Witness says Golovkin hurt Canelo twice in sparring

[montrealsuper]

Story sounds legit - Golovkin whooped Canelo in practice - he would thrash Canelo with the big stakes on the line - http://spam.com/2016/05/11/witn ... -sparring/

[crusader]

I know that Lamar Russ, who was together with them in camp, suggested that GGG dominated and that he doesn't think a fight would be competitive. Canelo has obviously gotten better, although I think GGG has too.

[Impractical Poster]

A boxing insider who was present at the Big Bear (CA) gym on the day when Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez sparred has shared his account of what happened: “Golovkin hurt Canelo twice – first liver and then head. Canelo came out strong trying to hurt him right away. Then Golovkin got him with a nice liver shot and then a few head shots that made Canelo spar a lot more gently. It was awkward in the room. It was Golovkin’s first real sparring in America. He was just here from Germany. I think Canelo (then age 21) was just getting ready for Afonso Gomez in Los Angeles (TKO 6 in September 2011).”

[Horse]

Screw sparring.

[ikorolev]

Here is Doug Fisher's recollection:
http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/1766 ... mailbag-99

Here’s what I recall from the six-round session I witnessed in Big Bear, Calif. (which I wrote about in a Gym Notes column): Alvarez was preparing for his first title defense against Ryan Rhodes and Golovkin, who I’d never seen in person, was getting ready for Kassim Ouma. Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, wanted his middleweight to get some work with Canelo in order to experience the faster hands of a naturally smaller fighter. Golovkin was not supposed to give Canelo the “full treatment,” and it was clear from the sparring I saw that he was indeed holding back.

Still, Golovkin “holding back” was a lot for Canelo, only 20 at the time, to deal with. And the young man did well. I’d say he held his own, even though he couldn’t hurt Golvokin with his best shots. What Alvarez showed me in those 4-minute rounds at 6,000-plus-feet altitude was that the Mexican star was willing to put in very hard work in order to learn his craft and to get in proper condition for his fights.

I was not impressed by what I saw of Alvarez during his WBC 154-pound title winning effort against Matthew Hatton three month earlier. He seemed one-dimensional in his approach and his power appeared overrated. I wasn’t even sure if he would get past Rhodes, who was an experienced junior middleweight contender with solid skills. But watching Alvarez work his jab and exhibit good footwork while moving about the ring during his sparring session with Golovkin let me know that the kid was more versatile than most of us had seen in his fights up to that point of his career.

Golovkin hurt Alvarez a few times – a hook at the end of the second round visibly stunned him and some body shots made him wince – but the young man kept his head and found ways to compete even when he was clearly tired (a combination of the altitude and GGG’s pressure) in the last two rounds.

[gilgamesh]

None of this matters. Let's see 'em fight already.

[montrealsuper]

Everything matters in one on one competition - mental edges can be won and lost in sparring - not always but in this particular instance it clearly seems that Canelo felt the power and the extraordinary skillset of GGG and he's very apprehensive to take the risk because a KO loss would blow up all the long term plans of protection and manufacturing that is behind Canelo -

[montrealsuper]

Here is Doug Fisher's recollection:
http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/1766 ... mailbag-99

Here’s what I recall from the six-round session I witnessed in Big Bear, Calif. (which I wrote about in a Gym Notes column): Alvarez was preparing for his first title defense against Ryan Rhodes and Golovkin, who I’d never seen in person, was getting ready for Kassim Ouma. Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, wanted his middleweight to get some work with Canelo in order to experience the faster hands of a naturally smaller fighter. Golovkin was not supposed to give Canelo the “full treatment,” and it was clear from the sparring I saw that he was indeed holding back.

Still, Golovkin “holding back” was a lot for Canelo, only 20 at the time, to deal with. And the young man did well. I’d say he held his own, even though he couldn’t hurt Golvokin with his best shots. What Alvarez showed me in those 4-minute rounds at 6,000-plus-feet altitude was that the Mexican star was willing to put in very hard work in order to learn his craft and to get in proper condition for his fights.

I was not impressed by what I saw of Alvarez during his WBC 154-pound title winning effort against Matthew Hatton three month earlier. He seemed one-dimensional in his approach and his power appeared overrated. I wasn’t even sure if he would get past Rhodes, who was an experienced junior middleweight contender with solid skills. But watching Alvarez work his jab and exhibit good footwork while moving about the ring during his sparring session with Golovkin let me know that the kid was more versatile than most of us had seen in his fights up to that point of his career.

