By Sean Jones: Gennadiy Golovkin’s trainer, Johnathon Banks, says they plan to neutralize Canelo Alvarez’s ability to counterpunch when they meet for their trilogy bout on Sept. 17 in Las Vegas.
Canelo (57-2-2, 39 KOs) found a lot of success countering Golovkin’s singles by landing right hands over the top in their rematch four years ago in 2018, and they want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Banks says they plan to double and triple Golovkin’s jabs to take away Canelo’s counter-punching ability. This is what WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol did last May, and it worked perfectly.
Canelo was afraid to fight back because Bivol was firing multiple jabs as well as combinations. It’s a little surprising that it took Golovkin’s training team this long to figure out how to take the counterpunch off Canelo because if you watched the first fight, you could see that GGG had the best success of him in the fight when he let his hands go in combination. form.
Canelo would either stop countering or get overwhelmed by the punches and be unable to keep up with the incoming ones.
Bivol’s training team was smart enough to spot this weakness in Canelo’s game and took advantage of it by throwing sustained combinations as well as doubling and tripling his jabs.
Golovkin has to win this fight if he wants to have a chance to fight Canelo a fourth time because if he loses, it would give Canelo a 2-0-1 lead in their three-fight series.
“Canelo is a strong, aggressive, strong, precise puncher, but some people also forget that he is also a good counter puncher,” Teddy Atlas said on The Fight. “Is there anything you can tell us about how he prepared himself to compensate for his ability to fight back effectively?”
“I think it is in the traditional sense. If you and I were in the gym watching someone punch and get countered, the first thing we’d say to them is, ‘Hey, double and triple your jab. That stops the counter,” said Golovkin’s trainer, Johnathon Banks.
“Yeah, choke the right hand, yeah,” Atlas said.
“So right there it’s simple. If you have someone just looking for a counterpunch, and you start doubling and tripling your shot, there’s no counterpunch anymore,” Banks said.
“It’s interesting that I asked that question, and you answered the obvious with the fight answer because obviously there were points and you weren’t with him,” Atlas said.
“There were times in the second fight where Canelo was countering him with a right hand on the jab, and it was obvious why because he was having success, GGG, with the jab.
“So one way to take the jab away is to counter right hand, and Canelo was doing that. So, I guess you just talked about it, really, but I think it should be a pretty big part of your game plan to deal with it.
“To deal with those spots where Canelo is going to be looking to counter right hand, like he did in the second fight,” Atlas said.
“100%, but that’s obviously a bit of the focus because counter right hands over the top, it’s not as big an influence as the whole, that we have a whole course on that.
“Therefore, if he [Golovkin] he’s got the rhythm that I want him to have, and he doubles that jab and goes back and triples that jab, that’s going to throw the counter so far that he’s now [Canelo] he has to put his hands up and start cumming. Once he doesn’t get that counter,” Banks said.
“The [Canelo] he doesn’t get away with it, yes,” Atlas said.
“Once that jab doubles up, it has to come with something else,” Banks said of Canelo.
“Teddy mentioned it before the first two fights, he thought GGG won both of them,” Ken Rideout said. “Certainly the first, most people feel that first.
“Does it cross your mind that you have to hit him [Canelo] down multiple times or out to get this win because Canelo is the goose that lays the golden eggs, right? GGG is nearing the end of his career.
“I think the establishment probably benefits more from Canelo getting the decision, and we’ve seen every indication that will be the case for every fight that’s close.
“Bivol beat him in almost every round. They couldn’t prevent that. Is that something you guys think about and consider in preparation for the fight? Rideout said about Golovkin.
“We thought of all scenarios,” Banks said. “I need a knockout, but when I sit down with the fighter one on one, I don’t talk about the knockout. I don’t talk, ‘You have to do it.’ I don’t talk like that.
“We talk very basic, we talk about strategy and we talk about sticking to the program because there is no roadmap to knock this kid out. [Canelo] outside. At least not yet.
“There’s nothing to say, ‘If you do this, you can definitely knock him out.’ The goal is to win every round,” Banks said. “The goal is from the first round; let’s start winning the rounds first, and let it [Canelo] start going for the knockout. Then we can push it.
“That’s investing it. Putting pressure on him. leave your corner [decide to go for the knockout]. That’s the thing. When you have a fighter as good as him, if you can interrupt the corner, then you can get inside the fighter’s head and force him to do something that he initially wasn’t ready to do at the time.
“That’s how you can make other things happen that you may or may not want in the fight,” Banks said.
“I agree with you,” Rideout said.
“Control what you can control, but you can’t control the judges,” Atlas said. “I wish we could, but we can’t.”
“Just to be clear, I don’t agree with the whole judge thing, but I think it’s an unavoidable thing that needs to be addressed,” Rideout said.
“From your perspective, you’re right,” Atlas said. “But from his perspective, the coach’s perspective, his job is not to worry about it, not to touch it.
“Just to prepare your fighter mentally, technically and physically to do what he has to do to have the best chance of beating Canelo,” Atlas said.
“100%,” Banks said.
“I know you have the right strength coach there in Chris Camacho. He is a good man,” Rideout said of Golovkin’s strength coach.
“He is, and he has the right PR man there, Mr. Johnathon, with Fred Sternberg,” Atlas said. “Where’s Fred? Does he allow it? He is working. we hear you
You are always working. The best PR man in the business, Fred Sternberg. Very good, Fred. Did I say everything you asked of me? No, pay me later. All jokes aside, Johnathon. You have nothing but good people in that camp.
“Fred and Chris and obviously Golovkin and yourself, you all have good people. I only wish nothing but good things for good people. I have always felt this way, and will continue to feel this way until I am no longer on this earth.
“So unless Ken has anything else to say, I’ll thank the people who will watch and enjoy this interview. I will appreciate you taking the time outside of camp to speak with us.
“Like I told other great fighters like Golovkin and others. Thank you not only for what you do in the ring, but also for how you conduct yourself outside the ring. Thank you for how you conduct yourself as a man outside the ring,” Atlas said.
“I appreciate it,” Banks said. “It means a lot to me, thank you.”
“Thank you, Jonathon. I appreciate her time, and best of luck. I would love to talk to you after you get the win in this next fight,” Rideout said.
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to it,” Banks said.
“Best of luck, Johnathon,” Atlas said.
“Thank you,” Banks said.
“Thanks guys. I appreciate the time,” Rideout said.
