, I think it would be poetic justice to break the record using the same type of punch that Bernard used on Oscar to unify the middleweight titles.”

Although many believe Golovkin deserved to earn a decision in his first meeting with Canelo, even his supporters lamented how little he targeted the body throughout that fight, which was normally his calling card. Whether you attribute that to Golovkin being wary of Canelo’s counters or simply a mental lapse, the point is that it happened and Sanchez doesn’t want that to happen again.

And the specific punch Sanchez references was a perfectly timed and placed liver shot from Hopkins that completely immobilized De La Hoya as he caved into the canvas — more or less the exact same punch Golovkin used to level Daniel Geale a couple years ago. Shots with that kind of effect can’t always banked on, but the fact that Golovkin is supposed to be making a conscious effort to wear Canelo down to the body is an encouraging sign if he wants to improve on his last performance.