Golovkin hurt Alvarez a few times – a hook at the end of the second round visibly stunned him and some body shots made him wince – but the young man kept his head and found ways to compete even when he was clearly tired (a combination of the altitude and GGG’s pressure) in the last two rounds.

Nice write up but you get the sense reading it that Fischer is protecting Canelo - Doug's a west coast guy who is tight with Golden Boy - at the time GGG was nothing and not on anyone's radar - everything out of the mouth of Oscar Canelo and Hopkins indicates they all know Canelo is not ready for GGG and they don't want to sacrifice the man who they plan to be the cash cow for the company for the next decade -

[Lackeos]

A 21-year-old welterweight Alvarez supposedly lost a sparring session to a middleweight. Well that tells us all that we need to know. Assuming that you're an idiot and don't need to know anything.

[ikorolev]

A 21-year-old welterweight Alvarez supposedly lost a sparring session to a middleweight. Well that tells us all that we need to know. Assuming that you're an idiot and don't need to know anything.

Canelo hasn't fought at WW since March of 2010. He was no smaller than Golovkin when they sparred:

[Kalan]

Anything can happen in sparring - including ATG fighters getting knocked out.. GGG will kill Canelo but a sparring session doesn't prove it.

A guy with only 4 amateur fights knocked out a pro with over 40 fights... also the same novice flattened a ranking Heavyweight in a public sparring session. If you're very big, tall, strong, powerful, and a very talented athlete, you could take a real good cut and it could connect on anybody... Light Heavyweight Champ Jose Torres boxed an exhibition with a sub novice and got knocked cold.. Some stupid writers from Ring Magazine were present.. They were laughing and thought Torres was faking getting knocked out.. One of them said "a cigarette will revive Jose" and shoved a smoke into his mouth and lit it.. The idiot burned Torres's lip.. That's when they knew he was really knocked out.

[Impractical Poster]

Screw sparring.

It's probably the only thing we are ever going to get regarding these two.

[Cutman Scabbers]

Anything can happen in sparring - including ATG fighters getting knocked out.. GGG will kill Canelo but a sparring session doesn't prove it.

A guy with only 4 amateur fights knocked out a pro with over 40 fights... also the same novice flattened a ranking Heavyweight in a public sparring session. If you're very big, tall, strong, powerful, and a very talented athlete, you could take a real good cut and it could connect on anybody... Light Heavyweight Champ Jose Torres boxed an exhibition with a sub novice and got knocked cold.. Some stupid writers from Ring Magazine were present.. They were laughing and thought Torres was faking getting knocked out.. One of them said "a cigarette will revive Jose" and shoved a smoke into his mouth and lit it.. The idiot burned Torres's lip.. That's when they knew he was really knocked out.

What a story!

[Lackeos]

A 21-year-old welterweight Alvarez supposedly lost a sparring session to a middleweight. Well that tells us all that we need to know. Assuming that you're an idiot and don't need to know anything.

Canelo hasn't fought at WW since March of 2010. He was no smaller than Golovkin when they sparred:

Back when Golovkin was 21, Anthony Mundine would've beat the piss out of him. That doesn't mean Anthony Mundine would continue being the better fighter for the entire rest of time. Most 21-year-old fighters improve after some time passes.
A lot of people thought Mayweather lost a sparring session to Paul Spadafora. That doesn't mean that Paul Spadafora was the better fighter then, and it doesn't mean that Spadafora would continue to be the better fighter for the remainder of their careers. Sparring sessions do not always predict the outcome in real matches.

If you don't understand these realities, then you still don't know anything about boxing. But these examples are precisely the reason why a sparring session with Alvarez when he was 21 has no bearing on who he would beat at age 25.

[crusader]

I'm not so sure Mundine would've beaten the piss out of a 21 year old GGG had the latter been a pro for around 6 years and 40 fights.

Incidentally, the sparring was before GGG fought Ouma, and I think he's also gotten much better since that time. Hopefully they actually fight this year so we can curb the speculation and see where they're really at compared to each other.

[Kootenay47]

the photos clearly show similar builds , Canelo is a bit thicker and shorter , if anything Canelo would have gotten heavier . I see him moving up to the 158 lb division very soon

[thomasjkelley]

A 21-year-old welterweight Alvarez supposedly lost a sparring session to a middleweight. Well that tells us all that we need to know. Assuming that you're an idiot and don't need to know anything.

