Sanchez: Canelo Doesn't Have the Punching Power Golovkin Does

By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Abel Sanchez knows Canelo Alvarez is dangerous.

Gennady Golovkin’s trainer has watched Alvarez develop over the past couple years into a masterful counter-puncher capable of taking opponents out with his left hook. Sanchez has warned Golovkin throughout training camp to be wary of Alvarez’s uppercuts and body shots, too.

While mindful of Alvarez’s power, Sanchez is confident that Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) doesn’t punch as hard as Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs). That’s where Sanchez envisions Alvarez having problems Saturday night, when he realizes he is in the ring with a superior puncher who’s stronger than anyone he has faced in any of his first 51 professional fights.

Once they start trading hard shots at T-Mobile Arena, Sanchez expects the complexion of their scheduled 12-round middleweight title fight to change. Sanchez shrugged off Alvarez’s talk Wednesday off going for the knockout against an opponent who hasn’t been down as an amateur or a professional, which spans 387 fights (350 as an amateur; 37 as a pro).

“In order to do that he’s gonna have to expose himself, and I don’t think Canelo has the punching power that Gennady does,” Sanchez told a group of reporters Wednesday before a press conference at MGM Grand. “And I say that because he hit Chavez with everything but the stool, and actually ran out of gas trying to do that, trying to knock him out. And that was a depleted, 164-pound Chavez.

“He hit Cotto with everything that could hit him with and never hurt Cotto. Yet Margarito, in Cotto’s prime, hurt him with almost every shot he hit him with towards the end of the fight. So I don’t think his power and his snap is like Golovkin’s, but if Golovkin gets caught with a good shot anybody can go down. This is boxing – small gloves, they’ve got a good wrap on, and if they get caught, they’re going down.”

Alvarez’s chin has been as reliable as Golovkin’s in his nearly 12-year pro career. The 27-year-old Alvarez hasn’t been knocked down in 51 professional fights, either.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.