Canelo Alvarez radically changes up training camp in bid to match Gennady Golovkin
The Mexican will travel to Colorado for high-altitude training at the start of March.
Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will travel to the Colorado Mountains to begin a high altitude training regime his camp feel will give him the physical edge over Gennady Golovkin.
The two middleweight kings meet in their highly-anticipated rematch on one of the boxing calendar's most celebrated dates on Cinco de Mayo [5 May] after battling to a hugely controversial draw last September.
The Mexican's team does not anticipate any major changes for Golokvin during his preparations, but will themselves relocate to a higher altitude for part of their training camp where Canelo's trainer Chepo Reynoso feels they can address the conditioning issues they saw creep in during the first fight.
"We will arrive in Colorado on 3 or 4 March," Reynoso told ESPN Deportes. "There we intend to take advantage of the high altitude. We already have the sparring ready, not Saul is working with Alexis Salazar, a middleweight we have in the gym. Once we are there [in Colorado], the European sparrers will arrive."
Golovkin and his long-time trainer Abel Sanchez routinely train in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, California, where he has honed the excellent conditioning that has contributed to his untouchable status in boxing.
Canelo showed signs he was struggling physically in the middle rounds of his first meeting with the Kazakh and struggled to throw as many punches as his opponent, with his camp seeing that as a clear area they must improve before 5 May.
"I believe that he only needs to arrive in excellent physical condition," Reynoso continued. "He needs to throw more punches, which in my opinion was exactly what was missing in the close rounds which he could have taken by throwing five, six or 10 more punches. That would have been the difference for the closing rounds, give them to him [Canelo] and there would be no room for doubts."
While the date for the fight is set in stone, a venue has still not been decided. Last year's middleweight showdown took place in Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena with the rematch likely to return to Sin City.
However, the New York Post recently reported Madison Square Garden remains a possible destination, with officials making a "strong play" to bring the fight to one of the sport's most celebrated arenas, having submitted a proposal that is said to guarantee a more lucrative gate than at last year's contest.
Golovkin has fought in New York six times during his undefeated professional career while Canelo is yet to venture to the east coast.