Canelo hasn't fought at WW since March of 2010. He was no smaller than Golovkin when they sparred:

Back when Golovkin was 21, Anthony Mundine would've beat the piss out of him. That doesn't mean Anthony Mundine would continue being the better fighter for the entire rest of time. Most 21-year-old fighters improve after some time passes.
A lot of people thought Mayweather lost a sparring session to Paul Spadafora. That doesn't mean that Paul Spadafora was the better fighter then, and it doesn't mean that Spadafora would continue to be the better fighter for the remainder of their careers. Sparring sessions do not always predict the outcome in real matches.

If you don't understand these realities, then you still don't know anything about boxing. But these examples are precisely the reason why a sparring session with Alvarez when he was 21 has no bearing on who he would beat at age 25.

That is overly presumptuous of you. Probably it means nothing but there is also a chance that it means everything. If Canelo was pushing the pace in their session, giving it a fair effort, and finding himself overmatched even when he went hard, then that is a huge psychological disadvantage for him. The fact that GGG hurt him while specifically trying not to hurt him is quite telling. You do understand that reality don't you? That means that both fighters know GGG can hurt Canelo without having to land a lucky shot. That will have a serious effect on Alvarez's mentality and being 21 at the time is irrelevant to that point. It may even explain his camp's hesitancy to make this fight.

[Pureist]

If your hit hard in sparring with headgear and 16s on then you know if you fight that guy when he has 10s on it going to hurt a lot more. It's easy to walk down light hitting guys, very different with heavy handed fighters, Canelo likes to push forward, I think he will need to re evaluate his style if this fight is made

[Like a Boss]

I always take sparring stories with a grain of salt.

[crusader]

I always take sparring stories with a grain of salt.

This one seems pretty credible to me given the detailed account of Dougie Fischer (not on either guy's team, not same random Twitter user, and not someone known for fabrication); why make up that stuff back in 2011 when GGG was largely unknown? A fighter who was in the same training camp also suggested that GGG dominated.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

None of this matters. Let's see 'em fight already.

the judges had canelo pitching a shut out.

[TooEasy12]

I read that exact same article. I'm a huge fan of both these got. Watch all their fights. This fight needs to happen. I favor GGG because I really do think he's next level.

I will agree that Canelo has the better resume and has fought stiffer competition, but there's a reason for that...

It's a shame that GGG wasn't promoted better earlier in his career. People say that Mikey Garcia was in a tough situation with Top Rank and he was. GGG was in the exact same position over in Europe. He was tied to a no name, horrible promotor that nobody has ever heard of, and he was never able to emerge as the boxing star he is today.

He finally went through a contract dispute. Signed with K2 and then have been doing a great job with him sense. He's a tremendous all around talent.

Just don't forget my comparison, when Mikey Garcia comes back and wins a world title after a few come back fights.

Elite fighters are elite for a reason.

[caldo2025]

Pump the breaks dudes. This story about the sparring session couldn't be more insignificant when determining a possible fight outcome. The only thing it is, is entertaining. I love hearing training stories about the mixing of stars in a sweat drenched gym with only a few witnesses but making a big deal about two guys 4 years ago training together for 18 minutes is silliness and a waste of time.

I'm a GGG but I have to admit that i've never seen a boxer improve so much and so quickly than Canelo has the last couple of years. Against Lara, he was awful. Canelo just chased Lara around instead of cutting off the ring and throwing wild shots. I walked away that night thinking Canelo was shot and nothing but a hyped up red haired Mexican novelty item.

I know Khan is no GGG but Canelo couldn't have cut the ring off any better. The body work is much improved. He's got some really slick faints and combo's now. He's twice the fighter he was 4 years ago. I feel comfortable saying that. If Canelo is clean then he should be given credit for working this hard. Sparring means nothing

[crusader]

Canelo definitely could've cut the ring off better against Khan.

He's still somewhat of a plodder and against mobile opponents often ends up throwing shots from well out of range because he can't close the gap.

[Tanzio]

Canelo definitely could've cut the ring off better against Khan.

He's still somewhat of a plodder and against mobile opponents often ends up throwing shots from well out of range because he can't close the gap.

He won't be needing to cut the ring off v 3G.